Sorting Good Eggs From Bad Apples

 I'VE NEVER BEEN a big fan of country music. "Ring of Fire", Johnny Cash, 1963, when I was in third grade was the apex of my interest. Nor am I much of a fan of American celebrity culture. We Americans elevate entertainment celebrities almost to the status of gods. We build monuments and statues to them, we enshrine their houses as sacred temples, we get on buses and tour the neighborhoods where they live, and take pictures of their iron gates. Until the Covid epidemic, we much over rated those who entertain us, and under rated those who care for our health and well being. Dolly Parton, for example. Although I never cared for her singing voice or songs, and long ago tired of hearing crude comments about her chest size, I was vaguely aware of her philanthropic tendencies, and of the fact that she seemed over rated, artistically. Then she donated a million dollars to Vanderbilt University, which has been working in concert with the Moderna Company on a Covid 19 vaccine. Her money was earmarked exclusively for research,and seems to have paid off handsomely. Now I see her in a whole new light. Nor have I ever been much interested in nor respectful towards people whose fame derives exclusively from their personal wealth, with the exception of philanthropists Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. Donald Trump, who never gave anything to anybody, I despise. You might recall that hes Trump foundation was shut down early in his presidency for committing all manner of illegal acts, including channeling money from charity to his personal political campaign. I had always despised Jeff Bezos for his alleged parsimony, until just the other day. Just the other day I found out that he has allotted ten billion dollars to go towards fighting climate change. suddenly, at the drop of a hat, on the turn of a dime, Jeff Bezos becomes a hero of mine, and probably should become a hero to everyone on the planet. This is precisely the sort of philanthropic endeavor we need desperately, and in a hurry. Bezos evidently will use the money to invest in various projects to fight climate change, investments of his own choosing, hopefully with the sound advice of climate change scientists. For that kind of money he could probably purchase and plant at least a trillion trees, which in itself would go a long way towards solving the problem.On the other end of the spectrum, Apple Inc. was caught and finally fessed up to installing software and batteries in their smart phones which deliberately slowed the phones down, the nefarious purpose being to entice people to buy new upgraded phones. For this the y will pay handsomely, to thirty states. Don't be discouraged by bad corporate behavior in the face of blossoming generosity. Like Michael Jackson sand "One bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch, girl".