Today is the 35th anniversary of the Live Aid benefit concert that raised millions of dollars to help feed the world.

1985 was such a different time than 2020 has been so far. The only thing roaring about these “Twenties” is COVID.

But back in 1985, British, Irish, and American Rock stars rallied around a cause. The cause was hunger. The concerts were held in England and the U.S. and transmitted around the world. People were asked to call and donate money.

I tried, but you couldn’t get through on the day of the concert, and I had to make my donation a few days after the fact.

Ronald Reagan was President, and America wasn’t perfect back then either. But, once again, young people and the artists they favored showed us a way to behave and think beyond our shores.

I guess the only thing that can compare to that day in 1985 is when health care workers are saluted at 7:00 PM every night by fire engines sirens wailing and people banging pots out their New York City apartments. The practice caught on as other cities joined the salute of their angels of mercy.

I am not sure the salute is still being given, but it should be.

Of course, such an event cannot be put on today as it would certainly be a super spreader of this dreaded virus. But, maybe one day, there will be a week or month of celebrations to honor those who protected us and served us and provided all the services that we now know are so essential to our very survival?

I think they talked about a ticker-tape parade in NYC.

Live Aid was a noble acknowledgment of the realization that we share a world with billions of people and that their hardship can very quickly become our hardship. So, it should be incumbent upon us, now that we are dealing with a worldwide pandemic, to remember that we need the world as much as it needs us.

I remember the footage of the starving people in Ethiopia and the report by the BBC that inspired Live Aid. Sadly, I also remember what our own president today would say about them.

Feed The World.