The web is SATURATED with MJ blogs, MJ facts (and fiction), hypotheses, and downright (pardon my language) bullshit. This is NOT what Michael Jackson was about. Michael, in my interrpretation of his message, wanted to help everyone. Every single living creature, man, woman, child and animal alike. He dreamt of a day when the world would stand together in harmony and lend a helping hand to anyone or anything in need.
He wanted to stamp out hunger and created We are The World for Africa. He wanted to help end AIDS, so he joined with Dame Elizabeth Taylor. He wanted to help children so he created Heal The World. He wanted to help the animals around the planet as well as the rainforest, in short, the Earth. and he gave us Earth Song. He put the vision of how to make the change in his video Cry, giving us instruction on HOW to make the change. He wanted to give happiness and smiles to dying children around the globe just by his visit. He didn't just SAY... he DID!
WE ARE NOT LISTENING TO MICHAEL!
As one of his fans, his millionS of fans, we have watched his videos from start to finish and almost every variation, posting and reposting, even triple posting favorites around and around and around the web they go. We have reguritated them so many times, that the reguritation is now another reguritation. We sit on Twitter and Facebook and write little messages of how much we L.O.V.E. him, how much we miss him, and tell EACH OTHER, how much he wanted to change the world. We viral post polls and spend countless hours ensuring his name reaches the top of the chart (and that's fine), but the calls for help fall into the silent abyss on the internet. I include myself in this. At the end of the day, what has been accomplished, compared to what COULD be accomplished? Not much.
After helping many of you with getting your MJ Opus after months of delays and silence from the company, I realized something: my actions helped bring change. Don't get me wrong-- I did not do this alone nor will I ever take credit for it. The coordination and voice came from each of you reading this and it was of the injustice you experienced and you working together with me that made the difference. I only turned your voice from a whisper to thunder, because thunder is louder than a whisper.
Over the last year, our world has seen many natural and man-made disasters. To name a few: Haiti, Japan and Chile's earthquakes; fires in Russia; flooding in Pakistan and Nashville; the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill, further devistating an area of the US that is still gripping with astronomical loss from the Katrina Hurricane that hit 5 years ago on Michael's birthday. There are moral and humane issues happening in every country around the world, that remains within the borders of a town, state or country- largely because our collective culture is to pay attention to only those things that affect us personally. There is NO excuse for this! NONE! People are dying around the world from injustice, poverty, and actions of others. Animals are being slaughtered in silence because no one will speak for them and they have no voice. Yet we go to bed every night thinking there is nothing we could do or it doesn't affect me-- I don't live there.
This is not a popularity contest. This is not "who can get more followers" on a specified network. This IS a world that we all live together in. What affects me in my life affects you in yours, and what affects you in your life, affects me. Whether it was yesterday, today or tomorrow-- the things happening in our world affect each of us. Like it or not. We are ONE race: Humankind. We have ONE planet: Earth. But we don't have ONE VOICE.
Here's some of my "pie-in-the-sky' ideas. What are yours?
1. Instead of posting and counterposting articles and videos, etc - have a committee made up of representatives from EVERY MJ fanclub to maintain a global library of every single MJ video, article, news source, pictures, etc. Make it available to every single fan no matter their residence or language. Make it a Library of Michael. With an indepth Table of Contents created from indexing and labeling, it would divide videos from articles, sourced photos from fanart, languages, topics, genres, trash from truth, this would give everyone the ability to contribute and search. Sure, it would take some time, but could you imagine the legacy that would be left for generations to come? Start TODAY!
2. Turn our focus to truly helping others. Create another site, also with an indepth Table of Contents created from indexing and labeling, for issues in the world. Tagged with country, issue, calls to action, petitions to sign, share with your local media, etc-- it would be a force like no other on the planet. Our voice would be ONE. We may not agree on every issue and it would take each of becoming more involved in the issues around the world- but the LEGIONS of MJ fans, when united and focused on issues, can never be stopped. WE WOULD BE THE CHANGE MICHAEL SO DESPERATELY TRIED TO ACHIEVE. Making his dream come true would cement him in history as not only the most gifted and beloved entertainer, but the man who CHANGED THE WORLD with his L.O.V.E.
3. Use the MJ fanbase as a force to be dealt with.
**If 5 charities/causes were selected each week (based on need) and each one of us gave $1 to each of those 5 charities-- and we did that 4 times a month-- That would be 240 charities at the end of the year that would have millions?
**The same would be true for petitions and media change. If there was one/two petitions a day posted for us to sign, each person as they turned on their computer could take the first 5 minutes of their day by lending their voice to those who need it. When an issue needed to be brought out in the open, a quick email to media demanding they cover it.
As soon as you'd completed the morning action, send a quick tweet and Facebook post to all your followers. The more you share the information, the more it spreads. ACTION IS CONTAGEOUS! 10 minutes and $1 a day.
If everyone did this, the world see WE pay attention-- they will think twice about making fun of the man who wanted to change the world. BECAUSE WE WOULD PROVE HE DID. JUST THAT. CHANGED THE WORLD!
All it would cost you is $1 a day-- or cutting out an expensive coffee at your local cafe once a week. You spend more than that on MJ related items.
All if would cost you is 10 minutes of your morning. You spend more time each day on FB & Twitter
You don't have to say, YOU HAVE TO ACT!
You don't have to be rich, YOU HAVE TO GIVE!
You don't have to be popular, YOU HAVE TO SPEAK.
You don't have to wait for someone, YOU HAVE TO START TODAY!
But your silence is deafening.
MAKE THE CHANGE.
DO IT TODAY!
WOW CALI !!!! Well said!!!, you are more than right girl !!...
ReplyDeleteWhat you said is so true...Personally, its difficult to me due to the economical crisis in Argentina to give money with my credit card...however what I do is ciberactism with PETA and GREENPEACE, and well, it takes me almost an hour per day to do it...nothing in comparisson with all the animals Im helping...so...LETS DO IT!!!!
LOVE YA SWEETIE!!..LPPC...
hi my little LPPC! I know you are so awesome and dedicated to the animals.
ReplyDeleteThis has been keeping me awake at night, not just with the dolphins & whales- but the whole world. The Opus really opened my eyes every time something came on the news about a country where a fan had just written me-- it stopped me in my tracks and made me think of them.
The more I stopped and listened, the more the world news became a reality for me - it's not just a dot on a map - but people. Issues. Things we as a group of fans have the power to control if we only use our voice.
The more I see the energy that is used to keep Michael's memory alive, I think of what in the long run it is doing to help others. For the most part, nothing. Don't get me wrong, there are people out there that are really trying to make change. I think of the woman who started the Trees for Michael group. Look at what she's doing to contribute to environmental change. AWESOME! I think of the fan who started the UNICEF Team Michael after the Haiti Earthquake. AWESOME!
But then I think, as much as the word gets out-- why aren't these things turning people away, or news that their websites crashed because so many MJ fans raced to help? ... because we aren't focused as a group.
So I decided to focus most (not all) of my energy on this blog to finding issues, respectable charities, people and current events that need attention-- that need the help of MJ's Army of fans. The same army that has been around for 4 decades, and is only growing by the day. A flood starts with one drop of water. A tornado with one gust of wind.
And I don't want to feed into the ever spinning contraversy that surrounded Michael in life, but perpetuating it after his death. He deserves to be remembered for how he changed millions of people's minds-- changed them to think of others instead of ourselves.
I'm standing for Michael, the world and not myself. TODAY.
And maybe when I die, I will know that I've done everything in my power to create change. To help others. To use my voice. It will be only then when I will feel that I have lived walking in Michael's shoes.
but perpetuating it after his death
ReplyDeleteshould be
by perpetuating it after his death.