Too much to handle; Not enough to go around

I didn't end up watching or even listening to Live 8. Then again, I don't feel disenfranchised. Hopefully those who do were paying attention. I was actually helping to feed starving jazz musicians instead. Which is not to say the two are entirely comparable, but really there is so much out there that needs to be done it's really overwhelming. Like I said, too much to handle and not enough to go around. No, it's not fair that by some cosmic coincidence I was born in Canada, and into a fairly well-off family (because let's face it, being born in Canada is not a guarantee in and of itself). But now what am I to do? There are starving people in Africa, dying of AIDS because major drug companies are holding onto their profit margin as if it means more. Hang on though, before you through your full force behind solving that problem, there's also the staggering number of cancer deaths; heart disease and stroke affect millions (and I'm one). How about the environment? Maybe that's what's causing the cancer? And what about poverty in our own backyard? And then there's the litany of historic buildings being torn down, minority authors not getting published, media convergence. Oh my god people, where should I start? It's sort of like housecleaning. Sure, I can devote time to cleaning the bathroom, but then there's also a leak in the kitchen ceiling, the wall that needs painting in the front room, the overgrown trees in the front and back yards, nevermind the basement (the basement!). It's overwhelming. So overwhelming that it's depressing. Oh, and I forgot to mention the problem of mental illness and the associated stigmatization of those that are affected by that in the list a few sentences back.

So, pick one and go with it I guess. Although, as I said in an earlier post, I don't know whether I agree with dumping a whole lot more money into foreign aid just because Bob Geldof said so, I think Live 8 will be success if more people in that 18-24 group become enfranchised. Because if during the next election there is even a discussion about a greater contribution to human development and security around the world on the part of our country, kudos to you 18-24'ers for getting out there and being a force to be reckoned with at the polls. Keep it up. You'll have done more than my compatriots ever did while sandwiched in between those brackets. *Sigh*

I'm off to clean up my room a bit.