to whom much is given, much is required

as i watched American Idol's mini-telethon in which they pleaded with the american people to call in and donate to the cause of helping impoverished people all over the world, i found myself bubbling over with sadness and fury. as i watched celebrity after celebrity soliciting donations to help children stricken with malaria in africa, to help families devastated by HIV/AIDS in africa, to help poor, un- or under-educated children in low-income cities of the united states, my confusion and anger began to swell beneath my tears.

i cried for all the mothers and fathers and babies suffering from malaria and AIDS. i cried for the families who talked about the death of a child or loved one due to disease. i cried for all the children who are too poor to afford books to read. my heart broke for them and their pain. but as i watched Madonna in Malawi and Simon Cowell and Ellen Degeneres and many other wealthy celebrities tell us how much WE can make a difference if we just give a little to help those in need, my tears morphed from those of sadness to those of frustration and anger.

just to be clear, i FULLY encourage everyone in this country and all over the world to donate to and support causes that help impoverished nations, nations stricken with disease, children and families suffering all over the world. it is VITAL for all of us to care, empathize and give wherever and however we can to those in need. however, what i can't figure out is with all the money that these wealthy celebrities have, why is there still so much that is left undone? i have watched Angelina Jolie adopt child after child from nations that are poor and suffering. I have watched Madonna adopt a child from Malawi, a nation that is in need of helping hands. and last night, i watched Madonna IN Malawi, telling the american people that we need to call in and make a pledge to help. do you have any idea how much money that woman has??????? when ryan seacrest and simon cowell were shooting footage in africa, ryan proceeds to tell us that a packet of medicine to cure a number of children of malaria costs somewhere around $10. if that's the case, Madonna herself could purchase enough medication to cure malaria all over africa! the woman is wealthy beyond what any of us can imagine! that is not to say that she doesn't give to charities - i'm sure she does. every celebrity claims to support at least one charity or another. but while she was in Malawi adopting a child, what was she doing to help? while angelina jolie continues to build her 'united nations' family consisting of children from all over the world, what is she doing to help these nations?

the united states alone has celebrities that make enough money through entertainment to be able to feed, clothe, educate, and cure every child, mother, and father in africa and any other continent in the world. some of these actors and actresses are paid more than $10 MILLION dollars PER movie that they film - and some have starred in many many movies, so do the math; popular sitcom actors (i.e. the cast of "Friends") get paid like a million dollars PER episode. NBA and NFL players get paid ridiculous amounts of cash to play a sport. musicians like michael jackson, janet jackson, beyonce, and too many others to name, make more money than any of us 'regular' citizens could ever even IMAGINE possessing. with all the wealth that pours out of the american entertainment industry alone, why are there still so many homeless people in america? why are there still so many hungry and sick children in other countries? instead of going to a poor nation and videotaping their poverty, why not dig into your hefty bank accounts and give a few million dollars that you'll never even miss to build larger and better equipped medical facilities in africa? why not pool your millions and build housing for people who are sleeping in the streets all over the world? if people like Madonna, angelina jolie, brad pitt, julia roberts, oprah, ellen, beyonce, and any of these other high-paid celebrities were to EACH donate 2 or 3 million dollars, SO MUCH suffering and poverty could be relieved, in the united states and all over the world.

i just don't get it...with all the wealth that exists in this world, there is no excuse that there are people dying of diseases simply because they have no money to buy proper medicines and nutritious foods to help them. there is no excuse that there are people sleeping on benches and cold concrete. there is no excuse. what are all of these celebrities (who claim to be humanitarians and like to parade around with their ethnic adopted children and talking about how much they care for the world) doing with all of their money? how much effort would it take for say, someone with madonna's wealth, to buy a piece of land (chump change to her, i'm sure) and building solid housing for people who are sleeping on heating grates just to keep warm in the winter? how easy would it be for someone with oprah's wealth (one of THE richest people in the world) to pull about 20 million dollars out of her accounts and build hospitals with good medical equipment, medications, markets with nutritious foods, housing, anything, to help some of the suffering nations of the world? don't get me wrong, i know oprah has done a lot to help, but why isn't more being done?

it's so frustrating because there are a lot of people like me who really care and want to make a difference but have very limited resources. i barely have enough money left over after i pay my rent and bills to be able to buy groceries. i haven't been on a vacation since i was in high school. i don't have the money to fly to wherever i want in the world. i don't have two or three houses in lush resort areas. i don't eat at gourmet restaurants and shop at trendy name-brand boutiques because i can't afford it. i live in a tiny one bedroom apartment, rarely go out to restaurants, rarely go shopping for new clothes even when i need them. and yet these celebrities are saying that i, and people like me, should be doing more to help those in need.

again, i wholeheartedly condone and encourage everyone to help out those less fortunate, in any way you can - be it financially or through volunteering your talents and time. i really do, and whenever i can give to organizations, i DO give. but there is so much more that i would love to do to help others, but i can't. and i know there are so many other people who are in the same situation that i am - people who are struggling just to get by each day but who really pray for the opportunity and ability to be able to help others more. i would LOVE to build houses for homeless people, to help them find jobs and get counseling, to buy medications for people suffering from curable diseases, or to buy meds to help people live with incurable ones. i would love to build schools for children who don't know what it's like to read a book or learn a lesson. i would love to buy nutritious, wholesome food for families who are hungry and suffering from illnesses simply because they are malnourished. and i pray that one day, i can do just that.

but in the meantime, there are SO many people who CAN do these things. some of these celebrities have enough money to be able to feed, house, clothe and cure everyone in a small nation. just think of the miracles they could do if they all combined their resources to help people in need. they have been given so much (and are continuing to earn millions of dollars to add to what they already have), so therefore, so much more is required of them. if a man has 1 loaf of bread, and another has 20 loaves of bread, the man with 20 loaves is expected to give more to feed a hungry person because he has more to give.

what are rich doing with their "loaves"? why are there still so many left hungry?