Out on some limbs about billionaires and the success of humanity
Being transfixed by the Titanic submersible tragedy, with its mind-blowing nature that includes the absurdity of the 1% having that much money, I even wondered if it could be a wake-up to the billionaire class. Arguably the biggest challenge to humanity in the present moment is the wealth gap, where people too poor to be buyers will take sellers down with them. It is sink or swim together. And picture the other road that could be taken, where the greatest honors, like Nobel Prizes, would go to the most philanthropic people.
Our writers’ strike is a big deal which most significantly isn’t about writers getting pay. There’s much more for all of us at stake. Listen to Marianne Williamson in the kind of conversation about what’s going on that should be everywhere. I bet most people will learn from this about our economic front, where writers are testing the waters about getting results we need for our very survival
I want to put in a word here for Marianne. If people listened to all the candidates without knowing anything about them, Marianne would be President. It isn’t just what she advocates, which is good enough to gain her a lot of support, but, even more important is who she is. She’s genuine, a real person, which you hardly see in this presentational world, and she’s an agent for the consciousness humanity needs. Intending to vote for her is a different issue from whether to support her as a candidate. Her platform is a gift for all of us and everyone might consider giving her financial support.
Something radical must happen to free us from the danger we are to ourselves, and I wonder if billionaires might be its instrument. Years ago, before most people had heard of it, I produced a program about Universal Basic Income saving us, since in the not-too-distant future, thanks to automation, there won’t be enough jobs. Some experimental projects, that have started around the world since then, are demonstrating how well UBI works. How about the billionaires, using enough of their money to end up only being very rich, funding financial salvation for all the civilized people in the world?
Also on the billionaire front, MacKenzie Scott, after exiting being MacKenzie Bezos, has been giving her billions to admirable causes. In my imaginary scenario for jump-starting getting the world to work, I have her initiating a Wisdom Council, where people held in the highest esteem become the voice we-the-people need in this breakdown of our democracy where legislators are serving their funders rather than us constituents.
How might billionaires shedding their fortunes come about? One way would be legislation. Another would be shame. But a third would come from their impetus to rescue the world. That could come from a great shift for humanity, for which we’re overdue, where we see ourselves in an evolutionary story with humans adding self-reflective consciousness to an animal kingdom that only operated on instinct. With science giving its seal of approval to the existence of an awareness that puts us in the soup together, as one humanity all of us would want to take on a custodial role as caretakers to our beautiful Earth.
But, right here, right now, what’s first on a smart to-do list for humanity is conversation about changing the world’s mind. We’re good at analyzing what got us into the breakdown the world is in and we’re creative in envisioning Earth as a wonderful place, but my rabble rouser wants attention on what could be happening now. Um -- I could use one of those billionaires to finance whatever turning the world around would take.
If this speaks to you, please share it with people on our wavelength. I’m thinking of starting a conversation for what to do now. Reply to this if you’d like to be part of it.
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