I bought my hairy Red Nose this morning, so I’ve done something for Comic Relief, and it’s great that they raise so much, but, I can’t help thinking that there’s something wrong. Every couple of years we do something like this to make ourselves feel better about our lifestyles, and then our consciences go into hibernation until the next one. So much could be achieved if more of us were directly involved, but actually having to face the people with problems is so much more unpleasant than laughing along with Graeme Norton. But so much worse than our apathy is the callousness of our governments. The amount raised tonight has already cleared the �30million mark, but whatever the grand total, I bet it’s less than one day’s food budget for operation Let’s- give- Iraq- to- Halliburton. A fraction of the West’s military expenditure could solve the problems at home and abroad that lead to terrorism in the first place (and I’m not being idealistic, acknowledging these things is far more pragmatic and realistic than the sort of people who’ll only condemn the atrocities of one side in the Israel- Palestine conflict or think that a blow job in the Oval Office is a bigger crime than millions in kick backs from the oil and arms industries swaying policy.)
Rant over.