basic 101 user
Android Enthusiast
Don't disagree in the least.....You are (mostly) correct.
But I keep coming back to a line I try to always remember, and use it to empathize with everyone, see as many other people's perspectives as possible, whenever possible."Life is complicated."
One hand does indeed wash the other. Who do I thank when my hands are clean?
My employer of many years, was a staggeringly wealthy man; He made the majority of his money in both commercial and residential real estate, in one of the most active markets / regions in this country. Without question, he forever changed an entire region of this state, and certainly not all of it for the better. But many of the changes may have been coming, with or without him, and you personally as a tech minded individual have benefited greatly by the industry and technology that arose from that conversion from fruit orchards to high tech campuses; The hyper-concentration of smart, well paid people into a small, formerly lush and pastoral area.
He was one of the guys that had a vision of what the future was going to be, and then made it a reality..... And got stinking rich in the process.
He built it, and they came. They were obviously coming anyhow, so he figured he might as well be the one to build it.
And he raked in a mind boggling, Google of money in so doing.
I imagine this guy had a lot of face to face meetings with mayors, city council members, and senators. And knowing him as I do, he probably dominated the room in all of those meetings, in a way I never could.
And then he put together business deals, one after another that benefited him mightily. It also benefited the lawyers that assisted him, the architects that designed the buildings, the subcontractors who supplied all the toilets, and the laborers who actually built the dang structures. Also the caterers at the parties he threw, and the truck drivers who moved his toys around. And the accountants who kept it all straight, some of whom I gladly dated
......On and on and on, thousands of us, all jealous of this man at one time or another, but happy to be a part of it all.
And he likely paid more money in taxes every year, than I shall earn in this lifetime.
And he also gave more money to charitable organizations than I will likely earn in this lifetime.
And he also spent a small portion of this money, indulging any number of passions, engaging in any number of hobbies. (All turned up to "11".)
Just one of those many passions was my department; He paid me relatively modestly, but quite well in the big scheme of things. He paid me to engage in a creative endeavor that was my own personal passion, bordering on a religious calling for me. I was able to do something I loved, and was ultimately able to build an entire life (for that moment) around the tiny revenue stream that was just one small tributary of the mighty river of money that he dammed and harnessed. Me, and a whole bunch of other people.
Also, it totally sucked. I loved what I did more than I could possibly describe. I worked myself stupid because I wanted to. I received salary bumps without ever asking, regular bonuses, and national awards. But the rent, and the cost of living kept going up faster than I could keep pace with, exactly because of the very things this man was doing to make his own living, and still let a little bit of it trickle down to me and countless others. The traffic kept getting worse, regardless of how many road improvements they made. Not only did the empty fields vanish, but so did the hardware stores and pizza joints. Everything new I bought was obsolete in an increasingly shorter cycle time. Who needs this, I thought? Did I go off to my own tropical island, millions in tow? Not even close, but I still shouldn't complain. Even though I often do!
He was one of the guys that had a vision of what the future was going to be, and then made it a reality..... And got stinking rich in the process.
He built it, and they came. They were obviously coming anyhow, so he figured he might as well be the one to build it.
And he raked in a mind boggling, Google of money in so doing.
I imagine this guy had a lot of face to face meetings with mayors, city council members, and senators. And knowing him as I do, he probably dominated the room in all of those meetings, in a way I never could.
And then he put together business deals, one after another that benefited him mightily. It also benefited the lawyers that assisted him, the architects that designed the buildings, the subcontractors who supplied all the toilets, and the laborers who actually built the dang structures. Also the caterers at the parties he threw, and the truck drivers who moved his toys around. And the accountants who kept it all straight, some of whom I gladly dated
......On and on and on, thousands of us, all jealous of this man at one time or another, but happy to be a part of it all.And he likely paid more money in taxes every year, than I shall earn in this lifetime.
And he also gave more money to charitable organizations than I will likely earn in this lifetime.
And he also spent a small portion of this money, indulging any number of passions, engaging in any number of hobbies. (All turned up to "11".)
Just one of those many passions was my department; He paid me relatively modestly, but quite well in the big scheme of things. He paid me to engage in a creative endeavor that was my own personal passion, bordering on a religious calling for me. I was able to do something I loved, and was ultimately able to build an entire life (for that moment) around the tiny revenue stream that was just one small tributary of the mighty river of money that he dammed and harnessed. Me, and a whole bunch of other people.
Also, it totally sucked. I loved what I did more than I could possibly describe. I worked myself stupid because I wanted to. I received salary bumps without ever asking, regular bonuses, and national awards. But the rent, and the cost of living kept going up faster than I could keep pace with, exactly because of the very things this man was doing to make his own living, and still let a little bit of it trickle down to me and countless others. The traffic kept getting worse, regardless of how many road improvements they made. Not only did the empty fields vanish, but so did the hardware stores and pizza joints. Everything new I bought was obsolete in an increasingly shorter cycle time. Who needs this, I thought? Did I go off to my own tropical island, millions in tow? Not even close, but I still shouldn't complain. Even though I often do!
If it sounds like I am playing both sides of this argument, it's because I am. I truly don't know how to feel about this, and certainly not how to make anything better. For myself, or anyone else.
Life is complicated, everywhere you look.
BTW.......I may be confused, but make no mistake. Some decisions are easy, even if the candidate does seem to resemble my guy. My guy was definitely to the right of my own personal politics and philosophy.....but he never filed for bankruptcy, never left anyone holding the bag, and had a truly great head on his shoulders. Also a great head of hair.
