Tsunami? Who cares?

Am I the only one who doesn't empathize much with those tsunami victims? Does anyone else out there find it hard to relate while living in an area of the U.S. where disasters never seem to strike. Can I help it that I only feel love and pain for those individuals I personally know?
Am I wrong?
A friend has suggested that perhaps it is the way us Americans deal with tragedy and support the oppressed. We have a checkbook response to everything. Everything we see as an injustice we pay off to not feel so guilty. How many people actually did something more to help? We are too out of touch with the rest of the world. Our lifestyle is completely at odds with the lifestyle of most of the world. Are we even human anymore? More often we are mob-mentalitied groups that emotional rational individuals. Who hasn't felt pressure from society to feel bad about the situation?
I for one am going to unabashedly say that I don't care about what society thinks. My emotion is reserved for those I know. Any other emotion God will have to stir up in me because I won't let the pressure of society do it.