Opinion: ‘American Idol’ Charity Event May Spur Viewers to Act

While some observers of news coming from this week’s American Idol charity event may want to grimace at the thought of more celebrities promoting their causes, the high-profile event may do some good, writes E.J. Dionne Jr. in his Washington Post column today.

“The program will, in effect, be a sustained, two-night argument to ‘Idol’ viewers that they might have an obligation to do something about injustice and the pain of others,” Mr. Dionne writes.

He also says the program is essentially political in nature and represents what he calls a “new British invasion of social consciousness.”

“It reflects the culture that shaped Prime Minister Tony Blair,” Mr. Dionne argues. “He in turn has transformed British conservatism at least as much as he’s changed his own side. Support for an assault on poverty both at home and abroad is thus much further advanced across Britain’s political spectrum.”