The French to Our Rescue?

France is among the many nations that have offered aid to the United States following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. That's the same France that right-wingers hate because it didn't support the idea of sending American soldiers into Iraq to risk their lives while searching for non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction.

While President Bush and other officials have thanked the rest of the world in general for their generosity, I haven't heard Bush specifically shout out a "merci" to the French.

One of the most interesting aspects of these offers of help is that it's not just our traditional allies who are coming to our aid. For example, Fidel Castro, calling a "truce" in Cuba's ideological war with America, offered to send over a thousand doctors and 26 tons of medicine to the disaster area.

Wealthy nations like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia gave $500 million and $255 million respectively.

Indonesia sent 45 doctors and 10,000 blankets.

And in a touching move, Sri Lanka, itself devastated by the tsunami, sent $25,000 in aid.

Our neighbors, Canada and Mexico were, not surprisingly, swift and generous in their support.

I saw an interview with a Mexican naval officer who was in Louisiana, and he said that after all the United States had done for Mexico, he was proud to help us.

One reaction to all of this outpouring of help from around the world is, "We always help other countries. It's nice to see them reciprocate in our time of need." You always hope that when you're generous, others will be generous to you if you ever need it. But you never know if cousin Ned will come through for you until there's a crisis. Well, these countries have come through.

But another reaction to seeing the Mexican Army and Navy helping out, and to hearing about other countries sending cash, fuel, and medical supplies is a little more complex: It's nice that these other places are being so generous, but it's a little scary that we need their help. In this isolationist "We don't need the rest of the world" times, it's a bit weird to hear Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice say that no aid had been turned down and "every contribution is important."

So, my schizophrenic reaction is that it's great that these countries want to help us, but it's disturbing that we evidently need their help. We're not as big as rich or as self-sufficient as we always thought. You're not hearing President Bush say, "Thanks, but no thanks. We can do this completely ourselves." He even spoke at the United Nations the other day -- an institution that the right usually characterizes as evil or irrelevant.

I guess when we've stretched your own resources razor thin, and then disaster strikes, the rest of the world is suddenly no longer irrelevant to us.