8.31.2006
Clinton, redeemed?
A few people sent me links to the NY times article on Bill Clinton and his foundation. The basic tone of the article is, sure, Clinton's doing a lot now, but he's probably just trying to make up for his lack of action on AIDS and Rwanda during his presidency and secure his place in history.
Can someone be forgiven for allowing a genocide unfold and millions of treatable patients to die? Clinton's line is that talk about redemption now won't save any lives. His foundation does, and his name and presence makes their work stronger and more impactful, which is why he is at the center of their activities. Public figures like him who enter the nonprofit worlds are vulnerable to their motives being questioned, but often one of the most powerful elements they bring (along with buckets of money) is their own star power, media coverage, influence and weight. Do they need a reason why?
Can someone be forgiven for allowing a genocide unfold and millions of treatable patients to die? Clinton's line is that talk about redemption now won't save any lives. His foundation does, and his name and presence makes their work stronger and more impactful, which is why he is at the center of their activities. Public figures like him who enter the nonprofit worlds are vulnerable to their motives being questioned, but often one of the most powerful elements they bring (along with buckets of money) is their own star power, media coverage, influence and weight. Do they need a reason why?
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And once again the trail leads back to Paul Farmer. He isn't a household name like Bill Clinton, but he is truly one of the saints of our century.
While exercising at the gym one night I watched an interview with Jimmy Carter. What a truly gentle, intelligent man! The interviewer couldn't get him to say anything negative about Bush out of respect for the presidency, though he was critical of particular policies, but he didn't hold back in expressing his contempt for Dick Cheney and Karl Rove as truly evil men. The organized right wing did in both of these former presidents.
If we were truly a civil society, we would have let Carter and Clinton lead the country to social justice and environmental sustainability. Both are going on to great accomplishments as former presidents. There's another good article on Clinton in a recent New Yorker.
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If we were truly a civil society, we would have let Carter and Clinton lead the country to social justice and environmental sustainability. Both are going on to great accomplishments as former presidents. There's another good article on Clinton in a recent New Yorker.
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