Hey. I know. It's been a long week.
So, I went back to work Monday and worked all week with the exception of a half day on Thursday. And it was OK. I was major league uncomfortable for a few days, but once I went to the doctor Thursday afternoon and got the staples removed, I felt much better. Now, I'm working on building up my strength and weaning myself from television. That might prove to be the hardest part. Giving up hydrocodone is easier than skipping a day of CNN and the ever so balanced Fox News.
Speaking of television, we watched (along with several bajillion other folks) the American Idol "Idol Gives Back" show which it seems has raised around $60 million for Charity Projects Entertainment Fund (CPEF). If you click on that last sentence you can read all about the fund and how the money will be distributed which brings me to the story I wanted to tell...
Two mornings after the show I was driving to work and flipping through my very limited radio sources (Sirius was acting up) when I heard something that made me stop on the Rick and Bubba Show. Now, I've heard them before, and I've even laughed at them before - many times. But, I have to say that the last few times I've listened to them, I've been irritated by this self righteous attitude they seem to have. I'm not sure why it took me so long to notice it, but I digress. Thursday morning they were talking about "Idol Gives Back" and were being very critical of the whole thing. This intrigued me since I thought the show was lovely and considered it a huge success. Seems Rick and Bubba are concerned that the money raised will not really get to who needs it the most, blah, blah, blah. (See, if I were Fox News and wanted to be fair and balanced, I would give you their whole side, but I'm not and I won't.)
In the process of discussing all of this, one of them (I can't tell them apart - two rednecks with inflated egos - we'll call him Redneck #1) mentioned that he thought that it (the show) was just another way for celebrities to play on our emotions and badger folks into feeling guilty and giving money. He went on to say that now that we've raised all this money, we really aren't even sure it will end up in the right hands. I think (I didn't hear the beginning of his rant) he isn't sure "celebrities" are the best at this philanthropy thing. The other one (We'll call him Redneck #2) mentioned that he felt that Christian based organizations do the best job of distributing aid and funds to those in need. He said that several times, and I'm not saying he's wrong about that, but I'm not sure where he got that information or what data he has to back it up. He could be completely right about it. I don't know. But what came next is that part that I don't get.
Just as I was starting to realize where he was going with this, Redneck #2, elaborated on his whole Christian organizations providing aid theory and said that the main reason they are better at this is because they also spread the Gospel and that they (Christians who distribute aid) can educate these less fortunate folk and help them realize that without Jesus their situation is never going to get better. I thought about that for a moment and before I could say what I was thinking, Redneck #2 said that yes, he did know that there are some innocent victims out there in the world who need our help. He offered up the babies in Africa who are HIV positive as an example. Redneck #1 decides to pipe up at this point and say something like, "Yeah, but you gotta look at where this AIDS thing started."
I didn't hear anything after that. I yelled something, but can't remember what it was and I hit the power button on my radio so hard that my hand hurt the rest of the morning. My eyes filled with tears, and I was almost shocked at my own reaction. I was so sad. Things like this - ridiculous comments like those - used to make me angry. Now, they make me feel sick and helpless. Just when you think the world might be a little bit nicer place, WHACK! It's not. And how many people were driving down the road Thursday morning listening to that same bullshit and nodding their heads in agreement and offering up a silent "Amen" as they sipped their coffee? I would imagine far too many.
