Thank you to the collection of artists who are working to release an update of “We Are The World” to bring attention to the crisis in Haiti. Efforts like this do linger in the public conscience for ever afterward. I remember the original “We Are The World” when it came out, and though I preferred Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” the efforts of so many artists to collaborate and create an everlasting song for such hardship was truly sobering and inspiring. My mind is still startled to attention each time I hear those songs, their cause renewed and hope rekindled. As resolute and productive as last month’s Haiti tribute was, it was a singular event. The songs from that event are available and selling tremendously, though I haven’t heard any of them on the radio. A charity single offers the prospect of endurance. With each second of airplay, a reminder is sent throughout the ether, springing the cause to the forefront of our minds. Just as the scurge of Ethiopian famine receded from the headlines, it is inevitable that Haiti’s plight will diminish from the media’s spotlight in favor of a new story. Yet the crisis will remain, and no matter how well the country may one day heal, we can always be reminded of how tragedy brought artists, so often maligned for offering political opinions, to dutiful action. I’ve never understood criticism of artists who try to use their celebrity to bring attention to a cause, if you don’t believe in it, you can just ignore it. Artists have achieved fame for other efforts, whereas politicians have achieved fame based on the pretense of representing the people’s voice. Most times when we see politicians rallying an issue, it is simply to extend their own coverage in the hope of extending their power, not because it is the true interest of their constituency. The current program of obstinance in Washington is simply an exercise of undermining the opposition regardless of the cost to the people. Showbusiness is certainly a minefield of warring egos, but this horrible disaster has riveted so many to look beyond themselves, work together, and use their fame for a good cause. That’s a good lesson for us all.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100202/music_nm/us_quake_haiti_song
