Hunger Porn, with the Original Broadway Cast

One might well ask oneself, or others even, why it is when hundreds of billions of dollars of aid money have gone to Africa in recent decades, that things are actually worse than before all that money went, ostensibly, to Africa.

One might ask whether the child with the distended belly sitting on the lap of the fruity faced guy with the beard in the Banana Republic outfit has been attended to by now. One might wonder at what is going on with all the brand new Land Rovers buzzing all round Africa. Each of them has their company/religion logo on the door and none of them give anyone a ride anywhere. It’s common policy that no matter what may be happening to you by the side of the road; no matter where you might be standing, that you are not to be picked up, interfered with, asked if you need help or acknowledged in any way. You might well ask why. If you were to ask why the sky was blue or the grass is green you might get an answer. You might ponder whether if you ask your father for bread he would give you a stone. You might well ask the stars why they twinkle. But if you were to ask these folk; half Christian missionary, half zealous world righter, half bean counter, half photo-op and half of the thing folded in half again and again and then gone with a snap and an “I’ll be right back.” Well... wish in one hand and ____ in the other.

You might wonder at why Sir Bob Geldorf accepted a knighthood from a source that is easily one of the most responsible for the condition he seeks to adjust. You might wonder why Bono drops in on George W. Bush and whether dialogue between the Dali Lama and the Chinese authorities might result in the return of Tibet. You might wonder why, with all of the horrible activities taking place in American government why so few people with the capacity to be heard are making any effort to be heard.

I often get the feeling that there is a group of people who know a great deal more than I do and that if I knew what they knew then maybe I would shut up and not make any noise about what appear to me to be inconsistencies. If I knew more it is possible I would believe them and not my lying eyes.

I don’t understand how Madonna and Brittany Spears, Mariah Carey and Paris Hilton all became high priestesses of Kabala and I didn’t even get the t-shirt. Madonna is going to sing something about world hunger and debt relief; probably while a whole lot of rich people have lunch and talk about world hunger. ‘Sir’ Elton John is going to sing about this and noted philanthropist and human tattoo billboard Robbie Williams is probably going to sing about world hunger and debt relief and somehow... somehow... some further hundreds of millions are going to effect what previous hundreds of billions could not.

Am I cynical? ...misinformed? Well, I’m not misinformed about my figures; those are a matter of public record. And as far as debt relief goes, why..., entire debts have been forgiven before and following that even interest free loans stretched over decades couldn’t be paid back and where am I going with this?

Like a number of high profile, long-term, victim operations, Hunger Porn is an industry. And Hunger Porn has its “money shots”. One of the things about any organization is that nearly every organization begins to believe that it is a living thing and just like you it develops designs on immortality. It begins to believe that it can gain immortality by resisting change when, ironically, change is the cornerstone of immortality. There’s no sense in an industry eliminating the source of its revenue. Why end hunger if it means you will go out of business?

The hunger porn strip tease that is going to be done by the big name entertainment line-up is not going to feed anyone. It’s designed to whip up desire to see more only to find there is no body under the outfit. Howdy Doody and all the rest of the animatrons are going to sing and dance on the stage of your mind and everybody is going to feel good and ‘get well’ as the street lingo puts it.

Why when so many of us wish for peace is there no end to war? It serves that many do not want peace. Some few know how to turn this to great personal advantage. Why when there is plenty for everyone is there never enough?

The bubbles burst upon the sea
The wind from longing came to be
The stars were placed upon the sky
And we were born to wonder why.

If it’s all a lie; if the operations of Hunger Porn resemble law and sausage making and everything that isn’t romantic is pornographic and romance itself is just the higher octave of rape... where does that leave us?

Some things cannot be said. Some things must be intuited, figured out and realized by oneself. We’ve heard many versions of this and often don’t believe it or see how it can be true. Of course you should be able to tell us and if you can’t tell us well then you don’t know; do you? As a matter of fact, speaking for myself, I do not know... however- some things must be intuited, figured out and realized by oneself; otherwise the understanding does not take.

Here is what I do know; we can only change ourselves. In the process of changing ourselves we change the world. We all set an example- NO MATTER WHAT. We can have a far greater impact on external circumstances by working inwardly. Quietude is not fatalism. Everything is under control and is exactly the way it is supposed to be. The reason this does not appear to be so is due to the limitations of our capacity to perceive the thing entire. From the very beginning the end begins to bend out of sight around the corner. THAT is why we have to take some things on faith. That is why it always works out, eventually. Hasn’t it always worked out? Of course it has. As of this moment you’re reading this aren’t you? So everything has worked out up to this point. And when you are gone, however you go- and under whatever circumstances- it will continue working out perfectly.

All this injustice; the lies, the posturing by walruses and carpenters, the awful speeches, songs and dance routines by programmed droids, the dreadful self-interest that fouls the world, the telepathic invasion of the subliminal self by the noises of the industries of hellish enterprise; and yet, at right angles to it all is the shining door into another world that interpenetrates this one. Boundless light floods the universe.

I once asked a holy man why the world wouldn’t leave me alone. He smiled and said, “You won’t leave the world alone.” Well... time passes and things change. The ability to discipline the mind and an inclination toward meditation are worth more, far, far more than the total sum of the wealth of New York City, or Hong Kong, or London. And you can have your very own concert for world hunger and have it more widely heard and appreciated and with a far greater impact by taking your guitar out into an empty field and letting your heart express its true request and... especially... if you help as you go along.

It is a magic show. It seems real and yet you know it isn’t. You watch and you even smile as you are being fooled. That’s entertainment. You might applaud or you might throw a bottle at the stage, discharge a gun at the entertainers or walk away or never leave your house. The show goes on whether you are there or not and yet it cannot go on without you. There are some subtle and profound truths at work at all times. They have been in operation from the very beginning and in all that time no one has been able to say what it is that they cannot say; some things cannot be said. Some things must be intuited, figured out and realized by oneself.

Visible and The Critical List: ♫ A Love Song for Madonna (NOT)♫
'A Love Song for Madonna' is track no. 12 of 12 on
Visible and The Critical List's 1992 album 'Not Politically Correct'
About this song (pops up)