Michael Jackson's Inspiring Speech During the Bollywoods Awards 1999 in New York
He was
awarded the Humanitarian Award, an award that symbolizes goodwill, benevolence
and peace.
“I’ve always believed that the real measure of
celebrity success was not just how famous he becomes but what he does with that
fame and fortune. Especially in today’s
technological and media event society the attention and fortune showered on an
individual celebrity is oftentimes immensely disproportionate to his or her
achievement. Today a person can
literally become a celebrity overnight throughout the entire world and that
kind of attention can be difficult for the individual to handle but I have also
learned that such fame can also be an enormous effective medium to focus
attention and mobilize resources for worthy cause. I have been blessed with so much and have an
opportunity to do what few others can. But
I believe it is more than just an
opportunity but a duty. I feel, to reap
and enjoy the fruits of my talent for myself would be selfish, irresponsible
and unconscionable. In these days of such
abundance and advancement in what we can do it pains me to think that we do so
little for our children. In some ways I
feel undeserving to receive an award for something that is my duty. I accept this award as a gesture of
encouraging from the people of India
and a commission to do more for mankind.
I love you very much. Mahatma
Gandhi knew how important gaining the world attention was to gaining freedom
for India
without using any weapon. In some ways
he was the first person to truly understand the importance and power of the
public. He has always been an
inspiration to me and it gives me even greater joy and pride to be recognized
by his people.”
