What's wrong with this picture? (rant, no image...lol)

[OneGrassRoot]

Most of us here, and elsewhere, acknowledge the corporatocracy so prevalent in our society. The extreme, negligent (criminal?) imbalance of corporate CEOs getting billions of dollars while their company lays off thousands of Americans, wages are slashed, benefits are cut.

The rich getting richer while the rest of us sink into sheer survival mode and desperation.

But there's a similar trend which is really starting to get on my nerves. Maybe it's just me; if so, this is a personal rant and it can go unnoticed.

I'll give the John Cusack example. You can go to moveon.org to see it an ad he did. Of course, I love John Cusack and I love his message even more. I'm always grateful to see ANYONE bring attention and shed light on crimes and injustices.

What triggered this agitation was an email I received from MoveOn, which I can't find right now. But I recall it specifically stating that "John Cusack has donated his time" to make this ad.

How many times have we peons been approached to donate money to this, that and the other VERY worthy causes, while at the same time being told so and so has generously donated his or her time to create the PSA?

Most of us well-meaning citizens are scrimping to put gas in the vehicle and pay utility bills yet are also bombarded daily with requests for funding for various police, fire, and nonprofit organizations that certainly deserve our generosity IF we had anything to give. Of course, many of these things should be receiving funding from the tax dollars we already pay, but that's another rant...

I know many celebs are very generous with their money and this isn't always advertised. But I really wish if these organizations were going to ask for our financial assistance to put a celeb-based ad on the air, they would say "so-and-so not only donated his time but financial backing for this project."

Why is John Cusack's (or any other celeb...again, not trashing John at all) time more worthy than anyone else's? Most of us would gladly donate our time to create attention-getting ads and do other direct acts of service. Time is precious for most Americans. Yet, increasingly, that's all we have to give, as donating money isn't even an option.

This is another example, to me, of how ridiculous the celebrity culture is here in the States.

[annabanana]

1. Their time is, literally, money. They are their own product.

No one would ever pay to see me.( Believe that!)

People pay a great deal of money to see these celebs. They can use this commodity solely to enrich themselves, or they can use it to help out other people.

[TooBigaTent]

3. Absolutely correct. They have an impact greater than non-celebs precisely because of their

fame. And I applaud them every time they use it for "good" rather than only for their own benefit.

[EstimatedProphet]

2. You are welcome to donate your time for things too

For example, MoveOn occasionally sponsors house party movie viewings, where they ask people to screen a movie for a community. If you do political ads on a volunteer basis, they generally credit you for doing it. They did just that in 2004. Are you saying that John cusack should demand payment for his efforts instead of donating them?

[OneGrassRoot]

4. Clarification: I am certainly not bashing John Cusack or any

other person who donates time to a worthy cause. As I stated, I am always grateful for that, including when people who have exposure "regular" people don't bring attention to a cause and an issue.

I applaud that.

What bothers me is that it is presented as though their time is more valuable than anyone else's.

I know, I know, I know they make a ton more money and therefore their hourly rate - their value - is higher. But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking on a human-to-human level there is no more value to one person than another.

It's obviously a personal agitation, not directed toward any particular person or organization. Just aspects of our society in general.

I have no intention to offend anyone and, again, I am grateful to John Cusack and MoveOn and these other groups.

And, yes, I donate my time as well to various groups and issues.

It's too hard to explain as to why this bothers me, so I'll shut up and not try to say anything else. LOL.

[annabanana]

5. I think I understand.

They are human beings, as are we all. To our friends and family our time is MUCH more valuable than the celebs time would be. If we were suddenly gone and HAD no more time, our friends and family would miss us much more that they would miss the celeb.

The thing is their time can be computed in many more dollars than ours can. If I took paid leave and went to rebuild in the gulf.. it would be my boss's time that I was donating. If I took unpaid leave, it would be MY time..

In intrinsic value, we are equally precious.