The oil spill in the Gulf began on April 20, 2010. Tomorrow will mark 10 weeks since the disaster began. It is possible the oil spilled will top 100,000,000 gallons before relief wells can stem the ferocious flow. That is 10 times the size of the Exxon Valdez disaster.
The earthquake in Haiti took place on January 12, 2010. By February 1, the “usual suspects” were back in the studio to record “We Are the World, 2010.” The original, to raise money for food aid for Africa and the US, racked up over $60 million — and that was 25 years ago. Interestingly, it is a bit difficult to find out how much (if any) money has been raised by this most recent display of humanitarian generosity by pop’s elite.
So where are the scions of pop culture now — pushing three months since the onset — with regard to the tragedy in the Gulf? Sure, we’ve heard from some highly visible Gulf residents (Carville comes to mind), but where’s Harry Connick Jr., whose certainly didn’t let the Katrina disaster “go to waste,” to paraphrase Rahm “Oh Come, Oh Come” Emanuel.
No one disagrees that this disaster is real and it is severe. But why have we become so selective in the tragedies we will use our pop-culture capital on to change or fix?
I think you know — the folks who are out in front of these tragedies are part of another interest group — which is aligned with President Obama and his agenda. To shed light on this disaster, and to raise private resources to address it, is to acknowledge that Obama’s response has been a failure. And we can’t have that, not among the pop-culture elite. No.
What do you think?
