Ok, that's stretching the truth more than a bit, but he did show a faint glimmer of conservatism.
I attended his concert in Dallas and was surprised to see that 100% of all merch proceeds were being given to Hurricane Ike relief. Isn't that fantastic? Still, I was not moved enough to spend money on memorabilia that will end up in my concert storage chest. What a noble idea though. Here is a megastar who is not highly publicizing his charity efforts. There was no fanfare in the media, no blaring of horns, no single engine planes with banners floating behind them. Nothing. Just innocuous signs at the merch tables declaring intentions.
Now, with all that said, I realize that Mr. Diamond is a liberal. When he started talking about the proceeds for Ike, I was expecting a diatribe. What I got was a tenet of conservatism. Take the government out of the picture and let the people do the work.
Mr. Diamond said he'd been to Galveston Bay touring the area. He said one of the barrier islands had 350 homes before Ike. Post Ike only 50 homes remained standing. The residents were living in tents. Living conditions were not good, etc. To myself I was thinking, "ok here we go,here is the Katrina reference." But I was surprised. He said 100% of the proceeds from merch would go to these Ike victims. He and his band would match the take dollar for dollar. He wanted to have each of these displaced families within 4 walls of their own home by Christmas.
Wait for it...imaginary drum roll....he did not want to wait for the government to take care of these people. What? Hey don't liberals support government intervention?
Go Neil. My friend who attended with me is a Dem to the core, unfortunately. He said "government" and she replied with "worthless administration can't be counted on to take care of anyone."
While I believe Mr. Diamond was in fact poking at the current administration, remember he is a liberal, he did get this correct. Why shouldn't we arm ourselves with saws, hammers, and the tools of home building? Why not make the trip to Galveston to help our neighbors rebuild.
This ties in with Russet's post on Outsourcing Charity. Why must we always look to the government to solve problems?
2 comments:
amen...why can't everyone get off their lazy tushes and help?! don't wait for someone else to do it because then it won't get done
It takes some humility to not blow your own horn when you're doing something good. I salute Neil for doing that. I also agree that if we waited for someone else (your neighbor, your friend, your government), what in the world would ever get done?
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