Thinking of Haiti, thinking of leaving.

As a student in American Studies, I'm immersed in the culture of my homeland. Whether that culture is regionalized—such as my particular interest in the South—and/or if it's, visual, racial, gender, economic, etc., what's happening in America over the past few days as the situation in Haiti continues to deteriorate are fascinating. I find that I'm willing, desperately wanting, to drop everything and hitch a Red Cross boat to Haiti to help out. I feel that my instinct to help is shared by many Americans. I want to do more than just text a few numbers that donates $10 in my name. As of today $9 million has been raised through these text messages. I didn't lift a finger during Katrina, and I felt a sense of shame. I see this same sense or urgency on TV in the faces of aid workers and ordinary Americans who have once again banded together to help a foreign country in a time a need. In this case I'm thinking of Indonesia after the tsunami, not Iraq or Afghanistan. At the same time I can't help but be appalled at the politicalization of this crisis by the most popular of the far right media figures, and by a few on the left.

According to the NY Daily News:

The ever-controversial radio talk host is taking fire for advising people not to donate to Haitian relief through the fund set up by the White House.

If you do that, said Limbaugh, you’ll probably just end up on an Obama campaign mailing list – and a big chunk of your donation will get siphoned off by government bureaucrats.

White House press secretaryRobert Gibbs called Limbaugh’s assertions "really stupid"

But the heaviest flak has come from Limbaugh’s other comment that "You already give to Haitian relief – it’s called the income tax."

There seems to be an increasing level of hate in this country over the past two years that makes me ashamed to live here. It's hard to say it's a vocal minority. I'm quickly starting to realize that it very well may be the majority. People want to "take their country back," but from what? From a Black man? From socialists? I'm OK with paying taxes because I want quality roads, schools and and other municipal services. These are not created out of thin air. I'm not sure I want my children to grow up in a country where they may be able to afford a decent standard of living, but is devoid of soul and character. There is more to life than that. My feelings on this are being torn by the selfless displays of sacrifice I see on TV and the hate I hear from conservatives. It's a venom that is infecting our country to a point that I want to leave. I want to move to some Finish Fjord (Sp?), or the Scottish Highlands and be done with it all and turn off American talk radio/cable news/and newspapers for good. I'm really fed up, which brings me back to Haiti. As I study today, reading another article on identity construction or literary criticism, I really want to get off my ass, hop a plane and help rebuild Haiti. 

Read more:http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/01/15/2010-01-15_rush_limbaugh_haiti_earthquake_comments_are_really_stupid_says_white_house_press.html#ixzz0ci38iaSt