Jul
23
Bono is the leader singer of the band U2 and is highly involved with supporting and promoting charity.
In Jeffrey Sachs’ book “The End Of Poverty” Bono refers to the fifteen thousand Africans the day of diseases that are either preventable or treatable, diseases like AIDS, malaria and TB.
“This statistic alone makes a fool of the idea that many of us hold onto tightly: the idea of equality. What is happening in Africa mocks our pieties, doubts our concern, and questions our commitment to the whole concept. Because if we’re honest, there’s no way we could conclude that such mass death day after day would ever allowed to happen anywhere else. Certainly not in North America, or Europe, or Japan. An entire continent bursting into flames? Deep down, if we really accept that their lives - African lives - are equal to ours, we would all be doing more to put the fire out. It’s an uncomfortable truth.”
This is so well said, most people place a high value on equality or at least they say they do … they might even think they do but the evidence we see in the world just doesn’t add up. If everyone truly cared surely we’d be doing more to help them.
For a long time I didn’t really give much thought to helping people in poverty. I would briefly consider it after seeing world vision ads on TV but usually banished the thoughts to the back of my mind with excuses like “I don’t even know if my money will get to them”. Over time, through friends (thanks Susie) and reading I have learned more about poverty. Becoming more aware of what is happening has caused me to feel a great deal more empathy for needy people. There is still much more for me to learn but I have realized that it’s important to help in the best way I know how. So I have begun contributing and continue to learn.
I’ve only just started reading it but “The End Of Poverty” looks to be a very interesting read. It claims to show how we can end poverty by 2025. If you would like to buy this book use the link below and 4% of your purchases value will go to charity.
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6 Responses to “Words on Poverty and Equality From Bono”
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good one thomas.
yeah totally true..
“Deep down, if we really accept that their lives - African lives - are equal to ours, we would all be doing more to put the fire out. It’s an uncomfortable truth.””
i am ordering the book thomas…
Nivas K
Just like you said, an uncomfortable truth. We claim that we support equality but there’s nothing we are doing to help.
If any of my family needed help, I will go all out to help them, but I can’t be certain I’ll do the same to unrelated strangers. Thanks for the entry, definitely a quality to be adapted.
I’ve often thought the same thing.
“Everybody is equal, but some are more equal than others” seems to be the unspoken order. What we say means nothing unless we back it up with what we do, and the majority of us in the western world are quite happy to talk about equality till we’re black and blue, but do absolutely nothing to bring about true equality.
How true Macyver, as the old saying goes “Actions are much louder than words”, however there are situations where you think that you can’t do anything at all (even money itself won’t fix the problem). Consider the Zimbabwe crisis happening and inflation at a quad-zillion percentage (or somewhere around the mark), how can a single person who lives several thousand miles be away be able to do anything?
Only one person can help us.
Mugabe vs MacGyver…..coming soon
lol!
Mugabe will be using the might of the Zimbabwean army, while MacGyver will only have his wits, his pocket knife, and an old piece of chewing gum.
Hi,
great to see that lots of people r coming forward n taking this initative to end poverty. I am also serving a similar cause on Endpoverty by 2015 in India.
I am voluntarily working with the United Nations on its Millennium Development Goals.
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