See, I knew my creative title would catch your eye. So, apparently, does Mr. Clooney, who on February 1st officially became a U.N. Messenger of Peace. So what is this exactly? Some underhanded tactic to boost his film career and make even more millions? Since he already makes as much as $20 million a movie, and he already has pretty much all the fame anyone could ever want, this doesn’t seem like a reasonable explanation. Why then would Mr. Clooney trade in his Gucci loafers and Armani suits for some combat boots and traditional light blue U.N. gear?

“The truth is, my job is to go wherever they ask me to go. And what tends to happen is that cameras tend to follow. And when they do, somehow I’ll shine a light on whatever it is they want me to shine a light on.” Thus, their hope is that Mr. Clooney’s celebrity with the cameras that follow him and then print their pictures in US Weekly may bring some much-needed attention to the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.

Really, though, this is not a new phenomenon. The U.N. has been using celebrities to highlight disasters since 1954 with the start of the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors program. Since the inception of that program, Audrey Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave, David Beckham and Angelina Jolie have participated, among others. In addition, previous U.N. Messengers of Peace have included Elie Weisel, Dr. Jane Goodall, Michael Douglas and Yo-Yo Ma, to name just a few. In response to this phenomenon, the media has coined the term “celebrity advocacy.” The UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador site best explains this seemingly odd choice of using actors, whose regular job consists of memorization and crying on cue, for world good: “Celebrities attract attention so they are in a position to focus the world’s eyes on the needs of children, both in their own countries and by visiting field projects and emergency programmes abroad [sic]. They can make direct representations to those with the power to effect change.”

I applaud these celebrities for actually taking the time and effort to care about people other than themselves. For them to remove themselves from the very material and superficial L.A. lifestyle to which they’ve become accustomed is a rather impressive feat. People who have that much fortune and fame often tend to become narcissistically consumed in their lives, and forget to give back when they have so much — and by all means, our society does not require them to. Nonetheless, I wish all celebrities would leave Rodeo Drive for a bit and become U.N. Messengers of Peace or join the Peace Corps — actually, I take that back. Somehow having Paris Hilton teaching impoverished children in Port-au-Prince seems like a bad idea.

But despite the altruistic nature of “celebrity advocacy,” there is something about it that truly bothers me. It has nothing to do with the fact that some of these celebrities’ intentions may be questionable, or that a few hours of charity work is used to replace their prescription of Ambien. Rather, my problem with it comes from the fact that our culture needs celebrities to advocate for causes at all. I mean, no offense to them, but we are talking about actors, singers and musicians. Many of these people are not exactly model citizens to begin with or even the kinds of people you would find sitting in the U.N. General Assembly. Many have lead reckless drugged-filled lives and have starred in roles where their bra size was a G (see Lara Croft: Tomb Raider). You’re more likely to have seen them in the paper for their preganancy news, rather than for having spoken in an international conference.Yet these are some of the people we are entrusting to help solve our world problems, and those who are getting the most credit for doing so. And why? Well, just take a look back at the title of this article, celebrity sells.

Quick quiz: you see a paper with two articles side by side: “Sudan Agreement over Darfur Force” and “Mourners say Farewell to Ledger,” which do you think more people will go for? George Clooney realizes this: “I can describe the human suffering but the problem would be that it sounds like everybody who comes back and describes human suffering. And it’s the exact same things. It’s incredible cruelty … there’s rape, there’s murder, there’s dismemberment … but … it seems to not really have an effect.”

People are tired of hearing of the death, despair and violence in this world. News that once brought people out into the streets in protest now only makes them flip the channel or turn a page. Because of this, our generation has been heralded as far lazier and less intelligent than previous ones. People worldwide have become disconnected from the serious issues in this world, the humanitarian crises, the civil wars, the genocides to instead focus on the wardrobe malfunctions and the celebrity breakups. Politicians and celebrities have noticed this trend, and thus, celebrity advocacy was born. But will it work? And how much will people care besides checking on what Angelina Jolie was wearing on her Feb. 7th goodwill visit to Baghdad?

Well, no one can argue the power of celebrity. Take the 2006 World Cup for example: when the Ivory Coast qualified for the cup, the nation’s citizens decided to put a hold on the four-year old Civil War in order support their soccer team, the “Elephants,” a team made up of players from both sides of the conflict. Now if that’s not celebrity advocacy in action, then I don’t know what is.

As one celebrity said, “Doctors, lawyers, teachers, politicians and artists all used to be held in equal high regard 50 years ago, and now that’s not the case … But celebrity, for some reason, is given a disproportionate amount of emphasis. It’s a sad reality and a sad commentary on the times we live in. But let’s acknowledge this, let’s harness it and lets turn it around and use it constructively.” Celebrity advocacy may not be the most orthodox method to combat world poverty or infant mortality, but if George Clooney on the ground in Darfur can help bring peace to the region, then please, somebody hand him a first-class plane ticket to the Middle East — layover in Ithaca.

Nora Choueiri is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be contacted at nchoueiri@cornellsun.com. A Helping of Hummus appears alternate Mondays.