Melvin, have you rehearsed the song I wrote for you?
Well, boss, we wrote something of our own.
What do you mean, something of your own? I write the songs
around here, I call the shots, I deposit the checks…
But boss, there's something we thought needed to be said, just
listen. It's about September 12th.
You mean September 11th, 9-11, right?
No boss, I mean September 12th.
Really? What happened on September 12th?
Just listen, boss.
Soon the media will dwell
On a day we remember all too well.
The World Trade towers and the fires they'll show.
We'll all grieve and rightly so.
But something else tragic happened that day
Not so very far away.
Twenty-four thousand gave up the ghost
Just when the world could have helped them the most.
What are you talking about, Melvin? What 24,000 gave up the
ghost? Where?
Well, boss, I'm talking about the 24,000 people who die every
day from hunger and related causes. Every day, September 10, September
11, September 12, that's almost 9 million a year, boss, 3/4 of them
children. Not to mention the millions more who just live in grinding
poverty and hunger and miserable conditions but do manage to survive.
Well, that's hard to believe, Melvin. I mean, that may be so,
but I don't see what that has to do with what happened on 9-11.
I think it's disrespectful to even make the comparison, why, it's…
It's what, boss? It's what's been on my mind, that's all. Here,
sing along with us.
Well, I hardly think I'll be singing along…
How can we forget the day,
Three thousand got blown away.
But what a shock to start to explore
How that day, and the day after, and the day before
Twenty-four thousand dropped like flies
Right before the world's uncaring eyes.
So while you bask in our bounty and wealth
Remember September 12th.
Melvin, that's shocking. That's absolutely insensitive…unpatriotic!
What's unpatriotic about it, boss?
Well, with all due respect to those starving Africans and everything,
the 3,000 who died were Americans. Well, mostly Americans.
Well, are Americans lives more important than other people's
lives?
Well…well yes, by God they are.
I don't think God would agree with you on that one, boss.
September 11th, we'll never forget.
You remember where you were, I bet.
While America went about its biz
We found out what terror is.
But not so very far away
Millions barely hang on every day.
So while you enjoy your radiant health
Remember September 12th.
Well, Melvin, perhaps they're used to a life of…of terror,
as you call it. We're not. What happened here was intentional, preventable.
Well, the 24,000 a day are preventable, too, boss. That's what
the experts say.
Really? I find that hard to believe.
Just look it up, boss. Anywhere. There could be plenty food
and water and health care for everyone if we cared enough. But when
was the last time you heard it even brought up in the papers or
on radio or on TV?
Well…well, let me think…
That's my point, boss, I guess it's not very important.
Well, frankly, maybe that's just their bad luck. If they just
applied themselves and pulled themselves up by their bootstraps…
Gimme a break, boss. Do you think you could survive for a week
in those conditions, without your credit cards, without adequate
food, water and health care? I think it would be Sayonara for you,
boss… In fact, when your time comes your little soul might
even be reborn in one of those countries, so you might want to start
thinking about it now.
Well, we can't spend our time worrying about everybody in the
world, Melvin. We have plenty to do improving the moral fiber of
this country. We can't be worrying about the whole human race. I
think it's a waste of time to even try.
Right, boss, moral fiber. I guess people like Bill Gates and
the thousands of people who are working to help turn things around
are just dreamers. Yeah, Bill Gates has no grasp of reality, he
never accomplished anything, right, boss?
Well, well…
So while we bask in our bounty and wealth…
Remember September 12th ....
