Beating poverty, once again.
Plus ce change...
It was a lovely summer day when I was in grad school. I was in the park when I was approached by another student, who I recognized as being in the same program. She had a clipboard and was gathering signatures "to end hunger". It was called the Hunger Project, and, she said, if they get enough signatures, they can end hunger by the year 2000 - which in those days was still a long way off. I respectfully declined to sign, and in a friendly way, I expressed my doubts about her approach. I admit I needled her a little and she walked away pretty irked. Year 2000 has come and gone now, and I understand hunger is still with us. So too, in a way, is the Project. You'll be glad to know they're doing good work, I read on their website, even though one of the founders was that dingbat Werner Erhard, founder of est.
...plus ce la meme chose.
Forward to the other night when I saw an ad on TV about "ending poverty". It was clips from every famous person you've ever seen: P. Diddy (known around our house as "P.Diddly Ding-dong Doofus - stolen joke), Brad Pitt, Bono, Pat Robertson, George Clooney, etc., etc. And I mean et cetera. Watch the video. They don't want your money, just your voice.
Now, I don't think we're going to beat AIDS , starvation and extreme poverty an economic redistribution which would preclude most, if not all, our current financial institutions and behavior. Oh, yeah, and a medical breakthrough. So signing a petition, or signing a declaration seems pretty feeble, then and now.
(However, I salute Bono his continuing work, and Tom Hanks, and the other stars. But not Pat Robertson, and I'm not so sure about P Diddy, who apparently has a thing about clowns, but does help feed the needy.)
But I won't sign the petition or buy a bracelet.
It was a lovely summer day when I was in grad school. I was in the park when I was approached by another student, who I recognized as being in the same program. She had a clipboard and was gathering signatures "to end hunger". It was called the Hunger Project, and, she said, if they get enough signatures, they can end hunger by the year 2000 - which in those days was still a long way off. I respectfully declined to sign, and in a friendly way, I expressed my doubts about her approach. I admit I needled her a little and she walked away pretty irked. Year 2000 has come and gone now, and I understand hunger is still with us. So too, in a way, is the Project. You'll be glad to know they're doing good work, I read on their website, even though one of the founders was that dingbat Werner Erhard, founder of est.
...plus ce la meme chose.
Forward to the other night when I saw an ad on TV about "ending poverty". It was clips from every famous person you've ever seen: P. Diddy (known around our house as "P.Diddly Ding-dong Doofus - stolen joke), Brad Pitt, Bono, Pat Robertson, George Clooney, etc., etc. And I mean et cetera. Watch the video. They don't want your money, just your voice.
Now, I don't think we're going to beat AIDS , starvation and extreme poverty an economic redistribution which would preclude most, if not all, our current financial institutions and behavior. Oh, yeah, and a medical breakthrough. So signing a petition, or signing a declaration seems pretty feeble, then and now.
(However, I salute Bono his continuing work, and Tom Hanks, and the other stars. But not Pat Robertson, and I'm not so sure about P Diddy, who apparently has a thing about clowns, but does help feed the needy.)
But I won't sign the petition or buy a bracelet.
posted by an atheist | 10:10 PM
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