catastrophe in pictures

during lunch i had a conversation that centered around the tsunami catastrophe and how much money we were giving to aid the survivors. at one point a person was speaking her upset over the amount of money that our country was giving. she wasn't upset about the small amount, but that we were giving too much and that our country needs to still support it's own people who are still affected by hurricanes and other natural disasters. at a certainly level i could agree. it seems that our leaders are not concerned with how much money we donate, as long as we look good in the eyes of the world community, that seems irresponsible to me.

however, this is a tragedy of epic preportions, the likes of which, we might not see (and hopefully don't) for the rest of our lifetimes. i took a look through a slideshow on msnbc.com, the images are very haunting. i just cannot imagine. i think, as americans we live in such a sheltered world that we don't always "get it" what it truely means to be a superpower and act responsibly towards the worlds issues. poverty in the united states is a life of great wealth compared to countries around the world. the homes destoyed in the tsunami are not $300,000 homes with a beachfront view but shanty towns. i doubt many of our americans who couldn't go a day without x-box, hdtv, cellphone service, meals in under 1minute, etc. can honestly form an opinion or complain over who has it worse and who gets served first.... did that make sense?

more photo links @ independent journalist blog