No, You Are Not the World, You Are Not the Children

A new documentary on the USA For Africa project is on Netflix. It’s great for the gossip, like Al Jarreau’s drunkenness disrupting the project. After I watched, the theme song with the annoying lyrics (“We’re saving our own lives . . . “) became an earworm. Favorite line, from the otherwise execrable Paul Simon: “If a bomb dropped on this place, John Denver would be back on top.” Prince failed the AITA test, refusing to participate because they wouldn’t let him appear in a solo. Waylon Jennings was no saint either, walking out because Stevie Wonder suggested they sing a verse in Swahili. (N.B. the famine of the month was in Ethiopia, where Swahili is not spoken.)

The film stirs animosity since famines in Africa have become routine, and these artists seem oblivious to the reality, insofar as they take childlike pride in the results of their intervention. Of course, there isn’t much artists can do except for amassing and deploying a phenomenal amount of money, and in fairness, some of them do show up. We might hope that the rich nations of the world would make more of an effort, which for them would be very easy, and the avoidance of which is criminal.

Still, why do all these artists appear to be so ignorant? Is there one that anyone can point to who shows some sign of erudition, or even just literacy? Who could sign onto the notion, “Love is all we need” with a straight face?

Fun fact: Israel receives more U.S. foreign aid than any country in Africa. In general, and contrary to public delusion, total U.S. aid is less than a rounding error in the Federal budget.