Live8 Update

I watched parts of the Live8 concert on Saturday, and have been wanting to say something about it. I just had to learn more first, so I went online and did a little research. I'm not the most political sort, so I wasn't at all familiar with this whole G8 thing.

From the Live8 site, I ended up on the site of the ONE campaign that's tied in with it. I'd been seeing those black-and-white ads with all the celebrities and was curious as to what it was all about. The more I read, the more sense it made and the more I got into it. The site even had a speech by Nelson Mandela that I watched, and was moved by (and what ultimately made me sign on).

The premise is pretty simple. The organizers of Live8 and the ONE organization want to impress upon the world leaders meeting at the G8 Summit in Scotland on July 6 to do something about the overwhelming situation in Africa where people, especially children, are dying by the thousands from starvation and AIDS on a daily basis.

On the website, they're asking people to sign a petition asking G8 leaders to cancel debts owed to African countries, to increase aid, and to change trade laws giving poor nations a better chance to prosper and develop on their own.

It so amazing to me how they've used technology, especially the internet, to get their message out. The results have been staggering. What's even cooler is that they have blogs set up just for people to voice their opinions. I've checked out the ONE blog and it's pretty awesome. I've already blogrolled it. I'm also going to add myself to their blogroll. I just wanted to get this post up first. It's a great way to keep up with what's happening and get different points of view. Click to read BBC article.

Whether or not all this makes an impact on the G8 leaders, it's definitely brought about an awareness of the situation that exists in Africa today, especially to the youth. It just boggles the mind that things could still exist like this in 2005. It doesn't speak well for any of us when we bitch and moan about such little things in our lives, when all these people want to do is just live. It's a tall order, but I pray the next generation will meet the ultimate goal to "make poverty history."

Although it can be hard to wrap our minds around, we've got to start believing that the power of one CAN make a difference. I'm just glad I'm on board (can't wait to get my wristbands).