I just read something that horrified me. It is the idea that one person is better or more deserving than another. It is not a new thought but it still angers me. I believe that the fundamental evil built into every religion outside of true Christianity is this superiority complex. Here is my perspective of other religions.

• Judiasm- The chosen people are better than others.
• Islam- Only the followers of the Koran deserve to live.
• Hinduism- The higher your cast the better you deserve.
• Budhism- The higher your karma the better you deserve. If good happens to you then you deserve more good and visa versa.
• Cults(JW’s, etc…)- Only our group has perfect truth. Everyone else is screwed.
• New Age- If you can’t accept that you are your own God then you are worthless.
• Patriotism- Our country is the best. We must hoard our resources and conquer anyone not born here.
• False Christianity- We are morally superior to everyone. And if you don’t agree then you are going to burn in Hell.
• True Christianity- We are not better, just better off. We just want to follow Jesus.

So I read something that really got me steamed. It is from the out-of-control patriotism department.

We need to send money to the following country: United States Of America. Many are without food, shelter and clean drinking water. Residents are going without heat for the winter and no AC in the summer. Millions are without jobs, we need good healthcare for the sick. STOP sending our money overseas to countries that want to see America go under!!! We have people here that lack the basic human needs. Do you have the guts to re-post?

So now I am going to talk about the religion of patriotically loving the USA.

Oh my goodness, poor America is in such poor shape. We are in such a depression. No way! Sadly, most of the people who lived through the depression of the 1920’s are gone or ramble incoherently. And even then, the depression of the 1920’s was nowhere near as hellish as what most African countries experience on a yearly basis.

Where should I begin to address this insanity? First of all the poorest American is far richer than most of the world’s middle class. And just so you know I’m not blowing smoke, I have travelled internationally for 31 years and have been a Protestant missionary most of that time. During that time I have participated in meeting the needs of people in each of these areas. Let’s look at the points she mentioned.

Temperature-  Heat in winter and aircon. These sound like necessities but aircon was only invented under 100 years ago and most of the world still lives without it. True, some older Americans die in heat that is over 105 degrees Fahrenheit. But how about desert dwellers who experience 105 degrees to be one of the cool-season temperatures and live in 115degrees regularly.

Heat- it would be hard for me to believe that there truly are large groups of people in America who don’t have this. There are millions of people in N. Russia and N. China who experience this problem (When there is no wood to burn or when there are regular black-outs). In America, I could assume that there is a grandma unable to retrieve wood to burn, but I don’t think the numbers of freezing deaths in the USA is comparable to other frigid places in the world.

Food. Seriously? I have spent lots of time with homeless people in America. They are very well fed. Have you ever been to certain countries in Africa and watched as a woman buried her third child who died from starvation and malnutrition? This does not happen in America. Ever! If anything, I believe the conspiracy that the American poor are purposely given lots of unhealthy food to keep them downtrodden. But, hey, at least they are alive.

Water. When I am in villages I often have to purify the water that they give me. They don’t observe this as rude. Their bodies have adjusted to the muddy bacteria-filled water they drink everyday. In western nations, I think the fluoride and even chlorine in the water are unhealthy but not as unhealthy as what 80% of the world drinks everyday. Extremely poor Americans even have access to showers, shelters, and other care. Could it be improved? Of course, it should be. Do Americans generously address the needs of the needy? Well, far better then the developing and underdeveloped nations of the world.

Shelter- The homeless people that I have spent time with have, for one reason or another chosen that lifestyle. I may not agree with their choices but the point is that they do have choices. For millions of people in this world without shelter there is no choice. Typically, they are fleeing for their lives from ruthless regimes.

Healthcare- Seriously? I mean, of course Germany and Australia do it better than America, but come on, America already does healthcare better than most of the world. Could it be improved and more just? Absolutely. But our screwed up system, which, even though it gets worse each day is still better than most places in the world. How about Cambodia where there are 1.6 doctors per 10,000 people

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_phy_per_1000_peo-physicians-per-1-000-people. How about Burma or N. Korea where if you suffer a serious accident or illness then there is a high probability that you will die, especially if you go to a hospital.

Jobs- In the USA we have an unemployment rate of about 10%. Let’s look at other places in the wold. How about Zimbabwe is 97%, Nauru 90%, Turkmenistan 70%, Senegal 48%, Kenya 40%, Djibouti 59%, Honduras 27%, Vanuatu 78%

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_unemployment_rate

The world is horrible. USA is a little less horrible. So here I read where this woman has decided that one group of people at her choosing is more deserving than any of the others I have mentioned. Her people, just because they are her people, should receive more resources. Let me suggest that America squanders resources worse than any other country I have ever visited. What makes them so deserving? Is it our wonderful ancestors who worked so tirelessly to create this paradise on earth? What about us? Do we deserve all the benefits we receive, especially Freedom? (For the time being, until the TSA and Homeland Insecurity finally eradicate it.)

Here is the world she would like us to live in. We re-allocate our giving to people who have already told me they don’t want it (They have their reasons.) Then we need to use our remaining money for our own selfish impulse buys (Like that new iPad). We should completely stop helping everyone in the rest of the world because they should have been smart enough to be born in America. Let’s hoard all our resources and plan to invade the rest of the world and make them just like us. Then we can all be happy. How does that sound to you?