Posted on 10/18/2006 3:18:46 AM PDT by nancyvideo
Hollywood actress and United Nations spokesmodel Angelina Jolie is wagging her finger at the West for its indifference to refugees.
"It's a scandal, really, in such a rich world, that we are not even finding a way to help feed refugee families properly," Jolie vented in the latest issue of the U.N.'s Refugees Magazine. The movie star, a U.N. "good will ambassador" since 2001, singled out America and Australia as insensitive countries that are turning their backs on the persecuted. Many refugees have "died trying to get to the U.S. and Australia," she writes. "But we don't notice. We are simply affronted by their audacity."
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
The real scandal is that some people think that robbing those that aren't rich to give to those that are poorer is somehow a good idea. All that does is increase the chances that there will be more poor people created.
How DOES that woman find the time to be morally superior in between jumping from bed to bed with the frequency of a cheap ham radio?
That's an odd statement. I don't disagree. Could you expand upon it?
The really silly part, IMO, is everyone points a finger at every place BUT Africa. It is my understanding that that country is NOT poor - only parts of it due to warloads. The resources they have could be used to fix their problem. Why must everyone's problem become ours?
Besides, if she and the media want to focus on only the poor of a country, we certainly have more than our share already here. Sometimes being poor is a choice.
Without presuming to speak for him, I understood it to be a comment on socialism, which is the basis for the big lipped actresses moral superiority.
Funny how those with the most money are those who are the biggest proponents of socialism...
Every time we rob Peter to make Paul feel better, we leave Peter with less and less money to survive on and eventually Peter becomes a Paul, needing handouts, too.
What am I missing?
She ought to be asking the UN why they aren't doing more, or asking the heads of state for such countries why all our foreign aid isn't showing results.
The stats are in: After spending $7 trillion on the 'War on Poverty' we find poverty levels are the same as before. A good case is made that our foreign aid has caused more harm than good. It has enabled a few countries' dictators to survive longer than would have been possible without the aid, thus hindering democracy and/or reform. But it's OK, as long as it eases the guilt of rich libs and allows them to feel morally superior.
I agree with you. That is what I find so strange about people believing it's ok to raise taxes to help the poor. Raising taxes will keep me from ever being rich. The more I have to give to Uncle Sam and the poor, the harder I have to work to make ends meet.
And, I think not teaching the poor how to get out of poverty and giving them handouts only allows them to let others work harder while they do not.
It's my money. I worked for it and I'll spend it how I care to. Not because some botox filled rubber lipped "actor" thinks I should give it to whatever the cause of the moment is.
Now go back to making bad movies stupid.
There are those that seem determined to watch the so called middle class fall into poverty.
Yup, and it scares the heck out of me. I worry about - will my grandchildren be forced to be poor or to work two-three jobs by the time they are out of college just to be middle-class?
"It's amazing... We do more than any other country to aid other countries in times of disasters and famine, and yet some "privileged" actors feel the need to scold us?"
Jolie and Madonna have more right to speak out against the poverty than most. Both have given millipns of their own personal wealth to Africa. Do I agree with them, NO? I think they should be talking about the U.N., however, I admire them for walking the walk with their wallets.
I wonder how much SHE gives to private charities concerned with these problems.
Angelina Jolie gives one third of her salary to charity. AJ pays US income taxes as well, and has adopted two orphans. Bono, on the other hand (along with the rest of U2) switched their corporate hq to the Netherlands (to avoid Ireland's tax system--while critizing Irish leadership that Eire doesn't do enough internationally to help others). Don't get me wrong...Bono has done an incredible amount of good, but when push comes to shove at least Angie puts her own cash on the line.
It has not occurred to any of these great reformers of our society, that should the conditions where these tormented individuals live be improved, they would have far less incentive to flee.
America and Australia should not be designated as havens to which the oppressed may migrate, but as a paradigm for all the world to emulate. First of all, almost every person in the world believes the land of their nativity, the territory in which they grew up and were most familiar, is their HOME. Other people have made staying in that home unpleasant for them. More than anything, the vast majority of people would, if they could, remain close to family and life-long friends.
And secondly, the resources of even the most bountiful of countries shall at some point be strained and overburdened if this unrestrained acceptance of refugees from elsewhere is not slowed or stopped, reducing even the most enlightened of nations to bring harsh strictures on their denizens who have arrived from elsewhere.
Third, the best, brightest, and most prominent of the citizens of the country that is subject to an oppressive regime are among the first to flee, taking with them the higher aspirations and capabilities that would surely make things better for everybody in their home country, leaving that land even more impoverished. Therefore, the higher and better use of our resources is to combat the effects of this oppressive regime, either by change, or by appling sufficiently strong measures so the regime modifies or ameliorates it most disagreeable features, and creates a more benign climate for its citizens to live and thrive in.
All this is just basic good sense, like washing your hands before dinner, or courteous greetings extended to strangers. But simple hygiene or good manners may be beyond the comprehension of some folks.
I'm not concerned about how much she gives, she makes a heck of a lot more than most Americans. These celebrities seem to forget that the foreign aid that the US gives COMES FROM THE TAXPAYERS, many of whom can hardly afford to give, in the first place.
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