Straight from the heart

Whether visiting schoolchildren in Africa or seeing the wreckage in New Orleans left behind by Hurricane Katrina,  Angelina and Brad have seen firsthand a world of suffering.  And they say that their travels have intensified their commitment to encourage change, to break down global barriers, believing that there is more that unites us as  people, than divides us.

Brad Pitt: We want the best for our families.  We want to live a dignified life.  We want our children to be happy and have opportunities, and oppression and tyranny does not belong in that for any of us.  And you know, if you look at all our emotions, they’re all the same right across the board.  And you know, I’m stating the obvious.  But a reminder doesn’t hurt, does it?

To some they may still be a self-indulgent movie-star couple. To  others they’re the real deal.   But there is no doubt that Angelina and Brad take their commitment all the way to the  bank.

Curry: This is incredible.  Three million dollars just this year to AIDS, orphans, to Darfur.  it’s remarkable.  Where is this leading? 

Pitt: It’s just not enough anymore that it’s entertainment and enjoyment.  For me personally I’m saying, in my life, you can move the ball forward a little bit. And that is just getting your hands dirty, rolling up your sleeves a little bit and seeing where it takes you.

And that’s what this is about.  Where is it going to go?  The interesting thing is—is how it evolves for me individually for myself and watching the same with Angie.  But where’s it gonna go?  I’m not gonna stop.

It is hard to imagine Angelina stopping anytime soon. This year she  made Time magazine’s list of the "World’s most influential people" and not in the entertainment category...but among philanthropists like Bill Gates and David Rockefeller.   And now she is in line to become a member of the prestigious Council on Foreign Relations, an independent foreign policy think tank that counts Madeline Albright, Colin Powell, and Tom Brokaw among its distinguished associates.

Jolie: It is the one thing I have wanted.

Curry:  Why?

Jolie:  Because I want to better understand foreign policy.  And I wanna better understand the world I live in, and I wanna be able to learn how to be more effective.  And I think my heart has been in it for a long time but I don’t think I’ve had the understanding and the mind to accomplish what needs to be done to make the big sweeping changes. I wanna learn and I wanna listen.    

She believes that America should do more to address the AIDS crisis in Africa,  especially for children orphaned by it.   She’s lobbied Congress to approve 2.5 billion dollars for the cause.

Curry: You said, "The scale of the problems seems to give many an excuse for inaction.  In many ways, it is better to think of these children one by one, each deserving of our care and our attention, each being of equal value, and each being a test of whether justice or injustice will prevail." Why is this—because some will ask—America’s problem?

Jolie:  It’s everybody’s problem.  It’s not America’s problem. I’m not somebody to say, “Well, America’s the wealthiest and a powerful nation and, therefore, has a responsibility to.”  I don’t think that’s true.  I don’t think that’s the reason why. 

Curry: Well, what would be the reason?

Jolie: Because it’s the right thing to do.  Because it should make us feel that it’s what’s American.  Because it’s what we would want somebody to do for us if we were in that situation. 

Her campaign for public awareness on the plight of children around the world has led her to add another credit to her list of accomplishments.   In “A Place in Time,” a documentary she funded and directed, she’s enlisted many of her celebrity friends like Ryan Gosling and Ann Hathaway to travel around the globe to visit children in need and turn on their cameras for three minutes at the same time in 26 countries.

You don’t have to look hard to notice the unlimited potential Angelina sees in the faces, and hears in the voices, of those kids.

That is what Angelina Jolie says motivates her these days --  the chance to ease suffering in the world, not her movie star celebrity. 

Curry: You know, my impression is that you don’t think about that and you’re so not in that area because you’re so focused on living an authentic life, living a useful life.

Jolie: Yeah. Yeah.

Curry:  And so this effort which has been constant in your life, ever since I’ve met you, constant in you, where has it led you?

Jolie: This has been a heavy year in losing my mom and having a fourth child.  I suppose I’m very aware of time and of memories and of enjoying life... not just doing the right thing and being a useful person, which I certainly wanna be and believe that I am.

But I’m holding onto my family really tight at this moment because of that.  And trying to as good a woman as I can be in my life.

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