Celebrity Status

Ever heard of Bono of U2 fame? If you have you probably know that he's interested in AIDS in Africa.

What about George Clooney and his crusade to end violence in Darfur, Sudan? He's gotten a lot of attention for this and politicians (and activist college students) are listening.

A list like this must include Angelina Jolie. I'm not really sure what her crusade is, but she was a UN Ambassador for a while and she likes to give to international causes and they always post pictures of her in a foreign country with poor people.

Last night I attended an event at the local university in relation to the Darfur crisis. The room was packed. It was an auditorium and there were folks sitting in the aisles. The majority of the audience was made up of socially concerned undergraduate students. One of my bosses was speaking. He did a great job of providing context for the crisis and informing the audience that you cannot stop the violence in Darfur by focusing on one region, that is only a symptom of a bigger problem. It got me to thinking how powerful celebrity status is. When celebrities point to something the world takes notice. That's why they are so effective as product spokespeople, if Michael is drinking that, or Britney is wearing that, or Paris is saying that then it must be cool. I'm not really sure why celebrities are given such power and influence, but they are. If only there was a way to harness more of that for the good of humanity...if only.