Fair play to Elton John. Last night, at his latest concert in Australia, he donated a million Australian dollars, or around £500,000, to the bushfire relief fundraiser. For a man down to his last £320 million, this will not see Elton heading to his local food bank by the weekend, but fair play to him, anyway. The alternative to donating $1m was to give a smaller amount, or perhaps nothing at all. In his position, I’d like to think I’d be as generous. So, why do I feel so awkward about it?
I felt a bit cringey when I heard the former cricketer Shane Warne offered his baggy cap that he wore in every test match he played for auction. Early bidders included the former England captain Michael Vaughan, who offered £20,000. The last I heard was someone had bid circa $300k. Again, fair play to Warne. There must have been a great deal of sentimentality attached to that cap. But that’s hardly a societal reaction. It’s rich people in action.
Everyone from Kylie Minogue to Novak Djokovic has given large sums. Very generous, to be sure. All done with the best motives possible. And yet I feel uncomfortable. What’s that tenner you donated or the fiver that kid donated from his pocket money going to achieve? Only someone fabulously rich would be able to buy Warne’s cap without first having to sell their houses and possibly their kidneys, too.
I don’t want to appear cynical, but is this really the best way to deal with a tragedy on this scale? I know the Aussie PM was sunning himself in Hawaii as the tragedy unfolded and ours was in his speedos lounging around Mustique, but aren’t politicians meant to act on all our behalf? Australian is part of the Commonwealth, for goodness sake. Would some financial assistance be in order, along with the involvement of our armed forces (better down under than in Iraq, surely?) and their equipment? Is it really right that political leaders should step aside in order for singers and sports stars to fill in the gaps?
I’m not saying I want these very rich – and generous – superstars to stop donating cash. Of course not. It just strikes me that at such a perilous time, where are the world leaders to meet the challenge and consequences of climate change today and tomorrow? There’s just a huge vacuum where there should be action. And money.
Perhaps, I’m wrong and the future will be about charitable donations instead of state aid. With world politics lurching inexorably to the right, it could be that this is the way we want things to be like, a small state, low tax world where individuals fill the gaps in funding instead of countries.
I respect Elton John for what he has done, I honestly do. I think he is a decent human being doing what he thinks is the right thing and in the grand scheme of things it probably is.
It was John Lennon who wrote, “You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you will join us and the world will live as one”. I’m a bit of a dreamer, too, and I’d like to think my tenner is worth as much as Elton’s million. But the media is only listening to the rich and famous and governments are on their sun beds. Someone take the lead, eh, and don’t just hope for the best and assume things will sort themselves out.
