Posted on 05/02/2007 10:21:11 AM PDT by ventanax5
American Idol has been a remarkable success. The show revives the old myth of Pygmalion to chronicle the transformation of ordinary Americans into pop-stars and instant celebrities, a plot-line familiar from a thousand Broadway plays and Hollywood musical comedies. Not content with earning billions of dollars, however, the show’s producers now must assert their social consciences. Like a medieval knight buying masses for his soul after a life of plunder and pillage, the show is now compensating for it riches by raising money for the poor.
Doing something about the starving children of Africa, of course, is now all the fashion with celebrities. It’s no surprise that American Idol is jumping on the media-powered bandwagon that Angelina and Oprah and Bono have ridden, picking up free good publicity along the way. So now we are seeing Simon Cowell, the show’s acid-tongued Brit judge, and the metrosexual host Ryan Seacrest journeying to Africa to gawk at the suffering and prick our overfed American consciences. The goal is to get us to contribute money so that “something can be done.”
(Excerpt) Read more at victorhanson.com ...
OK, but the bottom line is important here: raising money to help the starving and poor. There is nothing wrong with that. They raised $70 M, no small sum.
Be good to raise money to raise an army to overthrow some corrupt governments also. That would end a lot of suffering.
Throw out the dictators, end the corruption, reform the economies and start enforcing contracts and property rights. And, make the West drop the ban on genetic engineering of crops, end the protectionism and quit subsidizing their (in comparison) rich farmers.
Throwing billions at corrupt autocrats over decades may make Western elites feel better, but it's done precious little good. One man who understands that, Wolfowitz, is about to be unhorsed in a coup by the status-quo bunch.
I agree.
From the article:
The first point to make is that the problems of Africa are not about money. According to William Easterly — whose White Man's Burden all wannabe do-gooders should be forced to read — the West has transferred to the Third World $2.3 trillion in aid over the last fifty years. Yet here we are, being told once again that more money is the solution to the problem. But let's face it, alleviating the suffering of poor little Africans isn't really the issue.[snip]
There's also the cheap guilt that provides us transient emotional pleasure, one that rarely leads to anything more than dropping another few bucks into the bottomless pit of African cultural, political, and economic dysfunction. And there's the pleasurable sensation of contemplating our own superior sensitivity. We must be good if we feel so bad.
[snip]
Actually there's a lot wrong with it. They're doing more harm than good.
L
I read an amusing report the other day about the scheme of that Columbia professor (whose name escapes me right now) who insists if the money is spent right, throwing money will work even without reforms. He’s got a pilot project going to prove that, but it isn’t producing results. Surprise, surprise.
Where’s the $70 million going to go? And who will verify that it reaches the intended recipients? Any idea how many of thse adorable orphans will have better lives because of this massive cash influx?
Pouring this money into Afrca just lines the pockets of corrupt govt officials. It is an endless morass, fueled by liberal compassion. Putting $70 million into the hands of the churches with missions and missionaries on the ground MIGHT actually accomplish some good for a lot of people.
Feeding the poor just gets you more of them.
OK - one BIG, HUGE problem with this - is that they've been there before and done that - AND IT WORKED! The people became self-sufficient. Look at Zimbawbee - what Mugabe is doing to his people. They were once the food basket of Africa - now, look at THEM. Looks like Venezula is heading that way, too. The problem that the author did not talk about is the governments of these poverty-stricken places. The governments come in and take over everything - grab it all for themselves and ration what's left out to the people. That's how they become poverty-stricken again. They need capitalism AND property rights, and freedom!
So, we're putting on concerts, and doing charity work, and taxing Americans to send money over to Africa, and for what? So, the governments can take it all? Again, and again, and again??? That's NOT the answer - the answer is to get rid of these governments and never, ever allow dictatorships again.
What I found weird was:
In a show full of syrup about love and kindness and charity, they led the audience and Jordin to believe she was being kicked off.
They played this “most shocking result in Idol history” to the hilt all the way to the end. Everyone, including Jordin, thought it was over for her. This was cruel to the audience and mostly to Jordin.
Idol proved they really aren’t charitable at all.
Indeed. It's not a matter of understanding humanity in Africa, but of not being able to find it.
OK, but the bottom line is important here: raising money to help the starving and poor.... should be: raising money to help the government and militaries steal.
Boy! Did you hit the nail on the head!
The problems in Africa mirror Iraq to some extent, tribes.
They cannot coexist it seems and short of massive interbreeding, little will change........including starving Africans.
But think of all that beach front property............
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.