On the eve of a much anticipated meeting with the wonderful people at Toys for Tots, George Clooney accepted the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award at Sunday's Emmys for having made a life-changing impact upon society. He is the fourth person to be recognized with the honor. What he said seemed so relevant to the Festival and so important, that I have to share it.
The speech began with stories of fond memories with Bob Hope, his wife Dolores, and Clooney's aunt, Rosemary. George also spoke of Hope doing his charitable work even longer than most remember. He ended his acceptance with a poignant call to action to keep the attention on the humanitarian crises that fade from the spotlight too soon.
It's important to remember how much good can get done, because we live in such strange times where bad behavior sucks up all the attention and press. And the people who really need the spotlight: the Haitians, the Sudanese, people in the Gulf Coast.. Pakistan, they can't get any.
I thought maybe there was a way to combine the two. I have offered to go to the south Sudan and have a wardrobe malfunction, but it was pointed out to me that I'm 49 and the consensus was that it would just be upsetting and kind of sad.
When the disaster happens, everybody wants to help, everybody in this room wants to help, everybody at home wants to help. The hard part is seven months later, five years later, when we're on to a new story. Honestly, we fail at that, most of the time. That's the facts.
I fail at that.
So here's hoping that some very bright person right here in the room or at home watching can help find a way to keep the spotlight burning on these heartbreaking situations that continue to be heartbreaking long after the cameras go away. That would be an impressive accomplishment. Thank you.
No comments:
Post a Comment