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This
article was originally going to be an in-depth piece researching the
history of social change through philanthropic giving. Instead, I’ve
been too busy at work, cranking out the 14 hour days to keep the dot.com
money machine in high gear. So I just decided to write about my own
opinions on a social issue. This attitude of mine parallels the attitude
most tech industry barons have about the way that they give away their
money - write big checks and hope it does people in need some good
- and they are missing out on an opportunity to address the biggest
social issue in America so far in the 21st century: gun control.
While
the bottom line dollars that are being given to charitable causes
by people who have built high-tech fortunes has grown impressively
over the last few years - Bill Gates contributed $15.8 billion to
his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 1999 alone - but the actual
impact that this level of financial charity has on society is diluted
because its not focused on a core issue. Gun control should be that
core issue for the high-tech industry and its social leaders.
 If
you think about it, guns are very much a relic of the Old Economy,
the ultimate and original hardware of the industrial revolution.
And gun owners are social opposites of the Palm Pilot-wielding cyber-citizens
of the New Economy. It’s the leadership of these two groups that
makes the difference. Just compare Charlton Heston, George Bush,
Rush Limbaugh, and Tom Selleck, all die-hard gun guys, with Bill
Gates, Marc Andreesen, Jim Clarke and Jeff Bezos, the poster boys
of the digital revolution. Charlie and his gang are united, focused,
and organized around the NRA and the issue of gun ownership rights.
Billionaire Bill and his boys are off funding everything from education
to reproductive health to wetlands restoration to helping eradicate
Guinea Worm Disease.
New
dot-com millionaires are minted everyday, growing a population of
wealthy, progressive and connected industry leaders who have yet
to coalesce the kind of political clout that the NRA’s shrinking
membership continues to wield. While time and public opinion will
probably force real gun control and gun law changes, many more innocent
people will die in the meantime. The philanthropists of the New
Economy need to realize that donating PCs to classrooms doesn’t
count anymore - they’ll just get shot up by kids bringing handguns
and semi-automatic rifles to school anyway.
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