Another line for the resume, heartless?

You can add appliance repairman to my credentials for the resume.  The parts arrived on schedule yesterday.  Installation of the hi-temp thermostat and thermal fuse required a bit of dexterity but wasn’t too challenging.  I was nervous that I would get them installed, run the dryer and have them pop again right away.  I ran the dryer through about an hour and a half of testing and it seemed to be ok.  Mission accomplished.

Last night was the American Idol Gives Back two hour extravaganza.  They loosely rolled a results show into a two hour telethon that was focused on helping needy children in both the US and Africa.  The show featured a bunch of celebrities speaking, dancing and singing.  Let me first comment on the acts that I didn’t fast forward through.

El Divo.  This is a group of four guys that Simon Cowell supposedly scoured the globe looking for.  To me, they may be the most over-hyped group I have ever seen.  It’s almost people treat them as though they are elite singers because Simon thinks they are.  To me, using Simon’s words, they are rubbish.  Don’t get me wrong, they are entertaining to watch, not because I enjoy their singing, I enjoy the lunacy of their performances.  The funniest guy is the oldest one that has eyebrows that he can’t keep still.  His performance is so over the top it is ridiculous.  He loves himself very much.  Normally when you hear El Divo sing they are doing it in some foreign language.  For some reason this is supposed to add to their hipness factor.  Last night they actually sung in English. However, even though it was in my native language, I had a hell of a time making out what they were singing.  I think they suck, plain and simple.  Ali agrees.

I saw Kelly Clarkson for the first time in a long time.  The last time I saw her she seemed to be embracing her fame and as a result had started shaping up and was sporting a modern, hot hair style.  Last night she looked to have reverted to her roots.  She colored her hair mud brown and looked like she may be bigger than when we first were introduced to her during her Idol run. Too bad.  She still is a great singer.

The “television history” as they described it of Celine Dion performing with Elvis was incredibly moronic.  Yay, we saw this stuff in Forrest Gump, it’s not cool anymore. 

Most of the other performers we FF’d through.  The producers did a nice job of yanking our chain about a shocking result which they lead everyone to believe was the ousting of the best contestant left, Jordin Sparks.  The trick was on us though, they decided to not let anyone go this week.  Those rascals.

Ok so now let’s get to the reason for the show, the charity work.  The show was jammed full of video montage after video montage of children both home and abroad in horrible living conditions.  They basically featured, Katrina victims, redneck children from Kentucky (an odd choice) and kids in Africa. (biggest share)  As I saw scene after scene of the people in Africa living in filth, disease and desperation, of course my initial reaction is to feel bad for these children, they are the innocent victims of their parents ignorance.  You want to help them.

But then there is the logical, cold side of me.  I actually paused the show to talk to Ali about it.  At what point do we allow nature to take it’s course?  Aids is rampant in Africa.  The reason aids is rampant in Africa is because the people reproduce like animals, engaging in unprotected sex.  Ali said to me that is because they are uneducated and do not understand the repercussions of their actions.  I asked her if I was supposed to believe that the people in Africa do not know that they are dying of aids?  It isn’t like AIDS is some unknown secret, it has been around for almost 25 years, a full generation of Africans have come and gone in that time period.  Yet, ignorance is still the culprit? Either these people are incredibly ignorant or they just don’t care and choose to continue on their self destructive path.

It just doesn’t register with me.   If this collection of people are unable to comprehend the end result of reckless sexual activity then how are we supposed to save them?  Is it just nature thinning the herd?  Maybe it is.  There are woefully inadequate resources there to support the population.  Even with the huge human loss in Africa and disasters elsewhere in the world, as a whole, world population is exploding.  Something has got to give. 

I tried to run scenarios through my head.  How do you feel for a lifetime smoker that develops lung cancer?  Of course you feel bad for them for the suffering they endure but you certainly don’t think they didn’t map their own path to their demise.   Same goes for obese people that struggle with health issues, you made your bed, sleep in it.  Now of course these kids don’t have a choice in the matter, however it is these same kids that grow up and repeat the same behavior, continuing the suffering. 

Maybe I am just being too analytical about it.  I just can’t get past the idea that unless these people are willing to help themselves first (by not f’ing like rabbits) all we will ever be able to do is put a small band aid on a huge gushing wound.