We are One Human Race

It does not matter what city, state, or country in which we reside. It does not matter what religion we practice or if we practice a religion at all. It does not matter what the color of our skin, hair, or eyes. What matters is the one thing that unites us all: the human race.

If I choose to take some of my hard-earned money and donate it to a global cause, that is a privilege I have that comes with earning that money. If I choose to donate to local charities or to help my neighbor, that is a privilege I have. If I choose to use that same money to help those I know the best: my family or my closest friends, that is a privilege I have earned. Or if I choose to selfishly spend my money on my self and my own desires, this too, is a privilege that I have earned.

It sickens me that so many people are anti-aiding people in other countries.

I am not referring to those people who are struggling to make ends meet on their own and do not have an extra dollar to send. I am not necessarily referring to those who do have an extra dollar to send, but choose not to; as stated earlier, earning and owning money comes with the privilege of choosing what to do with said money. I am referring to those who exert so much energy bashing those who are sending money to aid those in other countries--countries whose residents have had everything ripped from them. (Think Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 or Haiti Earthquake of 2010.)

I understand that we have the right to freedom of speech, and it is people's right to publicly disagree with how others spend their time, energy, and money. I am not trying to take this right away from anyone. But I would like to kindly point out that this 'right' is a direct result of the privilege of being born into a country that grants its citizens this right.

I see the human race as one. The social injustices and devastation that citizens of other countries face hurts my heart; the way some people of the privileged world respond to these injustices and devastation hurts my soul. I promise you, as long as I have money and/or time to give, I will be helping others, both inside the boundaries of this country and outside.