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Edited on Thu Dec-09-10 04:42 PM by CreekDog
I was thinking about how Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook CEO) pledged to give away the majority of his wealth. Time will tell of course, but I do wonder if there will be changes in our society thanks to a more selfless generation coming of age. I can hope.
But here's the thing:
Of the wealthy fighting maniacally for every penny, every dollar of stock and compensation, in 100 years, when all the books are written about this time, how is all that going to look? How will it look if in 10 years, it becomes fashionable to be wealthy and pay more taxes, give away your wealth and you're the guy that grabbed all he could and everyone knows it?
Well, how does it feel to be a bank executive who snagged a ton in bonuses...or should I say, how does it feel to reveal at a holiday party of regular folks what you do and how you got what you have? The point is that how we are viewed can change very, very quickly.
And now onto the Senators, who face a similar prospect. Every Senator has remarkable power. For those who have used their power to stop repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell (especially those who claim to be for it), how will that look in a generation, in 50 years, in 100 years? When their grandkids are middle aged and talking to their friends or to their children and are asked, "Did grandma really vote against letting people like Uncle Frank be soldiers?".
Is the "I won't vote for that until you let us vote on 7 or 9 or 13 other things first..." (What are they? Well, mostly unspecified)
Is that really going to cut it?
One would think that with both money and power, that those who have the most, and more than most people would ever know what to do with --one would think the thought of "legacy" would cross their minds. But when I see their actions, I see mostly things among some very wealthy and important people that are likely to cause them to be remembered by their descendants and people in general as pretty bad.
What on earth is worth risking that?
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