1.08.2005

with all the strength

The only reason to have this make the front page is to belittle Americans, and to take a not-so-subtle stab at religion. The underlying message is that (1) Americans want to provide aid in word only, and not in deed; and (2) religious people cheaply offer up prayer but don't open up their wallets.

There are three fundamental problems with this line of thought:
(1) Considering how many Americans are in mountains of debt and overspend on useless luxuries, many Americans can't afford to do anything but pray.
(2) Considering all of the domestic charities that Americans already donate billions to, donating to a random tragedy halfway across the globe makes less sense from a strictly selfish strategic perspective (How many countries in Western Europe would have similar or worse percentages? How many countries in South America and Africa are outdonating Americans?).
(3) Most egregiously, the article takes the stance that prayer is not the better donation than money, and trust me, prayer is the most powerful option people have.

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