How many people know about The Elders? Not science fiction, they are a non-governmental organisation of global thought leaders. Oddly enough, I’ve met a couple of them. We spoke in social pleasantries rather than of their vision which ‘is of a world where people live in peace, conscious of their common humanity and their shared responsibilities for each other, for the planet and for future generations’. Our meeting was the day Lia was being conferred with an honorary doctorate by Dublin University. As her plus one, I was able to enjoy a meal among the honourees, their plus ones and the university principals. And in my own alma mater, something neither my adult imagination let alone my student version was ever capable of imagining.
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Celebrity changes
The advent of sound and in movies presented Hollywood with a problem. Many of its most famous actors had voices and accents unsuited to the talkies. The change in technology made them redundant.
In an effort to present uplifting news, TV stations are broadcasting messages of support from celebrities. I’m struck by how awkward their messages appear. Is this because celebrity is about aspiration rather than leadership? Like the great stars of the silent screen with bad voices that Hollywood never produced, the voices of many celebrities seem redundant. Sports millionaires for example. Sports are suspended and now the sports personalities are effectively wealth insulated rather than inconveniently health isolated. Not that you’d glean this from their messages presented as if they were just like you and me. They continue to broadcast like the celebrities they were only a month ago, competing for your attention like self-appointed social media influencers.
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