The Live Earth Concert and its Value

MoveOn.org members coordinated party events all over the nation to watch the Live Earth Concert. I went to one of the hosted parties and watched as Gore appeared to be in his most natural and happy state while receiving applause and adulation from so many, first in D.C. then in NY. Now, that's quite a broomstick he's flying!

I did feel a critical absence, however, of other pioneers of environmentalism on the stages; perhaps they were there, but they received NO air time. However, this was a show geared towards attracting young generations and fans of celebrities, not the converted. It was meant to be entertainment; to make changing a lightbulb hip and get you to text message your friends with the tip.

Aside from Sting and an intro by Melissa Etheridge, and Black Eye 3, few performers served a meaningful environmental message. In fact, Black Eye Pea 3 was one of the only bands who created a song specifically for the event. More of that creativity would have asserted true engagement and leadership by the entertainers. The televised concert was also dense with commercials, not the least of which was one from GM touting its revolutionarily gas efficient 30 mpg vehicle.

I'm not sure what actually happened on location, if there was a lot of canvasing and recruitment of the audience. However, good things happened at the MoveOn.org home party where I was watching with about 15 others. Some clung on to the hope of seeing their name slide by on the pledge-taking ticker while the rest turned their attention to more social activities, like eating and talking with strangers about the run for the Presidency. We laughed. We cried. We prayed to all our gods.

This morning, Steven Weber wrote an opinion piece for the Huffington Post crying out for Gore to make the run for President. And while his provocative piece contained skeptical humor and desperate hope, it was the rigourous comments that illustrated a spectrum of feelings about just who should be President. Worth a read.