Red Nose Day is a biennial event organised by the British charity, Comic Relief. The charity's stated aim is to "bring about positive and lasting change in the lives of poor and disadvantaged people, which we believe requires investing in work that addresses people's immediate needs as well as tackling the root causes of poverty and injustice". That aim is highly laudable and the commitment and work by all involved are fantastic. That said, I watched the highlights of Red Nose Day on UK television and it left me feeling embarrassed, maybe red-faced! Embarrassed not just for myself but for the whole of society. So why should I feel that way? I am certainly not belittling the funds, in excess of £800 million, that have been raised since Red Nose Day's inception 25 years ago. That money has made and will continue to make, a difference to people's lives. My embarrassment is twofold. Firstly, I am embarrassed at the state of the world's economy that allows the current levels of poverty and social injustice. Secondly, I am embarrassed at the TV manifestation of the Red Nose Day's events.
Let's start with some stark facts. 925 million people do not have enough to eat. 2.8 billion people survive on less than $2 a day. 1 billion people are illiterate and 1 billion do not have safe water. Yet, on the other side of the coin, less than 1% of the world's population control 40% of the world's wealth. What is really worrying is that the gap between rich and poor is continuing to widen, so it is a systemic problem. Now, £800 million raised in the past 25 years for the poor and disadvantaged by Red Nose Days, sounds pretty good. However, to put it into context, this year's welfare budget in the UK is around £200 billion, so the annual amounts raised for Red Nose Days is around 0.016% of the UK's annual welfare expenditure. I don't think I need to bombard the reader with more statistics, I am sure the overall picture of inequality is clear and, in my view, embarrassing.
What about the television manifestation of the Red Nose Day events? Maybe I'm getting old, but I thought the quality of the fund-raising entertainment, particularly the 'humorous' sketches, was poor, but that's a question of personal taste. What I did find distasteful and I don't believe I'm alone, were the video clips of highly-paid celebrities alongside extremely poor African children. Some of the celebrities were in tears. Were they embarrassed by their own personal financial positions? I doubt it.
I'm not knocking any charity's efforts to help those in need but I do feel it's about time the global community came to its senses and took a hard look at priorities. As a parting shot, I will summarise my view of the world's malaise and a possible plan for recovery. We are taking more out of the planet than we are putting back in, primarily as a result of our obsession with economic growth. The developed countries are finding growth more difficult because of their past excesses and spiralling debt. The developing countries are growing but demand for their goods and services from the developed world is slowing down. Poverty is rife in the developing world and developed countries are also experiencing an increasing divide between 'haves' and 'have nots' . Against this background, my proposed recovery plan would be to encourage growth in the developing world, compensated by a flattening of the economies in the developed countries. With limited global resources, growth in one area can, in my opinion, only be achieved by easing back in the countries that have already reached maturity and I know that will not be easy to stomach. But maybe in a more egalitarian world, red noses and red faces would be a thing of the past........Utopia!
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