I just lost respect for yet another celebrity who is whining about Bono’s efforts in Africa: Stuart Townsend (notable more for his relationship with Charlize Theron, than for his acting, by the way).

Showbiz Ireland reports that the Irish actor is irritated that Bono’s energy is going toward African relief efforts instead of the campaign to save the historic Tara in his own country.

Here are my thoughts:

A) A man like Bono only has so much time in his day. Apart from being the biggest rock star in the world (and having commitments in the studio, etc.), he’s a businessman, a fashion mogul (via Edun) and finally a humanitarian. He has put all of his eggs in one basket, so to speak, to bring awareness to a place that is constantly ignored by the rest of the world. Cut him some slack. He’s doing a lot more than most celebrities, who are noted for their DUIs rather than their activism.

B) While Tara is undoubtedly a worthy cause (I’m not even from Ireland, and I added the ’cause’ to my Facebook page), its pending doom doesn’t include people dying. Africa does.

C) Just because Bono isn’t giving attention to this Tara campaign doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about his country. That’s like saying because Michael J. Fox is an advocate for Parkinson’s research that he doesn’t want a cure for cancer to be found. Bono can’t be every thing to everybody and his contributions to Ireland (in exports of CDs alone) are immeasurable.

My advice to Mr. Townsend: bring attention to the cause you support by making it about the cause. A lot more people will be on your side if you’re not busy bashing the world’s heroes, but instead bringing light to an under-represented topic.