I am amazed at people's generous nature in

times of urgent need. It seems that people are very visual in recognizing need and emotional in responding. I hate that Hurricane Katrina is categorized as a time of "non-giving" and compassion. So many people gave their time and money to help rebuild New Orleans. Yes, sadly, the government did not respond well and in all practical purposes failed. That's why I'm so completely and utterly confused as to why people want to give more to the government and expect them to somehow save them. They've proven in many different administrations to be completely inept at providing basic services. How can they handle crisis? Or a trillion dollar health care program? I read horror stories of aid being sent over from foreign countries only to rot in boxes because they couldn't be used and distributed by the government. There are so many stories out there of the government's complete and utter incompetency-WHY?

I see such strength and resolve in the human spirit. In the AMERICAN spirit. If people gave like this on a daily basis to faith based organizations there would be no need for the government to step up. The poor could be cared for, the homeless sheltered, the hungry fed and the sick cared for.

Let's be more generous. Let's be more giving. Let's not look to the government to help those around us and those in foreign countries.