LIVE 8 THE REVOLUTION STARTS HERE (MAYBE)
Every single day, 30,000 children die, needlessly, of extreme poverty.
On July 6th, we finally have the opportunity to stop that shameful statistic.
8 world leaders, gathered in Scotland for the G8 summit, will be presented with a workable plan to double aid, drop the debt and made the trade laws fair. If these 8 men agree, then we will become the generation that made poverty history.
But they'll only do it if enough people tell them to.
That's why we're staging Live 8. 5 concerts, 100 artists, a million spectators, 2 billion viewers, and 1 message... To get those 8 men, in that 1 room, to stop 30,000 children dying every single day of extreme poverty.
We don't want your money - we want you!
As the West slithers further & further away from the old ideological alignments towards the soulless pragmatism of realpolitik, one becomes almost nostalgic for the clear battle lines of the Cold War. Whilst the purity of vision demanded by the ideologues of the day led to narrow dogmatism, at least it had its inception in some sort of search for a better way.
I feel no nostalgia for the verities of the old world socialism that fired up my fathers generation in the 20s & 30s. Nor do I yearn for a return to the freewheeling, roll-it-up-&-smoke-it libertarianism of the 60s. But I do miss keenly having my politics taken seriously enough by the Establishment that it looks to its locks & shutters.
Now Bushs hokey smile & Blairs fluorescent grin indicate all too clearly that they feel safe & secure in the sort of bland, one-size-fits-all democracy that can tolerate, even celebrate, the right of the minority to protest & propose. They know that the large majority is at home watching Who Wants to be a Millionaire? & that no shouting in the streets will ever be loud enough to rattle their windows. What has the Material World to fear from a few noisy idealists..?
Well, if Bob Geldoff has his way for the G8 Summit in Edinburgh on July 6th not only will the Royalty of Rock take to the stage in the name of ending world poverty forever, but TV screens will either be tuned to watching them doing it or theyll be dark because their erstwhile viewers will be thronging the streets, rattling windows.
Now, Geldoff is no noisy idealist. Whatever justification his detractors may offer for their criticisms, the least that can be said in his favour is that hes a loose cannon amongst a battery of spiked guns. The statesmans skills of diplomacy, balance, fairness, the even-handed way do not inhibit or constrain Geldoff in the promotion of his causes. He has no use for the elegant equivocation that the serpentine clauses of the English language make so easy. A ready reliance on Anglo-Saxon serves him much more effectively. Even his physical appearance is an offence to the bland symmetry of Western politicking. The years have been kind to him in preserving his hayrick hairstyle, which, for all the vicissitudes of fashion, still declares rock and roll over respectability.
So maybe, just maybe, if equilibrium between skilful propaganda & authentic improvisation is maintained, we may just hear, if only fleetingly, the sound of marching, charging feet, boy. And their echo may just reverberate for long enough to bring about a little realpolitik of the right kind. Not a good plan, I suggest, to all hold our breath until aid is doubled & trade laws are made equitable. But the prospect of the dropping of Third World Debt might just about show on the radar in the event of enough racket being made by enough noisy idealists.
Oh, and while were on the subject of idealism: was there ever within the long span of human history a notion more blindly, more naively, more hopelessly idealistic than that free enterprise capitalism on a global scale is the system best constituted to ensure justice, equality & freedom for all..?
PS. The only caveat I would add to my cautious support for Live 8 is to do with the bill of fare. Amongst all the venerable, road-weary rockers, British & American, only one African performer Yousson NDour is a bill-topper. Geldoffs desire to fill the bleachers & the sofas by presenting only the eminences grises of the Western music scene presents a sort of instantaneous logic. But bearing in mind both the aims of the event & the plethora of fabulous talent available from all of the continents being offered support, the absence of any of them as mainline acts seems outrageous. Hopefully Bob Geldoff will listen carefully to the voices raised in protest against this implicit cultural imperialism & then make the appropriate adjustments.
10:53:58 PM 
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