Why do I wear one of those white bracelets? I never wanted to seem like one of those people. You know, the people who wear the LiveStrong yellow band as a fashion statement and are not passionate about the cause.
The simple answer is that I was somehow subliminally brainwashed through U2's music. As a staunch Republican yet an obsessive U2 fan, I have often found myself conflicted with the message in the band's songs. At a sold-out Elevation Tour show at Madison Square Garden, I tolerated the band showing a protest video against the NRA while playing the old hit "Bullet the Blue Sky." Bono's most recent cause, however, is one that is worth supporting, regardless of your politics.
The white bracelet supports the ONE Campaign, which was started to fight poverty and AIDS worldwide. U2 frontman Bono, co-founder of Debt AIDS Trade Africa, happens to be a leader in the movement. Something about this cause made it different from the rest.
I returned to Philadelphia for Commencement in 2004 mainly to see a rock icon speak, but I left thinking about bigger issues. Only after many months of contemplating the issues he spoke about have I come to a better conclusion of what is expected of our generation.
While few Penn community members were at Bono's speech in Irvine Auditorium last Friday, as tickets cost more than those for the current Vertigo Tour, his return to our campus should cause individuals to re-examine how they relate to Africa.
We all have heard about how Africa is a large-scale tragedy, but the facts are worth repeating. Seventeen million Africans have died of AIDS, and currently 25 million are infected. In most countries there, AIDS is prevalent in double-digit rates. Unfortunately, as Bono eloquently stated during Commencement, "the scale of the suffering and the scope of the commitment, they often numb us into a kind of indifference."
Watching the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, we were horrified by the "Third World images" we saw in an American city, yet nearly an entire continent lives that torturous life daily. Imagine that one out of every 10 Americans on the street had AIDS. According to DATA, around twice the population of Philadelphia perishes from avoidable diseases like AIDS and malaria each year.
There is a difference between American poverty and extreme poverty. Extreme poverty is why an entire region does not have access to the technology and knowledge to live a respectable life. America is the land of opportunity, while in Africa there are no Horatio Algers. There is no opportunity. Destroyed by colonialism and still burdened by corrupt governments, lofty debts and unfair trade rules, Africa is doomed on its own. Two hundred million Africans are starving, and 70 percent of those in sub-Saharan Africa live on less than $2 per day.
It is normal to be skeptical of the effectiveness of funding African nations, given the tremendous corruption. However, the ONE Campaign is at a stage where awareness is the most important issue. World leaders have been fairly receptive, including offering incentives for governments to become more transparent and accountable. Still, it is vital that as many people as possible address the issue on an individual level.
The ONE Campaign claims that an additional commitment of $25 billion from the U.S. -- just .7 percent of the annual budget -- would prevent 10 million children from becoming AIDS orphans, enroll 104 million children into grade school, supply water to 900 million globally and save 6.5 million children under 5 from dying from curable diseases.
These numbers are surreal. If every citizen from the G8 nations committed to $30 per year, on average, then we could reach that goal. In comparison, U.S. citizens spend almost double that amount, $42 billion, on diet and health books yearly. Is that the true American way? Fat chance.
For many, Live 8 was a chance to see Dave Matthews, Jay-Z and Will Smith for free. Yet for some, it was part of a continual realization of the burden on our generation. Bono cautioned us that in past struggles he "learned that a lot of the rebels were in it for the T-shirt. They'd wear the boots, but they wouldn't march."
The ONE Campaign does not ask for donations, but rather for you to lend your support to a noble cause. We are not privileged Americans by birth but by luck. In the end, we are all one human race and a life in Africa must count the same as one here. If you do one thing today, go to one.org and sign the ONE Declaration.
Mark Littmann is a senior, finance concentrator from New York. Case of the Mondays appears on Mondays.
