pop culture

i have never watched a full episode of american idol and the only reason i did so today was because the tv was on and my right hand was on my book and my left hand was on my donut (sugared with chocolate filling, totally delicious and absolutely sinful, i assure you). it was an episode of idol gives back.

there are, we all know, many many people in this world who actually genuinely need help. yes, you cannot afford another holiday, she cannot buy that dress, he cannot buy that car, we cannot go for our holiday, and those children share a foam mattress ridden with bugs and mold.

all alike, alike all.

i admit i am one of the laziest people i know. my idea of a good sunday is in bed with a book and an endless supply of titbits and automatically refilling iced water with bite-sized ice cubes because i like to chew ice cubes. this is only one of the many traits i acknowledge i inherited from my mother.

and on afternoon tv which i am watching because of my immense laziness is a group of african children lying down on the foam mattress to show the hosts where they sleep. the walls are grimy concrete, the furniture in their home consists of broken pails and broken spades, and a father rendered blind from landmines is guided by his 6-year-old son onto the streets to beg for money, and a day with 5dollars is good.

and how much did your clothes cost again?

i am going to laos for 14days in july to help rebuild a library for schoolchildren there, and hopefully bring them a spark of joy. no, i don't think that everyone should be living the american dream of democracy and yada yada bla bla, but yes, i think we should all have medication, education,and more than a moldy grimy foam sheet to retreat to every night.

suddenly, the meaning of volunteerism and the importance of awareness is slapping me incessantly, and i am duly chastised and truly awakened.

i am ashamed. and are you?