Act compassionately towards everyone in the world

Step right up – find a perfect country and win a Cupie doll. Not on this planet you won’t. Just like every other nation, we are far from perfect in our attitudes and actions toward others. But when it comes to coughing up cash, pitching in and helping out, in many ways we actually are one of if not the softest touch on the planet Apparently this does not garner much in the way of respect or thanks with the additional effect of triggering selective memory dysfunction as well.

One thing is for sure: this is NOT an ingredient of American Patriotism.

Nice thing to do, but again this has nothing to do with being patriotic.

That is a nice thought, but the premise is wrong. How can you act compassionately towards anyone in the world if you cannot or will not do it with your own neighbor? The hypocrisy is overwhelming. Let's feed all the hungry people in the world, let's heal them and provide them with decent living conditions, jobs, money, goods, food, medication, etc., while millions of Americans are living under the level of poverty and thousands are totally abandoned to their fate on the streets and under the bridges of our neighborhood.

This has absolutely nothing to do with patriotism. The USA has done more to feed, house, clothe, and liberate people of other lands than all of the other nations on earth combined. In many, if not most of these cases, the aid is sent to places where we are hated. More often than not it does little if anything to help the real victims.We need to clean up our own backyard and drop the idea that we are responsible for solving all the world's problems.

No. Charity begins at home. America bombs the sh#t out of other nations and economically exploits them so that I live a very comfortable lifestyle- I can live with that. But let's stop the 'America is so generous' lie...the government gives money with strings, period.

UPDATE: It's true charity does begin at home, but it still doesn't change the fact that the U.S. is the most charitable country in the world, niether does the fact that we're in a war, one has nothing to do with the other. There's no lie there. You are of course free to believe whatever you want. ORIGINAL COMMENT: We do this all the time, it's part of our national make up. No country has done more for others than The U.S. This isn't just my opinion, it's a fact.

i'll ignore them like i do everyone else.

As usual, complete tosh from Eschew. How do you explain then to your 'allies' why America's agenda has changed? Are you an army man since all you talk about is military might...something 21st century people should ALL be seeking now to rid this planet of. This is the purpose of this rating.

YES!

Everyone? No, you choose your allies and hope their agenda doesn't change. The reality is every nation has enemies who wish for their destruction. Our economic and military success breeds a contempt from many nations whom we have surpassed, which most Americans cannot imagine. Was France morally right in not supporting the war in Iraq? Sure they were. Their companies were reaping billions of dollars in kickbacks and bribes from the UN Oil for Food scandal. Was Russia right? Sure they were, even though Putin had direct evidence of a planned terrorist attack on US soil, hatched in Iraq! And those were our ALLIES. The ones Kerry wants to trust and make nice with. We need allies like that like we need to relax our airline security. But, let's be nice to everyone, let's be compassionate. UPDATE: Did I imply that hatred has some role? Ralph, does toughness and self-protection represent hatred to you? America is the only military superpower in the world today and no superpower ha... Read more

Many well meaning people have reduced the context for helping others in need to political solutions alone. That was never the intention of our founders. America has always been a compassionate country because we are a compassionate people. This has been the case regardless of which party has been in power. From Truman's Berlin Air Lift, to John Kennedy's Peace Corp, to George Bush's Freedom Corps we, more than any other nation on the planet, have been compassionate towards the people of the world, working with existing organizations as well as creating new agencies for this purpose. Habitat for Humanity builds simple, decent, affordable housing here at home. Feed The Children delivers food, medicine, clothing and other necessities to families that have suffered famine, war, poverty or natural disaster. In 2003 Feed the Children shipped 61 million pounds of food and 22 million pounds of other essentials to families in all 50 states and 62 foreign countries. They suppliment 509,133 meals... Read more

Compassion has its place, but there are some people that need a kick in the pants or worse. Just gotta be sure you know who they are first.

Compassion is important in helping our country. If we are compassionate toward people all over the world, then we wouldn't have as many enemies. It must be understood that patriotism is a shallow term, simply because it has borders and differentiates people in America from people outside America. Loyalty to humanity is my goal. Loyalty to my country is a start.

In foreign affairs I tend to come down as a realist. Although globalization has caused the world to become a much smaller place and countries have begun to delegate authority to transnationals voluntarily, it can be fairly stated that countries engage in maximizing behavior all the time. It would be naive that all countries act in the global interest. As long as political divisions remain we won't have world peace. But that said; yes we do have a long way to go in becoming a more benevolent world power. Theodore Roosevelt based his foreign policy on the African dictum Speak softly and carry a big stick. A foreign policy based purely on intimidation and war won't get anyone far. How are we going to get people to do what we want? Certainly we can do more to assist the developing world, where 80% of the Earth's population lives. It's not just simply about altruistic goals of the greater moral good, it is strategically important to engage in balancing behavior with those emerging countrie... Read more

It's a pretty advanced concept, and I don't think it will go over well in the U.S. where retribution, revenge and getting even have been the M.O. in foreign affairs for quite a long time.