Friday, June 19, 2009

Angelina Jolie: I'd Be "Less Self-Destructive" If Involved in Charity Early

Angelina Jolie thinks her childhood would have been very different if she'd learned the lessons from her role as a UN Goodwill Ambassador at a younger age.

"I think it would have got me through my youth easier," Jolie said in an interview with Ann Curry that aired on the Today show this morning. "I would have been less self-destructive."

I think one can be grounded and a good world citizen without being a UN Goodwill Ambassador. Anyone who learns they are not the center of the universe, be it in there household or town can be ground.

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  1. ThealogianJune 19, 2009 at 11:21 PM

    I think your criticism is a bit unfair. I don't think that she is contending that to become aware of the conditions of refugees, or to become aware simply of poverty at home or abroad, one needs to become a UN Goodwill Ambassador.

    She's talking about her specific biography, raised by actors in New York and LA, privilege and bi-coastal myopia that isn't tempered with volunteerism, religion, or a social justice activism tends to erase "the other" from one's vision and she turned to self-destructive behaviors (probably not in part due to having a total asshole as a father who didn't bother to pay child-support ontime, yet she lived among the rich--that screws with you).

    She's not saying, feel sorry for me, she's saying, I had to actively learn about the world, but for my children, I want that learning process to be an important part of their education and up-bringing.

    My minister's daughter is a very sweet girl, who is kind and thoughtful and I think that in part that comes from having gone to Ecuador to translate on missionary trips for several summers, I went one year. She's been in Spanish immersion, so she's actually able to help out on these trips and having that skill has helped her understand and want to see justice for those in the global south.

    Also, there are studies demonstrating that volunteer work is psychologically and socially healthy for individuals--its helps build community and a sense of place in the world. So, perhaps Ms. Jolie is right and if she had had a tradition of volunteer work growing up, she wouldn't have been so self-destructive in her youth and young adulthood. Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

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