Well, we`ve done it, and I hope we´re happy. Now that we´ve had a couple of days to digest it, I´d like to think that it´d occurred to more than just me, that the moment (two minutes, mind you) was an opportunity screaming to happen.
When I think of all the ongoing sufferers of indignity for whom moments of silence aren´t logistically possible, and that there isn´t anyway the mere suggestion that we bother to shut our traps for these, let alone think about them, as we certainly don´t read or hear much about them so much otherwise, it makes me want to scream.
And this is exactly what I did. It wasn´t easy coming up with the appropriate slogan, however. There are so many causes, I didn´t want to defeat the purpose of this opportunity. Should it focus on one neglected region, country, or land? Should it draw attention to the noise of destruction, pointing the finger at the perpetrators of injustice at a time when all would finally hear? Maybe the best thing would be to lump it all together into one coherent cause. My indecision lasted until shortly before the starting gun at 1300 hours on Thursday. Then the choice became crystal clear.
No, I didn´t yell, "The cheese I like is too expensive!" though that thought certainly went through my mind the whole time. For the greatest injustice, you only have to refer back to the event that took place in several cities around the globe a scant two weeks previously. And who was absent from that event, probably not even invited? The King did not appear on any of the Live 8 stages. Did anyone even notice?
So at 1p.m. as everyone had just begun to think about how their time was being wasted, I wasted no such time. I began to scream with all the passion I could muster from within my sense of outrage, "Elvis did not play Live 8!!" Repeatedly. With each repetition, I grew more self-assured that what I was doing was the best thing possible. People were taking notice. Not even did this retort do more than barely break my rhythm: "Elvis is dead, you idiot!"
"Oh, is he, reeeally?" I replied, thinking briefly that if he were, the silence would`ve been for him. I didn´t explain this to my critic, for as his comment had already made clear, the logic would´ve missed him. And he called me the idiot.
When I think of all the ongoing sufferers of indignity for whom moments of silence aren´t logistically possible, and that there isn´t anyway the mere suggestion that we bother to shut our traps for these, let alone think about them, as we certainly don´t read or hear much about them so much otherwise, it makes me want to scream.
And this is exactly what I did. It wasn´t easy coming up with the appropriate slogan, however. There are so many causes, I didn´t want to defeat the purpose of this opportunity. Should it focus on one neglected region, country, or land? Should it draw attention to the noise of destruction, pointing the finger at the perpetrators of injustice at a time when all would finally hear? Maybe the best thing would be to lump it all together into one coherent cause. My indecision lasted until shortly before the starting gun at 1300 hours on Thursday. Then the choice became crystal clear.
No, I didn´t yell, "The cheese I like is too expensive!" though that thought certainly went through my mind the whole time. For the greatest injustice, you only have to refer back to the event that took place in several cities around the globe a scant two weeks previously. And who was absent from that event, probably not even invited? The King did not appear on any of the Live 8 stages. Did anyone even notice?
So at 1p.m. as everyone had just begun to think about how their time was being wasted, I wasted no such time. I began to scream with all the passion I could muster from within my sense of outrage, "Elvis did not play Live 8!!" Repeatedly. With each repetition, I grew more self-assured that what I was doing was the best thing possible. People were taking notice. Not even did this retort do more than barely break my rhythm: "Elvis is dead, you idiot!"
"Oh, is he, reeeally?" I replied, thinking briefly that if he were, the silence would`ve been for him. I didn´t explain this to my critic, for as his comment had already made clear, the logic would´ve missed him. And he called me the idiot.
