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Friday, June 26, 2009

Debbie Downer

Don't call me Debbie Downer.

People are all in a tizzy about Michael Jackson, Ed McMahon, and Farrah Fawcett dying this week. Listen, I read Perez Hilton occasionally. I read about stupid celebrity news every now and then. But how did we become such a celebrity obsessed culture? Why do papparazzi have a job? Why are there so many magazines at the check-out counter at Target and Kroger that are almost 100% about celebrities and their lives and their homes and their cars and their stalkers?

I just don't get it. Its a curious thing.

The World Water Council will tell you that 4,000-5,000 children die every day of preventable waterborne diseases. Every day.

Most people don't give a damn about it. But I can't go anywhere without hearing about freaking Michael Jackson or Farrah Fawcett.

We spend $450 billion on Christmas every year. Every year. It would take about $10 billion to provide every person in the world clean water--that's not a bottle of water. That's the cost of setting up clean water wells and purification systems. And it would only cost us 1/40 of what we spend on Christmas every year.

I'm not perfect. I'm to blame, too.

What happened to us?

How can thousands and thousands of people die every day of preventable diseases and lack of food and we not care? But the "king of pop" dies and that's all I can read about on news sites.

I just don't get it.

2 comments:

{Life Is Good} said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
{Life Is Good} said...

Me Either.
Andrew Sullivan makes a great point about Jackson's death:
"His young voice was almost a miracle, his poise in retrospect eery, his joy, tempered by pain, often unbearably uplifting. He made the greatest music video of all time; and he made some of the greatest records of all time. He was everything our culture worships; and yet he was obviously desperately unhappy, tortured, afraid and alone."
I assume that even on earth he knew that the hoopla was without merit, but I am certain he knows that now.