In Defense of Jolie, Clooney, Oprah, Bono...

Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know what you are thinking. Cynical, Meghan talking nice about these entertainment heavy hitters. Well, I am... get over it! A lot of controversy has surrounded celebrities who use their status to shine a light on their "causes." Many people ask if these stars really care about the world, or is it just a sick effort to attract publicity. I personally believe that most of these folks in the public eye have an earnest concern for their personal plights. The resent focus on the atrocities plaguing much of Africa has been so important. I was watching Oprah today, and her last guest was Sarah McLachlan. I have never been a big of a fan of Ms. McLachlan, but her most recent video, that she showed on Oprah, really gave me goose bumps. She was given $150,000 to make the video for her new song, World on Fire. Instead, she spent ONLY $15 on the video and gave the rest to needy causes around the world. The video shares some chilling information, including-

$5000 = Cost of hair and make-up for one day
or
one years schooling for 145 girls in Afghanistan

In LA, catering for a one day shoot = $3000
but this time $3000 bought 10,950 meals for street children in Calcutta

$16,500 = Directors fee
total running cost of a South African orphanage for one year

I urge you to PLEASE CLICK HERE to view the entire video and see exactly how far this nearly $150,000 went. It is AMAZING!!!! Go Sarah!

All of this has recently made me think of the Irish potato famine. One million Irish people died for no reason. My great-great grandfather was one of the one million who had no choice but to flee his ravaged homeland. He was orphaned… and only 11 years old. I recently viewed one of the only films completely focused on the potato famine, The Hanging Gale. It is available from Netflix, and if you have the chance please see it. Here is a small review I wrote-

A multitude of films have portrayed some of the most horrific events in human history- The Holocaust, slavery, the decimation of Native Americans, etc. In 1845 a blight attacked the potato crops in Ireland. In the years that followed one million perished, and one million immigrated from this small island. Many of these refugees found themselves in America. Pre-famine and post-famine, the Irish have played a major role in the building of this country. So how many films have been made focusing exclusively on the potato famine? In my extensive research, I found the Hanging Gale to be, almost, about it. This film starts slow, but in the end delivers an important message. Your heart will ache for the Phelan brothers (played by the real-life McGann brothers) and their family. I highly recommend this miniseries. I hope that Hollywood will take notice and pay some attention to this important moment in history, especially in a world where so many children are STILL going to bed hungry.

Especially as a student of history, I find it so very sad that history keeps repeating itself.