Recently, I overheard a conversation between a conservative and a liberal, both friends of mine whom I respect very much. Their conversation got me thinking.

My liberal friend made the case that we must help everyone who needs assistance to the extent we are able, if only for moral reasons. Helping only those like us and not the strangers among us is no charity at all, but just another form of selfishness.

But my conservative friend said that we must take care of ourselves first. If we were not strong enough to take care of ourselves, then he asked what benefit would our help be to others.

The conservative argument is basically that if you are weak, then you must preserve what you have to protect yourself, and only when you are strong can you afford to be liberal. I don't believe this. We have but 1/20 of the world's population, yet we consume 1/4 of its resources. We have the highest access to quality goods and services and we have the mightiest military.

So I wonder, if the most and the best is not enough to justify a little more liberalism, just how much is enough?