Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Insert exasperated sigh here

Part of our TV-free existence means that Oprah is no longer my afternoon guest. I do remain tangentially aware of The Oprah's activities, mostly through internet news articles. For the most part, I remain indifferent to The Oprah.

This article in today's Washington Post, however, raised my ire. Lisa de Moraes' snarky title, "Gee, Oprah. A thousand smackeroos. Thanks a bunch." pretty much says it all - about the pervasive entitlement mentality which appears to be spreading like a malignant tumor over our society.

Oprah gave each audience member a $1000 debit card, which is to be paid forward to the charity of their choice. The author of the article snarks about the "patronization of a woman whose financial worth has been put at $1.5 billion" and "the complacency of a woman who owns three homes."

Sorry, but Oprah doesn't owe anyone a damn thing. Oprah could very easily take her billions, drop out of public life, and live happily ever after without the tabloids cackling over every pound she gains or loses. I wonder how much Ms. de Moraes has contributed to charity this week.

Switching gears a little - I know what we would do with a $1000 debit card. It would go directly to the Mennonite Disaster Service. Gentle reader, how would you spend your $1000?

2 comments:

Lively Mountain said...

I would send my money to the Safe Motherhood Quilt Project. www.rememberthemothers.net

Gavin said...

I know the smart thing to do would be to invest in some type of project that raised even MORE money.

But I'd probably just buy food like tuna, pasta, and peanut butter to donate to the local food pantry.