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Idealism is Alive and Well

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Bill Gates

Conspiracy theories have, no doubt, been with us for as long as we’ve been clever enough to imagine such things.  Some may have a grain of truth, but it annoys me when they are levelled at good people.   There are plenty people who have risen to dizzying heights with their integrity intact.  I suspect that those who take pot-shots at them are unable to comprehend that there are individuals who simply want to make the world a better place. 

 

Since I finished reading ‘A Promised Land’, Barack Obama’s account of his career up to the end of his first presidential term, my copy has been idle. 

 

That seems like a waste. 

 

To remedy this, I’d like to share my copy with others who are interested.

 

Make contact with me, and I’ll lend you the book.  (The mechanics of this are explained at the end of this article).

 

The lasting impression that I gained from 'A Promised Land', was that Obama's motivations are selfless,  Ego plays little part.

He writes at a personal level, being matter-of-a-fact about his failings and talents.  The book is the culmination of about two years of hard graft, written long hand (with a pen and paper), because that is his preference.  This book also benefits from a host of people checking and advising.  The effort that went in, is evident in the result.

 

Having polished off Obama’s book, I then loaded, onto my Kindle, Bill Gate’s ‘How to avoid Climate Disaster’.  Like the Obama book, it  revealed the thinking of someone, who simply wants to make the world a fairer place. Although, this is a ‘How To’ book, Gates includes comments and anecdotes that reveal his personality, also it speaks volumes, that he is focusing resources on heading off the really big problem: global warming.

 

It's a an understatement to say that Gates has been generous. Rather than seeking out ever more lavish ways of spending his money, he set up the world’s largest private charity, and along with Warren Buffet, has lobbied other hyper rich to gift half their wealth to charity.

On the strength of that, I forgive him for anti competitive business tactics at Microsoft.  If there were ill gotten gains, what better place could there be for those gains to end up than under the command of someone who is diligently working on applying them to best advantage for the world.

 

Conspiracy theorists should find more productive avenues for their creativity.  Sure, there are manipulative ego-centric people occupying high places, but so too, are there good people, and they need your support and encouragement to counteract the others.

 

I can easily rattle off the names of a dozen New Zealand cabinet ministers who were, or are, in my opinion, straight out, exceptionally fine people.

We’re fortunate, in New Zealand,  because, unlike America, getting to the top does not oblige you to court corruption, as Abraham Lincoln had to, to abolish slavery.  That is, he had to bestow favours in order to get the necessary votes.  It was a case of the ends justifying the means.

In more recent times, I believe that Obama demonstrated that it is still possible to run the gauntlet to the top and arrive uncorrupted.  

 

I’d love to pass on my copy of ‘How to Avoid a Climate Disaster’.  But, alas, it’s on my Kindle, and short of lending you that,  There is no other way I can share it.

My copy of Barrack Obama’s ‘A Promised Land’ is however, in good old-fashioned paper and ink .  You are most welcome to it.

 

Here’s the deal:  Contact me (below) and I put your name and email address on a card that I pop in the book.

As other readers make contact, I add them.  After one week I will contact the first person on the list, and they collect the book and card from our front counter.  When that person has finished reading it, it will then be their responsibility to contact the next person and pass it on.

Once I lend the book , I relinquish control of it’s fate.  It will be up to you and those who come after you, to keep it moving. 

This book is 700 pages of average size type.  If you’re not able to tuck into it straight away, and get through it in less than a month, please let the next person in the queue step ahead of you. 

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