It seems that as Americans, we would rather talk about things than actually DO things. Case and point: The live 8 concerts that recently took place all over the world, were crafted as a means to raise awareness and promote programs for ending hunger and starvation all over Africa. Well, what about the action that would actually end the hunger and starvation all over Africa? I can imagine that if the money that was used to promote, initiate, and carry out live 8 were used to actually FEED CHILDREN in Africa, then that would have been a much better allocation of the available resources. Instead, as my friend Jason Coleman pointed out, all of the performers at the Philadelphia show were given $20k gift bags (kind of like the Oscars). Why not give that money, to oh, let’s say… the starving people of Africa???
I am sure that Beyonce would have been okay without $20k of more shit. Even Bono (as filthy freaking rich as he is) chastises people for not giving enough; but putting on a concert to raise awareness? What about raising money? What about giving money?? I guess I just don’t understand why we hesitate to act, but love to preach about doing something? I know that if I had as much money as these people do, I would be giving out MOST of it. Sure, I would want to live comfortably, we all do, but sometimes, enough is enough. Now, that brings me to my second, deadlier point.
As discussed on this blog, we have had ample opportunity to actually take action and help the people that are being subjected to mass genocide in Darfur. We could actually use the power that we have as the “most powerful nation in the world” to do some good: stop the corrupt government of their country from killing the citizens. Instead, we have defeated nearly every chance to take action, and instead, institute a National Weekend of Prayer for Darfur. WHAT??? Say that again? We are going to have a National Weekend of Prayer for Darfur? FUCK! I guess that will comfort all of those people that are about to be killed. We, the crazy “conservative-Christian” nation are over here driving our hummers, eating our McDonalds, wearing our DeBeers diamonds (let’s not get into that…), AND, we are praying for the killing to stop. Seriously? We didn’t like what was going on in Iraq, so went over and shut it down, literally. So why not Darfur? Well, I am going to go out on a limb here, and SUGGEST that, since Darfur isn’t sitting on the world’s largest supply of oil, you know Texas T, then, we probably aren’t too worried about the instability of the region. In fact, we have other goals in front of us!! We have got to connect our pipe line, and didn’t you know it, it has to go right through Afghanistan and Iran!!! Here we come to take what we need, Iran!
So, basically, I have said that we, as Americans, don’t like to take action. But that’s not all of the story. Now, I am suggesting that not only is that the case, but also that we only take action when it will benefit us. There are people dying every couple of seconds all over Africa, from a number of things, and we do the bare minimum we can (and, unfortunately, most of the time, like the two mentioned above: NOTHING). Why is that so? Does it make you sick? Because honestly, when I think that our solution to stop the killing in Darfur is to fucking pray about it, I am NOT proud to call myself an American. Not at all. I do pray for the people in Darfur: I pray that we could be human enough to DO something about it.
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