MOLI VIEW™

Here's what I felt after Hurricane Andrew blew the roof and walls off my house, 16 years ago, while I huddled with my parents and my infant son in the front room: hot, exhausted, shaken, and — in a way I'd never felt before — powerless. My instinct was to rush out and help other storm victims, but guess what: I was a storm victim; I needed help.

That's when I realized what a privilege it is to volunteer. Just like buying a diamond ring or driving a Hummer is a privilege. I can volunteer because I have time or money that I don't need and someone else does. Like it or not, volunteering allows me to flaunt my power.

That power dynamic is even starker among nations. With more than 100,000 people dead after Cyclone Nargis, the Myanmar government focused more on scheduled elections than on the rescue effort — and turned away aid from meddlesome outsiders who might threaten the military grip on power.

China has rallied her own citizens to donate supplies and rescue equipment but has refused to let foreign aid and aid workers enter the country, except for a small contingent from Japan and, surprisingly, the prodigal island nation of Taiwan. (Supposedly this is for "logistical" reasons — and certainly lots of outsiders swarming the countryside can be hard to control.)

As the Wall Street Journal reports today, that leaves donations from U.S. and global charities piling up, unused.

But then, the U.S. government rejected foreign aid after Hurricane Katrina. India, another aspiring world power, routinely rejects offers of foreign aid after natural disasters.

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