So last weekend I watched the rerun of the Live 8 concert on VH1. I’ve been reading quite a bit about the ONE Campaign lately, particularly regarding the ongoing battle against HIV/AIDS, and I have to say that most of this movement makes me smile. It’s great to bring attention to important global issues, even if it takes a couple dozen celebrities to do it. However, the snide pessimist part of me won’t shut up about a couple of things..
Firstly, the Live 8 tv cameras in Philadelphia and London swept over massive hordes of people in the audience–something akin to battle shots in the Lord of the Rings movies. I see all of these people on tv, think about all the crew people and vendors and guards–not to mention the droves of celebrities themselves, and I wonder why only 100,000 people have signed the ONE Declaration on www.one.org. That’s nothing, folks
Did all those tube-topped brunettes in the audience just scream for Fergie, buy their flashy bracelets, and then head back home in their expensive cars, complaining about gas prices and DUI laws? Where’s the interest once Bono has left the stage?
And then, last night I came home, and one of my roommates was watching Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous on tv. And right there on the screen were the haughty faces of so many of those celebs who I had just seen behind the microphones of the Live 8 concert, only instead of talking about debt relief and access to potable water, here they were buying islands and Jackie O’s old suitcases for thousands upon thousands of dollars. It’s disgusting.
I know I don’t do as much as I could. I expect many of us have experienced the guilt of coveting crap while our neighbors are suffering. But if I can give two years of my life to serving others, why can’t celbrities give up their gaudy bling and actually walk the walk?