Haiti: The glorified tax write-off

Once again, Americans have come together to help everyone but ourselves.  Our economy is dying, the unemployment rate is frighteningly high, but all of a sudden we have enough money to raise countless millions for Haiti.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m very glad we still have it in ourselves to give.  But what happened to taking care of you and me?  I think we’ve taken on the task of trying to save others since we’ve forgotten how to save ourselves.

According to the Red Cross, over 10 million dollars have been donated through its Txt2Give program.  That’s an extraordinary number.  We could be making that kind of effort here if people cared more about “home.” 

Besides, why does it take a tragedy for us to start caring?  Haiti was almost in ruins a long time before this and no one seemed to notice.  That’s the problem.  We’re a reactive society rather than a preventive one.  We wait until the crack in the glass finally shatters before we start to make any efforts.

As much as I believe it’s a great thing we’re doing for Haiti, I feel many are donating for the wrong reasons.  People who are so rich would rather throw money at it in the hopes that someone else will fix it.

First example would be Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.  Apparently, all the adopting agencies were closed at the time so they couldn’t just buy another foreign child.  Instead, they donated a million dollars.  Very respectable… but I also know that’s a very nice tax write-off for them.

Other celebrities donate their time in relief efforts.  Jennifer Aniston will be hosting a screening of the movie The Last Station and selling movie tickets that range from $100 to $50,000.  Also, Scarlett Johansson designed an exclusive hand-bag that will sell for $29.50 a pop with partial proceeds going to the Oxfam organization.  These are respectable deeds but have alternative motives. 

Sure it feels good to give back but it’s also a guaranteed way to get some face time on the news.  It’s a way to chalk up their image and mold themselves into someone who appears to care more than they actually do.  I don’t remember Jennifer Aniston or Scarlett Johansson caring about Haiti before the tragedy.  Caring about Haiti wasn’t trendy so it wouldn’t have gotten them noticed.

Lastly, a club in Ohio called Marilyn’s On Monroe hosted what they called “Lap Dances for Haiti.”  There was a $10 cover charge and the proceeds all went to Haiti.  The event raised over $1,000 for Haitian relief.  Nice to know those dollar bills from g-strings will be going to Haiti.  That’s just dirty money for a clean cause.

As much good as we put into others, we should put it into ourselves.  It’s wonderful what we’ve accomplished for Haiti. I do hope, though, that one day it will be trendy to donate to our own causes before trying to solve everyone else’s problems first.  We should all unite together to save ourselves because if we don’t, we won’t be around to save anyone else.