The National Nurses Union has nearly 12,000 volunteer nurses trying to get to Haiti to assist the doctors already there. Frustratingly, although they have valid travel documents, they are being denied entry due to a mess of bureaucratic red tape both in the U.S. and Haiti. In the meantime, the U.S. has "militarized the relief effort" sending about 16,000 troops to the country.

What's wrong with this picture? While there is a good argument to be made for ensuring security in places where there is a disaster, our government seems to have framed the relief effort by placing greater value on security, rather than that of saving lives with food and medicine.

When does value align with our values?

We're all familiar with the process of setting a goal and ensuring [...]