Kevin, I'm fairly sure I've lived in a place far poorer than most here will have experienced. One day, making my way back to the border from a clinic in Mozambique, I met a woman carrying a baby that I immediately identified as having TB and Kwashiorkor, not long for this world unless I could get her to the hospital (which was entirely and quietly funded by a generous Mid-West congregation, fwiw.) She could not understand me and insisted on going on her way. I never saw her again. However, she was carrying 3 corn kernels- probably all the wealth she had- and she tried to press one on me. So I learned a valuable lesson about generosity. The lesson is that often those with the least are the most generous, while those of us with plenty sometimes tend to be appallingly selfish and to disguise this behind various forms of fig-leaf to try to convince ourselves and others that against all appearances we are in fact acting morally. Not pointing the finger at anybody- least of all you- it's just an observation. While I'm on the topic I'd refer back to those quotations of Jefferson I posted earlier. For an interesting exercise, people might imagine meeting Jefferson at a dinner party where we get the opportunity to explain our understanding of Constitutional principles and the American way, in particular our attitudes towards Obama's current efforts to establish a public health insurance scheme. What would Jefferson think of us-?

FWIW in your case I imagine that he would engage you in robust conversation that you would both enjoy, but I'll let you decide that for yourself. ;-)