Question to Ponder
So I've got a question for anyone out there.
I was at a lecture last night about a German opera singer from the 1930s-1950s. It turns out that in the 1930s she was trying to take her career to the next level, but she wasn't sure if that meant Berlin or New York. She thought for a while it was going to be Berlin, but when that fell through, she made out that she resisted the Nazi regime. Bottom line is, she sucked up to the Nazis because she thought it would help her career. She was an opportunist, jumping on a bandwagon she thought would help her.
As I was driving home (a 45-minute drive) on uncrowded roads, I got to thinking about the pop stars who jump on whatever the event is--Live Aid, Band Aid, whatever the global warming concert was this past summer.
So, here's the question:
How many of them are there out of belief in doing the right thing, and how many of them are there because they think it's a good career move to be seen participating in the cause of the day?
And a related question: How do you tell the difference?
For me, I guess the answer would be consistency. If the celebrity does more than show up, but walks some of the walk (I'm still skeptical about all the travel to the global warming concerts--think how much carbon they'd have kept out of the atmosphere if they'd stayed at home), not just donating money, but talking to governments or ngos and doing things that don't necessarily make the headlines, then they've got some credence.
So, whaddaya think?
I was at a lecture last night about a German opera singer from the 1930s-1950s. It turns out that in the 1930s she was trying to take her career to the next level, but she wasn't sure if that meant Berlin or New York. She thought for a while it was going to be Berlin, but when that fell through, she made out that she resisted the Nazi regime. Bottom line is, she sucked up to the Nazis because she thought it would help her career. She was an opportunist, jumping on a bandwagon she thought would help her.
As I was driving home (a 45-minute drive) on uncrowded roads, I got to thinking about the pop stars who jump on whatever the event is--Live Aid, Band Aid, whatever the global warming concert was this past summer.
So, here's the question:
How many of them are there out of belief in doing the right thing, and how many of them are there because they think it's a good career move to be seen participating in the cause of the day?
And a related question: How do you tell the difference?
For me, I guess the answer would be consistency. If the celebrity does more than show up, but walks some of the walk (I'm still skeptical about all the travel to the global warming concerts--think how much carbon they'd have kept out of the atmosphere if they'd stayed at home), not just donating money, but talking to governments or ngos and doing things that don't necessarily make the headlines, then they've got some credence.
So, whaddaya think?