I heard a report on one of the news stations last night, that as of that time, there were six countries pledging aid for the hurricane victims. Unfortunately I can't remember all six, and I can't find a reference to the report on the internet (since I don't remember which news station it was because Terry is a chronic "flipper" :rolleyes: ), but 3 that stick in my head are Canada, Japan and France.
France was the last mentioned and it really caught my attention. My very first thought was "Oh, trying to make up, are they?" Then after I had time to think about it, I thought "Hmmm...they're trying to send us a message that they aren't our enemy, but they will not be bullied into supporting a cause they don't believe in." Then this morning it occurred to that probably the reason they are helping is because New Orleans has a rich French heritage. From what I understand both Cajun and Creole have French roots. I can't for the life of me believe for even half a second that they're doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, and I'm one that always tries to see the good in people, but for some reason it's just not working for me when I think of why they're helping. I believe there is just too much "political baggage" between the US and France for them to just be good guys and help us out.
Here's a link I found which somewhat justifies their aid - because there are French citizens stranded. So what....if this happened in....say Texas, where there is no rich French heritage, France would say "Oh, so sorry. Sure hope you guys are ok. Gotta go."?
Maybe I'm being overly cynical and reading way too much into this, so I'd like to hear your thoughts on it.
However, don't get me wrong. I appreciate immensely any aid that is offered by another country. Like others have said, we're always there when the world needs help, where is the world when we need help? And I'm glad to say we are not being abandoned. We do still have friends out there and we appreciate their help. :)