American Idol Gives Back

This past weeks American Idol, Wednesday's installment, was more than just your typical Idol show. This show was not only jammed packed with musical numbers by notable legendary veterans but it also was a showcase for the health crisis in Africa and our countries own problems. Bring such powerhouse performers to the table including: Josh Groban, Earth, Wind And Fire, Celine Dion, Bono, Madonna, Rascal Flatts, Jeff Beck, Annie Lennox, the original American Idol, Kelly Clarkson, and the biggest idol of all time, Elvis Presley (thanks to CGI of course, his duet with Celine was a surprise indeed) among others I haven't mentioned. The genesis of the show was basically a fund raiser without the never ending telethon format. Idol's sponsors were huge contributors to the bottom line. They pitched in cash for every vote cast from Tuesday nights show. AT&T, Coca-Cola, News Corporation, Ford, among the front runners, Allstate and ExxonMobil also made matching contributions to Save the Children and Malaria No More. The One Campaign: The Campaign to Make Poverty History, also lent their support and voice to the nights festivities. The last tally I heard was over $70 million dollars for the evening. That amount did not come from the big corporations but from Idol fans and people who may not watch the show on a regular basis but tuned in to see what the fuss was about.

Though music and the contestants pending eliminations were not the sole main focus of the evening it did lend itself to the amazing soundtrack of the night. I found myself more transfixed on the footage of Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest's trip to Africa. Many of us who follow the world's health crisis already knew of the devastation going on in the country. The poverty, the AIDS crisis, especially among children weighed heavy on the heartstrings of myself and those who watched the show with me. We can only hope that the nights broadcast opened up the eyes of those Idol fans that were not aware of the travesty, hopefully making the younger fans aware that there is a whole world outside their living room and beyond their newest game systems. They are, after all, the future of our country and just maybe running things when we middle aged folks hit our golden years. It is hard to watch such footage and not be touched. The plight of a 12 year old boy and his sister living alone in a tent because both their parents had died of AIDS was just one of the heartbreaking images of the evening. It's impossible to watch such things and not feel that 'our' problems in comparison are trivial and self indulgent. Many of us have a decent place to live, a roof over our heads and food in the refrigerator. I found myself watching the program and thinking, 'What in the world am I complaining about and do I really have the right to be so materialistic and shallow? Well, maybe not shallow. I help and do what I can when it comes to charity and such. I feel it's just the human thing to do. After all, we're all in this together, right?

Randy Jackson took us all back to New Orleans during his segment. Those images were just as horrific. How is it possible that after almost 2 years the victims of Hurricane Katrina still live in trailers, haven't been able to rebuild their homes or lives, and live in deplorable conditions? What happened and who dropped the ball? Obviously the government but it's not my intention to make this a political 'bashing' piece even though I feel it is warranted. I've never really understood why it seems so hard to take care of our own people during tragedy and disasters, whether it be personal or from natural events. It is ironic that the most popular show on television, a 'reality' variety show has taken on the cause to bring these tragedies to the masses in order to make us aware that we truly can make a difference, one by one. It should give us all a reason to pause and wonder, what will happen the next time around? What will this year's hurricane season bring? I know, people especially in Florida, go through the stress and anxiety every year. But what about the rest of the south now? We've all got our eyes fixed on New Orleans and other states that were devastated over the past couple of years. The same can be said for those folks living in 'tornado alley' whom live with the danger of natural disasters on a daily basis.

Obviously we all have our crosses to bear and our own problems. And I'm sure once Idol was over, we all returned into our own cocoon's and focused once again on ourselves. It's only natural, after all, self preservation is in our nature no matter what longitude you call home. My hat's off to Idol for bringing a new consciousness into our living rooms. I commend them for sounding the alarm and showing us what the problems are and yet showing us that with a little effort and support, we ourselves can fix it.