I know the following is simplistic and fails to address the complexities of the situation - but isn't that the norm for most of the answers society comes up.

I suspect ONE of the reasons that the tsunami has touched much deeper than many of the other humanitarian issues which impact on the world is that the cause of the devistation is so obviously out of the hands of the victims, in many of the other crisis it is easy (even if misguided) to see the cause as predominately a mix of local cultural and or religious values.

- The Indian Ocean does not have a strong history of tsunami (in terms of one being a likely occurance, not in geological terms).
- The economies are dependant on the ocean, they can't simply live in the hills.
- This is not a case of one group attacking another or people breeding beyond the reasonable capacity of their land to support them, it is nature killing those who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

We are touched because this could have been us and still could be. My giving might actually make a difference rather than perpetuate the causes. Maybe the rebuilding will include early warning systems so that next time people are not at the beach when the waves hit.

I know that individual victims of other crisis may often have little or no control over what happens to them, just this time nobody did.

R0bert

Right on Greg. Agreed.

Is there not something deeply flawed about a person who equates 200000 people dying in the tsunami with a government evicting aliens who arrive here illegally, then tell as many lies as possible and rort our legal system as far as they can, being prodded and encouraged in their illegal activities every inch of the way by greedy lawyers and others?

This entire article is self-aggrandizing, feel-good rot of the highest order.

Greg, great article and a timely reminder about the importance of perspective. Selective compassion has a way of tearing at the foundations of society because it raises more questions than answers. When compassion is consistent then it does a better job of reflecting our basic values. It provides a better sense of who we are and a guide in how best to care. I personally cannot separate out my compassion in one disaster or humanitarian conflict from another and yet that is what so many of us are indulging in as a community. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said "When a whole nation is roaring Patriotism at the top of its voice, I am fain to explore the cleanness of its hands and purity of its heart."

Bozzie (always such a reliable perspective) - you're just indulging in selective interpretation, which makes your argument deeply flawed rather than Greg's article. Feel-good rot of the highest order? This article doesn't make me feel good at all.

Audrey, the article wasn't written to make you feel good. Greg wrote it to make himself feel like a top class human being. (Which I really have no doubt he is - & no I'm not being sarcastic.)

Who doesn't feel bad about what's happening in many countries of the world? But what does Greg say we should do about it? Nothing! Not a word about nuts & bolts, just a diatribe about how awful everyone is, what mongrels companies are, what a hipocrite Costello is, what an evil government we have for trying to protect our borders etcetera, ad nauseum.

What does he think happens when aid is sent to places like Somalia or the Sudan? None of it gets to the people in need, the government takes it to feed it's own troops or sell it to buy more arms to annihilate more of the population. The best thing to help the Sudan would be for the gutless United Nations to get in there and use a bit of force. But oh no we couldn't do that, we'll all sit around and send money and food to prop up the government while another few hundred thousand people die.

Audrey, you might like the masochistic feeling of being told what a worthless, nasty little person you are - but I'm getting a little bit sick of it.

I totally agree with Bozzie.To allow illegal immigrants here with an open door policy will only see our country reduced to the chaos these people are trying to escape.We are willing to help these people in their own countries.These nations must evolve at their own pace and must practise contraception to improve quality of life.To come to this country you must have the right skills,intelligence and positive attitudes to want to contribute,not just to collect a pension or social security benefits.