Political Morsels and Other Droppings

I will admit that I do halfway pay attention to the Oscars. Every year when it comes on, I have it play in the background while I’m doing other things.  As for the other awards shows… I couldn’t really be bothered to even have it on television.  Call it an attitude problem, but I think giving people who have already made more money for one album, television episode, or movie, than I will make in a year, the opportunity to get receive even more credit for doing their job blows my mind. 

For the most part actors don’t risk their lives for their jobs. When stunts are needed to be performed, others take on the role to perform those tasks.  Coal-miners, infantry members, combat pilots, policemen, firefighters, and those porta-potty cleaners (breathing in turd particles on a daily basis seems life-threatening to me… then again, I’m a germaphobe) are people who actually do have to risk their lives to perform their jobs.

Singers spend hours in a studio recording their tracks that some have written themselves. They travel performing to audiences that have spent quite a bit of money to see them for a couple hours.  It’s hard work.  However, what about the waitress pulling double shifts just to put clothes on her daughter’s back?  What about the stripper who has the college education but couldn’t find anything else to pull in money?  What about the Krispy-Kreme driver who moonlights as a cashier at your local grocery store in an effort to raise enough money to attend college?  

Television actors have to learn a new script on a weekly basis for six months out of the year.  Being able to go from the initial script, through the rewrites, to practicing, to actual filming takes hours upon hours.  However, what about the woman who starts her day at five in the morning to open her classroom to students who need some help and stays up late grading papers?  What about the man who works in waste management during the week and spends his weekends working at a soup kitchen?

I know that CNN does have an award ceremony to regular Americans who make a difference in the lives of others. However, I think that more attention could be drawn to those who make a real difference in making our lives a bit more comfortable, to those who keep us safe, those who prepare us for the world, and those who give us a hand when we need a little help.  Those are the folks who truly deserve an award… not some actor or singer who has already earned seven figures for their work.

Filed under: Droppings Tagged: | awards, Oscars