A child does not choose where they are born. They do not choose war, famine, exploitation, or violence. They do not choose to be orphaned, trafficked, starved, bombed, or recruited as soldiers. They are, by definition, innocent. And yet, across the world, we see adults—powerful, influential people—turning away from their suffering, dismissing their pain as someone else’s burden.
We hear it in debates over foreign aid, in dismissals of humanitarian crises, in the chillingly casual phrase: “not our problem.”As if human suffering has borders. As if morality and responsibility stop at the water’s edge.
There is nothing strong, nothing “alpha” or “masculine” about letting children die a slow death from malnutrition, disease, or bombs. There is no nobility in ignoring the cries of a girl sold into slavery, a boy pressed into war, a toddler starving in a besieged city. It is not cool or brave or renegade to abandon the most vulnerable. It is not some kind of admirable strength to pretend they do not exist.
Putting the needs of our own country first does not mean we must turn our backs on the rest of the world. The two are not mutually exclusive. A nation that is strong, moral, and principled does not need to look away from suffering to preserve its power—it is powerful because it stands for what is right.
Children—whether in the United States, Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Syria, Israel, India, or anywhere else—depend on adults to be their safe place. To advocate for them when they have no voice. To act when they are too small to stand on their own. That is not political. That is not partisan. That is simply what it means to be a decent human being.
Some will argue that our resources should stay within our own borders. That we have enough suffering here. And yes, we do. There are children in our own communities who are neglected, abused, and starving. But the answer to suffering is never indifference—it is action. The world’s pain is not a competition. It is a call to responsibility.
A child’s life is not worth more because of the flag they are born under. Their pain is not less because their suffering happens far from our sight. The moment we start deciding whose suffering matters and whose does not, we lose a piece of our own humanity.
We cannot save every child, but we can refuse to be indifferent. We can refuse to look away. Because the moment we accept that the suffering of a child is “not our problem,” we make the world and the United States a colder, crueler, and more dangerous place—for them, and for us all.
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So right, Hollie. As I wrote in my LinkedIn post when I shared your article - we don't have to do everything, but we should try not to do nothing. Keep writing great stuff, it matters.
You realize that other countries have governments, infrastructure and citizen who pay taxes also, right? We American tax payers should not be supporting other countries when we have an out of control CPS that “loses” thousands of children a year and a large homeless population
So right, Hollie. As I wrote in my LinkedIn post when I shared your article - we don't have to do everything, but we should try not to do nothing. Keep writing great stuff, it matters.
You realize that other countries have governments, infrastructure and citizen who pay taxes also, right? We American tax payers should not be supporting other countries when we have an out of control CPS that “loses” thousands of children a year and a large homeless population