Please read the whole post if you wish to gain insight into what has been eating at me so much lately. Also, this will sound like a rant. I’m just trying to vent.
Hey, there are all kind of peoples.
Well despite my best efforts (including trying to distract myself by talking about video games), the demon still has a grip on me. I have decided to go with the dumping option: just belt it all out. I’m hoping that by getting these festering thoughts out of my head I might finally be able to stabilize. Let’s see if I’m right.
The Grand Vision isn’t just some career option. The quest to start a museum here on the Central Coast and the mission it represents has become a part of my identity, who I am. However, the project doesn’t really extend beyond myself at the moment. I have sent outreach letters to various museums and organizations throughout the Central Coast. But who knows how that will go. I almost had an opportunity to create a small museum that surely would have boosted the effort. But that dream was stolen from me and I found myself betrayed and back to the drawing board. Right now the Grand Vision hangs by a thread, and the stability of my mind with it. Of course, the most important thing to starting a museum is: money.
Museums need money not only to start, but also (and much more crucially) to maintain operations. Museum are mostly non-profits, so they are reliant on the generosity of others (donations, community partners, etc). A little while back, I had some ignorant dullard accuse me of being jealous of commercialists, that I couldn’t have “a piece” of their money. I don’t care about their money. My number one concern is the fossils. Besides, commercialists have dirty money. That money was made selling fossils, minerals, and artifacts. No matter the amount, I would never touch it. Trying to fund a museum by selling fossils makes about as much sense as funding elephant conservation by selling ivory. Accepting money from commercialists would be practical, but morally reprehensible.
I do covet money, but not for the conventional reasons. Commercialists are in it to make money, to line their pockets. As I said, I don’t want their money. I want to try and make this world a better place by creating a place of science. Unfortunately, science is abysmally low on everyone’s list of priorities unless it’s “practical”; that is, if it’s immediately useful and/or can be profited off of. One of the greatest problems in this world is the concentration on the self. People live in a little bubble consisting mostly of them self and maybe those closest to them. They care not for the world around them, even though they are very clearly a part of it. Selflessness is a liability, and all energy must be focused on themself. Now obviously that focus can be justified depending on how much money a person has. If someone is barely making enough to feed and house their family then yes, they should focus on that (why they should have to worry about that is another can of worms for some other time). But what about those who are doing very well for themselves?
I think there are two kinds of people in this world: those who could make a difference but can’t, and those who can make a difference but don’t. This complete lack of selflessness in people is truly exemplified by the rich. These people have the ability to really make a difference in the world, to help their fellow human beings in numerous ways. But instead what do they do? They use their wealth to fund extravagant and lavish lifestyles: expensive clothes, fancy restaurants, luxury vacations to far flung exotic locales, huge posh homes, exorbitant crafts (yachts, private jets etc), and (in the case of many folks on the coming list) polluting and trying to control the political process. These people could use their money to fund various causes and still live comfortably. But instead, they just cling to their money. Because our culture is obsessed with money. We equate having lots of it with success. We are expected to admire and worship these people because they have “made it”. Money is still treated as some kind of status symbol; the more you have, the “greater” you are supposed to be. It is all about them. They keep making more and more money and clinging to it so that they can continue serving their own interests.
So yes, I am envious of the rich. But it’s only because I see all this money sitting around and thinking about how much good I could do with it. Instead of living life a rich asshole, I could make the kinds of differences that these people refuse to do. So we are going to look at various rich folks and what I could do with the kind of money they save for themselves. Then I will tell you what I could do with it (using the website TheRichest).
- Mitch McConnal- First up on our list is Ol’ Turtle. This guy has been one of the leaders of the most obstructive and unproductive congress in history. According to the site, his net worth is $9.8 million. While that is a huge sum to the most of us, it is rather small to the costs of starting a museum. But with nearly ten million dollars, I could likely buy a small warehouse and convert it into a curation facility. I could probably also rent some space downtown as a display site. There out to be a couple million left over to then fund our activities for a couple years.
- Sarah Palin- The Qitta from Wasilla has made a tidy living blithering like an idiot both on stage and Fox “News”. She’s worth $12 million. That would probably allow me to do the same as in number 1, but with more money for operating costs.
- John McCain- After failing to become president, John McCain now spends his days as an angry old white guy trying desperately to stay relevant. He lucked out by marrying a beer heiress. His net worth sits as a modest $21 million. That kind of money would actually allow me to build a custom made curation facility from scratch. Then I could use the leftovers to fund the place.
- George W Bush- The guy who likes to act like a cowboy but lives like a king. The guy who is considered by many to be the worst president ever sits pretty at $35 million. Wow, I could probably add some initial display space to the custom built facility.
- M. Night Shayamalan- This guy has become legendary for a career that started off beautifully… and then took a nose dive… and has gotten worse with each film. And yet he is worth a cool $50 million. That much could get the last option but be able to fund it for a few years.
- Dick Cheney- Everyone’s favorite war criminal with a scowl not even a mother could love. Dick has done well for himself, being worth $90 million. With that, I could get the custom built curation facility, add some exhibit space, and fund it for a few years with a curator or two.
- Morgan Freeman- Ah, now we’re getting into the big bucks. This academy award winning actor is undeniably at the apogee of talent. He is worth the not inconsiderable sum of $150 million. That could get the previous option, but have some money available for future expansion.
- Justin Bieber- This poser/twit/little shit is somehow worth $200 million. Never mind what I would do with it… I have already talked about Bieber more than anyone ever should.
- Adam Sandler- A decent actor who for some reason keeps making terrible movies. Sandler is currently worth $300 million. With that, I could build a proper natural history museum, with a small (to start) research staff that could be funded for a couple decades.
Alright, we are getting to the really big players. Basically, they could all contribute the same amount. They are:
Larry Page- $31 billion
Sheldon Adelson- $36.5 billion
David Koch- $49.9 billion
Now let’s start with the amount of $500 million. This would be chump change for these guys. But for people like me, it is mana from heaven. What would I do with half a billion dollars? Be sure to take your bathroom break now because I’m about to unleash a wall of text!
With half a billion dollars, I could create a veritable academy of sciences. It would be divided into three buildings, each with its own collections facility and exhibit space. Each one would have its own hierarchy of research staff. It would go something like this: each department within the building would consist of: 3 or 4 assistant curators, 2 curators, and one senior curator. Each building would then have a director that oversees the whole place. Of course the number of assistant and regular curators would vary depending on the needs of the department, but that’s the general idea.
The first building would house the ancient sciences. This would consist of: invertebrate paleontology, vertebrate paleontology, Mesozoic paleontology, geology, and archaeology (Why did paleontology get sub divisions? Because it’s what I know best.). The second building would be dedicated to the life sciences: invertebrate zoology, lower vertebrate (fish, reptiles, amphibians) zoology, higher vertebrate (birds, mammals) zoology, molecular biology (cells, DNA, etc), and human biology. Last but not least, the third building would consist of the physical sciences: chemistry, physic, and climatology (yeah I pigeon holed that last one). There would also be a fourth building, housing a space for traveling exhibits, a high tech imaging lab, research library, and offices for the various other administrative departments (education, press, financial, etc). All that, and I would be able to fund it for many decades.
Of course, I could probably shave off $150 million for various other causes. For example, when I went to Sharktooth Hill, the guy said he had sold a couple acres of the bonebed to various institutions, but there would still be 7 acres left. With the obscene amount of money I have, I could buy the remaining 7 acres. I’d keep 3 for my museum to excavate, I would give 2.5 to the Buena Vista Museum (and $5 million to develop it and curate it), and 1.5 acres to the Ray Alf Museum (and 2 million to develop it and curate it. Why not? That place is awesome and has been so good to me. Plus having a bonebed ready to go could add a new dimension to their field and education programs). I probably also give another few million to the Alf. Then I’d give $15 million the San Bernardino County Museum so they could finally finish the Hall of Geologic Wonders (keep the change)! Then how about $20 million to the Cooper Center so they could upgrade their curation facility and prep labs and maybe hire some more people to help prep their back log of fossils and artifacts. I’d also throw $5 million to the Autry National Center so they could fix up and reopen the Southwest Museum. And oh yeah, $8 million to the Charles Paddock Zoo, who is in serious need of renovation. What else? I could probably build some homeless shelters, donate to various conservation efforts, and fund the lunch programs at local schools so the kids are getting healthy, quality food (especially the ones who can’t afford it). Hell, with ten million I could buy this place.
And then convert it into an ice age park (like that one guy is doing in Siberia). Basically I’d stock the land with free roaming bison, horses, camels, llamas, pronghorn, and tapirs. Then people could come and go on a “prehistoric safari”. With a few million more, I could create a small zoo near the front to house the stuff that probably shouldn’t roam free (like elephants as well as the carnivores: lions, cheetahs, jaguars, wolves, and bears). The place would need a game warden, zoo keepers, education staff, and various other employees. That ought to create a few more jobs and boost the local economy! And if I somehow scored the full $1 billion… Well, I could do all of the above and then some.
“Oh please, you would keep it all for yourself”. Well yeah, I’d probably keep just a little bit, mainly as a safety net. I’d probably also use some so my parents can fumigate the house; so they can replace their shower with one whose floor isn’t in danger of caving in; get my sister some help with her kids so she could go back to school (as well as pay for her tuition); help my parents wipe out their credit card debt. You know, things regular people should be able to do but can’t because they have to devote most of their money to just trying to live day to day. That because the economy keeps poking along and the inequality gap keeps growing, people can’t afford to be affluent.
Of course, we all know none of this, the stuff I spent the last 3 days writing, will ever happen. The rich cling to their money like they are preparing for some kind of depression. Now obviously there are exceptions. The richest has a list of the 10 most charitable celebrities. And don’t forget George Lucas donated the $1 billion he made (selling the rights to Star Wars to Disney) to charity. But sadly these people are the exception when they should be the rule. “It’s their money. They can do what they want with it”. Yes, yes it is. It doesn’t mean I can’t condemn their greed. But like I said, none of this matters. This essay, this bloated treatise of whining and wishful thinking, is invisible. It exists only on some hack’s blog, lost in the sea of rantings and babblings that is the internet. Even if this were to be seen by more than a few people, it likely would have no effect other than as a curiosity. Like almost everything else I do, it was in vain.
People who could enact real change in this world choose not to. Meanwhile, those of us who wish to enact change must instead fight and claw our way through life and society to bring about what ever good we can. Like I said, what I could do if given the reasons will never happen because that kind of money only stays with the rich. So what am I to do? I have a few ideas. I could find the tallest building or cliff I can and take a nose dive off it. I could give a baretta a blowjob. I could just grab a humble razor blade and let loose the crimson tide. Except that wouldn’t do any good either. Seriously, what would the death of a complete nobody with delusions of grandeur possibly do to the world? There are 7 billion people on this planet. I am nothing more than a speck of dust. Meanwhile, the real movers and shakers of society, who stand heads and shoulders above most of us, can’t be bothered to think about society outside of their decadent ranks. So here I am, a glorious plan to actually make a difference in the world, left to languish over the fact that while someone could very easily make it happen, they won’t. Because society exists to serve them, when it should be the other way around.
So yeah, that is what has had me down so much lately. I feel like I have stabilized, but honestly, how long can that last? Every day I’m reminded of how insignificant I am in the world, of how powerless I am to make a difference. Meanwhile the ones who should be doing more to help their fellow man instead grow fat off the hard work of the rest of us. If you’re reading this and are one of the wealthy or you know someone wealthy… prove me wrong! Show me that these people aren’t just parasites on society who think they live in a different world than we do. Show me that they aren’t just in it for themselves.
I’d really love for this to go somewhere, but I know it won’t. No one cares. No one cares about making the hellhole of modern civilization better. They only care about themselves (although if they are on the bottom, as A LOT of people are, they simply don’t have a choice as they have to work hard just to keep their heads above water). They can’t seem to grasp the concept that we as a population, as a race, as a people, are in this together. But how can we ever hope to improve if the potential for change is never given a chance? I think I have gone on long enough. Let’s hope I can keep myself together.
Till next time…
PS- on a lighter note, if you care to say, what would you do with any of the above amounts of dough? Would it be as grandios as what I said? Feel free to elaborate in the comments.
