Oh dear, some of this is beginning to sound like Karl Pilkington's mock rants on Comic Relief. I hate the cleb fest thing as much as mot people - despise the bloated thick-skinned J Ross and his cronies. But ultimately - the money goes to saving people's sight, getting antiobiotics where there aren't any, giving people the possibility of living better lives. Working, eating, being happy.
Of course wealth distribution would be a fantastic idea. But it is not practical, would never work. As someone mentioned, communism has not worked in so many countries, on so many levels. The world is predominantly capitalist and we must deal with what we have, rather than what we might have in an ideal world.
Giving money does not make the problem worse. It's a ridiculous thing to say and often an excuse for people not to give. I have heard all the 'oh well most the money doesn't go to the places' etc. That may have been twenty years ago but people still harp on about it. There are so many tighter controls. My mother-in-law sponsors a child in India with Sightsavers and she actually went to visit her child. If it makes her feel good so what?
Awareness, compassion, actually thinking of the world as a whole and not somewhere separate - that's what Comic Relief and other charities do. No one would watch it if it was hosted by Bob who works at th Coop or Dave who sings in the local pub. We have the celebrities, despite our misgivings. A lot of people spend time, love and energy on something they care about, in a difficult economic time. Bravo.
I like your story very much Ciske. It reminds of us that we all do things that don't make sense. We make our beds - even though we sleep in them again. We wash up - even though the dishes get dirty.
The government can't keep giving huge amounts of money to charities - we would be bankrupt and African children would be watching US on television. This is the only system that works and it may take years to build up infrastructures, staff, change attitudes. It's a long term goal but I would despair if I thought anyone with a soul thought that removing all aid, standing by your dubious principles and then not seeing the suffering, makes the world a better place.
If lots of people developed that attitude, I would feel despair at humanity.
Give money. Children covered in flies and infected with diseases haven't got time to have a philosophical discussion about politics and the nature of giving.
FFS.