The commoditization of care

So the United States has spent almost $150 billion bringing "freedom" to Iraq in a war that has cost the lives of more than 100,000 Iraqis and 1,000 American soldiers. Thank goodness for Jon Stewart, who makes fun of Defense Secretary Rumsfeld in another fun episode... "You can have all the armour in the world on a tank - and a tank can be blown up."

Oops.

Now, with casualties from last week's tsunami pushing 150,000 the United States has increased its contribution to the aid effort in South East Asia tenfold to $350 million.

For those keeping score that's $150 billion for over 101,000 deaths and $350 million to save thousands of other lives threatened by disease. Classic Bushanomics huh!

On a smaller scale, the generosity of citizens has indeed been astounding. The Canadian government has pledged $80 million, charities have gotten into the act, the police force, local governments, heck even Google is helping out.

But while I can appreciate the aid as much as the next person, there is something wrong when people feel the need to share in the suffering. There is a mysterious inherent human need in people to be affected by events which have nothing to do with them (see. 9/11, Princess Di, etc). For a more obvious example look at the lack of compassion for the dead Iraqis. Remember collateral damage?

Of course there is always the pessisism at the deterioration of human morals or standards with which people believe the human race is sinking towards. But this process is automatically undermined by the superiority complex that any type of empathy (and/or sympathy) assumes. This is not really about a need to help people or to show that you care, but about guilt that someone lesser than you is suffering while you are comfortable in your white picket fence-enclosed suburban enclave with apple pie aroma filling your kitchen.

Do most people think South Asians are helpless? Of course not, not even with a tsunami. But I do think that South Asians have become convenient as the cause du jour, where it has once again become hip to help, just like Live Aid and that crappy "Peace in the Middle East" garbage of the early 1990s.

Here's further evidence. Let's consider that while SARS was going around, Asians were the scourge of the planet. If 150,000 died from SARS would the U.S. pledge $350 million? Would Canada pledge $80 million? Is Bush the only one who is once again (mis)leading people, making other people think that he cares?

I don't think so.