Live8
Yesterday I watched about 3 hours (off and on) of the Live8 webcast, and I’ve been watching some of the rebroadcast this morning. There are many things that strike me as remarkable about this global event. Here are a few thoughts buzzing in my noggin:
1. While the crowds were quite enthusiastic, on the whole the hysteria was a different species than that of run-of-the-mill rock festivals. The people were excited by the music and stardom, obviously, but for the most part seemed much more amped to be adding their voice to the worldwide yell of “Justice, not charity!” I have mixed feelings about this, since it might be easy to go to an all-day rock festival and trick oneself into believing one has really done something to “make poverty history,” while really all one has done is hang out in Hyde Park, drinking Boddington’s and blissing out on Coldplay. On the other hand, I think many people really do want to DO something, but aren’t quite sure where to start…maybe Hyde Park is a good place.
2. Most of the acts seemed genuinely honored to be there. (There were notable exceptions, such as Robbie Williams, who was mainlining the crowd’s adulation like uncut heroin.) Many debates have been had about rock stars and their pet projects, using various causes to assuage the guilt of being grotesquely rich. The cynic in me agrees. Unfortunately, the cynic has a wasting illness and is emaciated beyond recognition, and the healthier, more robust idealist feels that part of art’s role is to take a good look at the world and tell the rest of us the bad news. It’s too bad we’ve gotten in the habit of paying artists so much to entertain us instead. They can be much better at their job when they have nothing to lose.
3. There is a reason some of the biggest acts in the world are the biggest. U2, Coldplay, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Green Day and Paul McCartney kicked major booty. (In case you didn’t see Sting, he changed the threatening-stalker lyrics of “Every Breath You Take” into threatening-voter lyrics. “We’ll be watching you.” Brilliant. McCartney playing “Helter Skelter” was an almost-spiritual experience. So righteously angry. Made me almost forget the very strong Manson Family associations. And Billy Joe Armstrong is a rock star, in an wonderfully old skool kind of way. Watching 100,000 people in Berlin screaming the lyrics to Queen’s “We Are the Champions” was a transcendent moment, even 8,000 miles away.)
Perhaps this will turn out to be nothing more than 25 million people patting themselves on the back for 12 hours in 12 time zones. I hope not. Twenty-five million people could really do something between sips of Bod’s, if somebody could point them in the right direction.
Aly, I couldn’t agree more. I think there’s a major attitude of “Dude, I want to help, but what the hell do I do?” I feel it, man. There’s a lot of positive energy (within and without churches, my inner secularist has to add) to be harnessed in this culture (Western, I mean). 25 mill. Bod-sippers (my kind of people) could do a hell of a lot of good, and if folks in developed countries get hit over the head with the fact that starvation could be eradicated NOW enough times, we may actually begin to believe and act on it. Cerise
“They can be much better at their job when they have nothing to lose.”
I love that line.
If this event is the starting point, and there is momentum gained from it to actually cause change, the cynic in me will be happily surprised. I’d like to see these big-name stars and political leaders leverage their position for good over a more extended period of time. Many are using this as a one-time PR and goodwill generator, I’m going to continue to watch and see what happens over the next 6-12 months to see if they’ll continue to put action behind their voices.
I agree that discernment is important, Hash. I also think that, as a result of our ridiculous cultural emphasis on celebrity, when even one of these guys (big-name stars and political leaders) fails to follow through with the hype, the whole issue (global responsibility for poverty) will suddenly be ho-hum, old news. The problem with putting our artists and leaders on such high pedestals is that the minute they start talking about the Kaballah or illegal music downloading, that becomes the issue du jour. I appreciate that so many celebrities lent their star cred to something that’s actually important (no offense to Kaballists or illegal downloaders)…but I’m worried that we are so celebrity-driven that we as a culture can’t discern anymore what is truly important and what is just the special of the day.
maggie dawn’s post on this (linked here) represent my thoughts pretty well.
Billy Joe Armstrong of Green Day actually made this same point in a less, ahem, curse-free way. At the end of “We Are the Champions” (which was so punk rock! Way less glam than Queen. Not that there’s anything wrong with glam.) he screamed “Don’t forget that you’re the f***ing leaders! Don’t let those _________________ers make your decisions for you!” I’m sure his rant was at least 50% anarchist, but I think it was a reminder to everyone that in representative governments, elected leaders make decisions on our behalf. It would be hypocritical in the extreme to criticize any one of them if we weren’t willing to pay the $25 Billion we’re asking for. I agree with Maggie Dawn in her analysis of how poverty will truly be eliminated: when we take personal and cultural responsibility for sharing resources, even at great cost. But another part of me doubts that, even though our President is elected as our representative to the rest of the world, he has no agenda of his own. I think it’s important to remind him that he has his job at our behest (and I use the word “our” lightly), and that job is to faithfully represent our priorities and agenda to the rest of the world. I don’t abdicate my personal responsibility for sharing resources by reminding him that it’s my priority that we as a country do so.
also, this is cool
Aol gives away it’s coverage for free download.