Rhythm won't get you food
Sarah Zeeck
Issue date: 10/14/09 Section: Opinion
In an act of charity, Gloria Estefan gave tickets to roughly 2,000 soon-to-be unemployed Puerto Rican government workers in San Juan for her concert last weekend, according to MSNBC News. The tickets, valued at 40 dollars apiece, went into a raffle of 17,000 people that will be jobless as of Nov. 6 this year after the U.S. government laid off the workers in an attempt to cut the overall debt.
Whereas the generosity of Ms. Estefan is undeniable, one must question the motives of her cause. The tickets went to workers who lost their jobs - that was selfless; however, would the workers not have been better served had they been given financial help or even food? These workers have families to feed, clothe and provide shelter for - but instead they were granted one-time-use concert tickets that would benefit one person.
Granted, in times of poverty and economic depravity, entertainment, especially free entertainment, is important for the morale of the community. However, 17,000 people supporting families could have used the 40 dollars those tickets were worth to feed their families for a week, or buy shoes for several children or maintain their homes.
This also says something about the recipients of the tickets, and in the broader scheme, society as a whole. We would rather gain a couple of hours of entertainment than feed our families and ourselves. Rather than using the money to invest for a time when we might not have food, we use it on a night of entertainment. These people should be more concerned about keeping their families together than a Saturday night of fun and festivities.
Perhaps Ms. Estefan was trying to boost the morale of Puerto Rico; maybe her charity was not as self-servicing as it came across. The fact that she sold roughly 8,000 tickets speaks otherwise, and the fact that she gave away tickets to an impoverished nation rather than something that could actually benefit them screams otherwise.
Whereas the generosity of Ms. Estefan is undeniable, one must question the motives of her cause. The tickets went to workers who lost their jobs - that was selfless; however, would the workers not have been better served had they been given financial help or even food? These workers have families to feed, clothe and provide shelter for - but instead they were granted one-time-use concert tickets that would benefit one person.
Granted, in times of poverty and economic depravity, entertainment, especially free entertainment, is important for the morale of the community. However, 17,000 people supporting families could have used the 40 dollars those tickets were worth to feed their families for a week, or buy shoes for several children or maintain their homes.
This also says something about the recipients of the tickets, and in the broader scheme, society as a whole. We would rather gain a couple of hours of entertainment than feed our families and ourselves. Rather than using the money to invest for a time when we might not have food, we use it on a night of entertainment. These people should be more concerned about keeping their families together than a Saturday night of fun and festivities.
Perhaps Ms. Estefan was trying to boost the morale of Puerto Rico; maybe her charity was not as self-servicing as it came across. The fact that she sold roughly 8,000 tickets speaks otherwise, and the fact that she gave away tickets to an impoverished nation rather than something that could actually benefit them screams otherwise.
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