I agree that travelers should give back to the locals. Many places we visit take our tourist dollars and do nothing for the poor in their country. It is a huge shame, and one that does not have an easy fix. When BIll and I travel, we tend to shop off the main markets, and eat our dinners in the mom and pop palapas etc in Mexico instead of in the tourist district.

I don’t think it is limited to Americans. People in general need to care more about each other. I think the generosity of Americans, for the most part, really cannot be disputed. We have some amazing and compassionate people in our midst and it warms my heart when I see the things cruisers from our country are doing in 3rd world countries…..just some wonderfully kind hearted people.

We donate to the Lutheran World Relief program. It is an awesome group, and the money donated is taken right to the people. Also love Dw/outB. Compassion at its finest.

There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all answer to sociological problems. My point was not that we should overlook heinous deeds and forgive the evildoers… my point was that cruisers need to be part of the solution, need to actively engage in helping the people who live in the areas they sail through. I think a lot of Americans especially tend to treat the world as their own private Disneyland, and are not nearly sensitive enough to the socioeconomic conditions in the areas they travel through. We tend to gussy up our yachts, wear jewelry worth a family’s food budget for a year, and think nothing of partying it up in places where life for the locals is not easy.

I do agree with you; some people are sheerly evil, and I have no problem putting them down like rabid dogs. But not everyone engaged in piracy is evil; many are simply desperate, and I do believe that compassion and aid is the answer there.

I’d also point out that we don’t actually know what those people were thinking. We don’t know there was no remorse. We know they committed or participated in a brutal act that should not be without consequence, but we can’t know what they were thinking at the time.

After reading this:

http://danieldrydenincidentdetails.blogspot.com/

it is very difficult for me to feel compassion, although I know this is what Christ would want from me. What I feel instead is such sadness and anger that people can be that immune to preserving the sanctity of life….that individuals are so brutal that they could kill a man, and stab an unarmed woman and not feel an ounce of remorse.

People sometimes do terrible things because they are terrible at heart, and that is the truth. They lack a moral compass. Casting blame on socio-economic issues is not the answer in many of these cases. People must be responsible for their actions, no matter where they come from.

The irony is that Nancy Dryden was a physical therapist and hoped to donate her skills to children in the local Guatemalan clinics.

After all, we are all human beings. We all want to be fed, clothed, and housed. We all want to be safe and happy. We share these things in common that we must never forget!

Love this post.