The Interview...

Alright, this is not a gossip column... Primetime Live aired a Diane Sawyer interview with Brad Pitt tonight on ABC and I made sure to catch it. It was late one night when I saw a commercial for the One campaign and later went to the site to read up on what it's all about. Brad Pitt has become an advocate of sorts for this organization. I was happy to see that the interview spent more time on Pitt's visit to Africa and his focus on ending extreme poverty than on the gossip surrounding his celebrity status and his new movie. The One campaign is basically the idea that you personally can make a difference simply by showing your support for aid in places where women and children especially go without proper shelter, food, water and education. You can start by signing the declaration found on www.one.org. I've already signed it. Now the organization is asking that you sign a letter to President Bush asking for more aid for Africa to help with the current situation of hunger, poverty and the spreading of AIDS. I've read the history of the One campaign and I'll be reading up on its partners and their missions and I'll most likely write more about it in the future. I can't help but think about the idea that our lives should touch more than just inside our homes, our communities and even our country. So many people suffer so much worse than we do. In the interview, Diane Sawyer asked Pitt, "What about those who say, 'we have poverty here'?" She's right, and I heard that too, and I think the difference is opportunity. America is the land of opportunity. We have the opportunity to change the course of our lives. There are people in the world where that opportunity simply doesn't exist.