This country’s problem, the reader on the phone said, was clearly illustrated in Tuesday’s paper. On page A4, a headline says, “Bush outlines help for Latin America.” The headline on the article beneath it: “FEMA closes housing due to poor conditions.”
The problem is the perception and/or the reality that the United States is too willing to help other countries at the expense of our own.
Bush announced that the U.S. will spend tens of millions of dollars to improve education, housing and health care throughout Latin America. He noted that many children in Latin America do not finish grade school and many mothers never see a doctor.
“In an age of growing prosperity and abundance, this is a scandal and a challenge,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Louisiana, dozens of families were evacuated from a FEMA trailer park that had been plagued by sewage leaks and power outages. FEMA abruptly closed the park, citing health concerns. Residents found the concern less than genuine, however, since raw sewage had been pouring onto the grass for about a year.
Talk about a scandal. The federal government continues failing to actually help victims of Hurricane Katrina.
In February, the United Nations Children’s Fund announced its findings from a study in which the charity looked at 40 indicators to gauge the lives of children in 21 economically advanced nations. The United States was ranked worst for health and safety.
Insert scandal line. Again.
In 2005, there were more than 9 million U.S. children without medical insurance – one out of every nine children in the country.
Last month, which happened to be Children’s Dental Health Month, 12-year-old Deamonte Driver of the D.C. area died as a result of an untreated abscessed tooth.
Part of the aid to Latin America includes the deployment of the hospital ship USNS Comfort to 13 South and Central American countries starting in June. The health-care professionals are expected to treat up to 100,000 patients and conduct up to 15,000 surgeries. The Comfort will also work with the Department of Health and Human Services on a new initiative to provide oral care to the region’s poor. Dentists and hygienists will fill cavities, treat infections and provide treatment for young children.
In announcing aid for Latin America, Bush said, “The goal of this great country, the goal of a country full of generous people, is an Americas where the dignity of every person is respected, where all find room at the table, and where opportunity reaches into every village and every home.”
Many people would like assurance and evidence that such a laudable goal applies here at home, in this America, too.
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