Incredible but true. Just as I was finishing this open letter to multi-millionaires, an open letter from "Millionaires for Humanity" was published last Monday! An appeal to governments to tax the rich so that the fight against the consequences of Covid-19 can succeed. A really great gesture.
This naturally makes me very happy, and proud of the people who initiated it. Things are moving. None the less, much more is needed. The upper multi-billionaires have sooo much money, and therefore: power.
42 billionaires own as much as half the world population owns.
What can you do with that much money?
EVERYTHING actually!
I appeal to, among others, Warren Buffet, Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Phil Knight, Tim Cook, Laurene Powell Jobs... just to name a few of the people who are already doing something with great success and who could do many more positive things.
But also to all other people, in all areas of life, who have an influence on world affairs. Thank God, many have already woken up and are very active, but by now, the actions needed are overwhelming. And not just the ones caused by the Corona Virus. They have been known for decades and have recently been very clearly and distinctly addressed in all media...
I love the statements made by Laurene Powell Jobs who said: "It's not right for individuals to accumulate a massive amount of wealth that's equivalent to millions and millions of other people combined, there's nothing fair about that" and "I'm not interested in legacy wealth building, and my children know that."
I substantiate my plea with some original quotations from Henry Ford on wealth, money and wisdom, which were formulated about 100 years ago, but are as true now as they were then!
“If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.”
I am writing this letter because I cannot and will not sit back, watch and wait anymore. I have to try to make a contribution to improve the situation, even if it's only a small contribution. If every second person who reads this letter wakes up and is aware that she/he can make an impact, maybe we will succeed.
I am here to remind you that you, like all people with influence, have a great responsibility. Not only to your own descendants but also to society at large, to whom you own your fortune.
“That man is best educated who knows the greatest number of things that are so, and who can do the greatest number of things to help and heal the world.”
Unfortunately, there’s not much sense in appealing to politicians. Once they have reached a certain level in the hierarchy, they seem to loose their passion for justice, and just compromise. For the most part, they have become nothing more than puppets of industry and its advisors and lobbyists. There are more than enough examples of this in all countries around the world.
Politics are no longer driven by common interest.
Instead, the wishes of big finance and industry
are the driving force behind political action.
Money makes the world go round,
so please do good things with it...
You, the super-rich, have money in abundance, which means you have the power and the possibility to change things and steer us into a better future. You can influence politicians and lobbyists to work for a better future. I appeal to your ethics. Do something before it is too late! You are my last hope.
It's really close to midnight for humanity. Soon, we will reach the point of no return. The earth will continue to exist in some form, but we humans will no longer be able to see its beauty.
“We live in an era of tremendous facts. And facts are facts. They are also unpleasant facts, which does not decrease their factual percentage one bit. Our job is to understand them, to recognize their presence, to learn if we can what they signify and not to fall into the error of minimizing facts because they have a bitter flavor.”
It is important for me to make it clear that I feel neither envy nor resentment towards you, not at all. If you earned your money with honest means and you have a clear conscience about it, you should be allowed to spend it as long as possible and enjoy it.
However, it seems to me that many people lack compassion and awareness of the seriousness of the situation. It fills me with sadness to see how this unique, wonderful world and all its beauty is falling into despair. We have been warned about the situation for decades, but all warnings by renowned scientists and sages are, so far, mostly ignored.
“All those who deny their hours of scarcity are lying, because they don’t understand anything.”
What is the situation?
During the current Corona pandemic, I, like many others, have had time to read and think. And what I read was, from one day to the next, more and more disturbing, and made me increasingly sad. So bad even, that I feel ashamed for the human race.
- We are allowing the air to get more and more polluted, and a dangerous global warming is taking place that will soon be irreversible.
- We are allowing our food and soil to be contaminated with ever increasing numbers of pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals. And this soil is supposed to feed us and our children?
- We are allowing more and more waste to be dumped in the oceans, killing all life in them.
- We are still allowing the use of technologies that are a health hazard and that produce waste that we do not know what to do with.
- The world's oceans are becoming increasingly contaminated with radioactive waste every day, affecting all life in and around them.
- We allow all the important agreements concerning the protection of our environment - and therefore our own - to be broken.
Do you really believe that all the scientists who have been warning us for decades are exaggerating?
Do we want to appease our conscience and play down the danger?
For even if there is a certain amount of scaremongering, wouldn't it still be better to take action before it is too late? And do it quickly...
This world is so beautiful, so diverse. Probably unique in the universe. The earth has the power to regenerate itself, as long as we give it a chance. Let us give it, and above all: ourselves, the chance to do so.
Who does not wish to live in a beautiful,
clean and peaceful world?
Power and money over heart and feelings?
This planet is much smaller and more fragile than we think. How will life be possible when the soil is polluted and can no longer feed us? When the oceans and all life in them are dead and the air is polluted?
Can you really imagine living in such a world? We all breathe the same air! And we depend on nature for our health and survival.
When the struggle for water becomes more severe, and the air becomes even more impure, and food becomes scarce, in short; when chaos reigns, do you really believe that you can still be happy and enjoy life?
“The satisfaction that arises from honest accomplishment is of far more value in the promotion of human happiness than the thrill that comes with the realization of materialistic aspirations.”
Even wealthy people cannot retreat to some island or bunker forever and live there as if everything is just fine. You and your children certainly want to continue to eat and drink healthily. And travel to the most beautiful places in the world every now and then. Luxury accommodations in Monaco, St.-Tropez, Marbella, Ibiza, St.-Moritz, Kitzbühel, Maldives, or on beautiful yachts...
All this will change for everyone, including you, because the world will soon be a very different place if we don't act quickly.
If you want your children and grandchildren to judge you for what you do or don't do today, continue as you are, for we are on our way to destroy this world. It will be too late to say
"If only I had known!"
But I don't believe that you want this for your children. You are flesh and blood, heart and soul. You are not people with supernatural powers and you have the same health, psychological and social issues as the rest of us. You may be able to soften the effects of ageing or disease with your wealth, but you cannot live forever. One day, you will die, just like everyone else.
Why, when the world is on the verge of collapse, do some people still think only of making profit and earning their next billion? On a personal level, it’s useless anyway.
So why this obsession with more money?
“There is nothing ever wrong with ability, ambition, achievement; but they can easily be wronged by being used to bad ends.”
For some, perhaps the reason for this behaviour is simply to savour and exercise a sense of power or influence on world affairs for a few years. Perhaps it is like a game in which you have to win at all costs. We are brought up to win. The ego swells with enthusiasm and strong feelings, it is like a drug.
I can imagine it very well, it must be really intoxicating to be successful. It's a dynamic process driven by desire, constantly renewed by the creative abilities of each individual, regardless of whatever sense of achievement (or lack thereof) afterwards.
“The highest purpose of wealth is not to make money, but to make money improve life.”
Some people who really mean well tell themselves that they have found a purpose, a task (a calling) in their lives and that they are doing good with their money. It is also currently fashionable to donate, which is a good thing. As long as it is not only used to create or buy a clear conscience for oneself.
“I do not believe that material accumulation is the whole of success, and on the other hand I do not believe that true success ever excludes a sufficient possession of wealth - but wealth as a means, not as an end.”
But some are caught in the trap of their own calling. They convince themselves that what they are doing is important and fantastic. And some are so caught up in their own convictions, that any means to achieve their goals are justified. Even a certain amount of collateral damage is accepted. Where has the real and pure philanthropic commitment gone?
“The gifted man bears his gifts into the world, not for his own benefit, but for the people among whom he is placed; for the gifts are not his, he himself is a gift to the community.”
Others, such as George Soros, for example, are involved in conspiracies through their actions, whereby one no longer knows what really happened or what is true.
Yes, politics, power and the ego with personal interests often divert originally good intentions, at the expense of the general public, into a very strange and dirty game. And one often cannot get out of it without losing face.
“What great men often lack, is the ability, to limit their goals.”
So many people have exercised this power for a short time in the course of history. Just because they believed that their vision of the world was the better one. And they have realised their goals at the cost of many lives while bringing misfortune to many more.
"The end justifies the means," Machiavelli said.
Does it?
In hindsight, all these people are depicted as villains in history books. When you look at world history, you realise that similar events have often been repeated.
Interestingly, none of these people seemed to understand that nothing lasts forever. Not their power and not their lives. So why did they do it? I’ve been wondering about this for a long time...
What is it that turns good people into people who don't care anymore about humanitarian values or nature conservation (generally considered "ethical" values), once they reach power?
Why don’t powerful people want to be remembered fondly?
In the end, we are in this world for only a certain period of time before we make room for the next generation. What do we want to leave behind for the future then?
Which do you prefer? A heap of rubble or a good basis to leave for our children?
Money rules the world and it is yours. Consequently, you have the power and the moral obligation to take action. Yes, I believe that people who “have made it” have a great responsibility to help solve the problems of society.
You have the power! And if you chose to, you have the possibilities, to use that power to the benefit of all.
You have made so much money in your lives that you will never be able to spend it all. You can buy almost anything and what do you do with it? You are still trying to make more money! Do you realise that you can't take anything with you when you die?
How much is enough?
Apparently, for some people, it's never enough...!
New systems of government?
And what are governments doing to protect the people who elected them? Hardly anything, and it’s not enough! The democratic system of government is, in theory at least, the best form of government. But in practice, unfortunately, it’s a different story.
Every 4-5 years a pseudo-democratic election is held. The citizens vote to the best of their ability and conscience for the party with the best leader (i.e. the party where you have the feeling that she/he is not lying and will do her/his work decently) and then the people have nothing more to say until the next election.
“It is regrettable that people think about our monetary system, and of our economic structure, only in times of depression.”
The common people are incapacitated until they are needed again. This system has lost its credibility. Many systems have been tried over the last centuries and almost none have served the people proper.
Not socialism, not communism, dictatorships even less and, unfortunately, not democracy. In small villages/regions there have been a few good approaches every now and then, but never on a national level.
And now we should up scale to world level, because today there are too many global dependencies.
We need to listen more to scientists and researchers in different fields like medicine, philosophy, theology, and also environmental associations and organisations... Let's put them all together to find solutions.
For example, a new form of governance should be considered so that the challenges that affect the whole world can be worked out, decided and implemented much more effectively and quickly. Time is of the essence.
Co-responsibility of the people
There is no doubt that all people are jointly responsible, and so are we. Why? Many of us lack discipline, awareness and respect for our own kind and for the environment. We are easily manipulated.
We like to be seduced and want to constantly experience new things. New clothes, a new car, the latest TV or mobile phone with even more functionality, the fastest data transfer, travelling all over the world and much more. The new generation has gotten used to this constant consumption and is easily seduced with new gadgets.
Since modern man lives in a stressful and insecure world, he believes he needs these things to be happy. And if you know what makes people tick, you can easily suggest something to them with targeted advertising, and the game is easy. If the majority of people were awake and aware, we would not have these crises on our hands.
After all, we have achieved so much to understand the interrelationships of life's modular systems. We could still, if we are quick, limit the damages.
Nobody is perfect, we are only human. We have all sides in us, including thoughts we are not proud of. Everybody has good and bad days, ideas, opinions or reactions, which we regret later. But for many, admitting that one has made a mistake is impossible. For those, it is better to continue to follow the wrong path for fear of losing face! Really sad, the lack of self-confidence of many so-called intelligent people.
How do we imagine the future? What do we want to leave to our children? We should all thoroughly consider these simple questions.
The utopian dream of salvation in space!
I find it perverse and personally I cannot imagine that there are people who would rather give up our wonderful world and dream of living on Mars or anywhere else in the universe in a spaceship.
And those who want it that way today will not be able to experience it anyway, even if they let themselves freeze. Why? Because no one will be there to thaw them!
Can these people really imagine living on a foreign planet with their children and grandchildren? Do they have any idea of the challenges?
Billions are spent on it. Money that could have been used to solve many problems in this world.
It almost sounds like a bargain... Mars for Only $1,5 Trillion = 1.500.000.000.000.000.000 $ was calculated by a manager and staff scientist from Nasa and the 'Lunar and Planetary Institute' in Houston in a 2015 article.
The Mars flight of the first four people alone is said to cost six billian dollars. About 800 million people are starving on our world and every year about 30-40 million people die of hunger.How can these people be so liberally ignored?
The earth is our paradise
We were “created” for the Earth. How so? Because we live in symbiosis with it. We are the result of millions of years of evolution, of trial and error, and we have our paradise here. Of course, hell is often also present, with or without our help.
And because we form a symbiosis with nature, our organism contains at least as many bacteria as cells! We are constantly accompanied by billions of bacteria and fungi, 9,000 species on our tongue alone. On our skin, they form a protective mantle to ward off pathogens, which has evolved over time.
We do not understand all the mechanisms of life and yet we pretend to already know everything. How arrogant! We will never be able to protect ourselves from everything because nature is more inventive than we can ever be. Without our bacteria, fungi and even viruses, we are nothing.
Everything works together, that's why some diseases are so difficult to understand. We can certainly give a little support here and there. But this should be done by natural medicines, because we come from nature. These contain many substances that the body needs. With artificially generated drugs we cannot achieve a balance, because they only contain isolated active ingredients.
There are organisms with germs and bacteria everywhere in nature. Bacteria were here long before us. For 3.5 billion years, the earth was populated with a complicated ecosystem of bacteria, germs, viruses and other beings. Until the first multicellular, simple life developed.
About 500 million years ago, living beings and life processes developed and a dependence was formed. How can we imagine to get along without these processes on a planet far away? It is really very presumptuous to believe that we could be more intelligent than nature.
“The only true test of values, either of men or of things, is that of their ability to make the world a better place in which to live.”
More on this topic (sorry, it's all in German for now):
https://www.infomedizin.de/news/bericht/590-mikroben-bakterien-mensch/
https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/meine-bakterien-und-ich-der-mensch-als-metaorganismus.740.de.html?dram:article_id=436989
Conclusion
Well, what do you think?
I'm not the first to want to draw your attention. But certainly one of the last, because time is running out.
Do you want to join forces, like the 'Millionaires for Humanity' quoted at the beginning, and work out solutions together?
Talk to the bankers and politicians in your respective countries and push for effective and quick solutions.
Or will you continue to bury your head in the sand, ignore everything and only think about business?
I wish that the majority of you will receive this letter and become aware: Yes, I understand and I will act now!
Get together. Never in history has it been so easy to communicate as it is now. There will not be one solution, but many. Even though cultures differ, when it comes to climate, air and water, we are all in the same boat, and there are no boundaries.
Thank you for reading my plea.
Sincerely,
Christophe, a citizen of the world, who still has hope and trust in mankind. We all want the same thing in the end...
to be happy!
very well said and my hopes are as yours that we must all do something to alleviate the pain and sadness in this beautiful world and life that we have.
Thank you very much Ken…
If many could understand and become aware of this.
Everyone can make a difference through their actions and be an example for others. Many will then follow…
May everything good follow you and find you.
Thank you Chris. Your passion is felt. As you pointed out, death is the great equalizer. It is how Gaia exquisitely always achieves balance. We as Homo sapiens may well Extinct ourselves. You are right. It is up to us all with ever increasing responsibility on those have hoarded the Earth’s resources. Gaia has many tools in her toolbox Including corona viruses and more. The time is always NOW, to live and act from the deepest resources of our being. May we all awaken, may we all be well, may we all become free from illusion and suffering ??❤️??
Dear Roger, thanks for your enriching contribution. Yes, I believe in this aspect of our so-called reality, but I still find it very difficult to remain inactive and be only an observer. This wonderful world was created with love for life over millions of years and immense effort and we should continue to support this process. Just like as a small seed can grow into a giant séquoia tree over 100 m high, any small positive contribution to the preservation of the planet is welcome and can work wonders. May we all become conscious very quickly. With kind regards Chris
Hi Chris, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. I hope we all become aware of this situatuon and that we all can do something if we take our self-responsability.
Hi Thomas, thank you for your kind words. We are all in this together. If all those who have woken up continue to spread their light, more and more people will wake up and take responsibility. Keep up the good work! 🙂
Hi Chris, beautiful article and yes hopefully more and more people will become aware that this planet and our lives together are our responsibility, and that we are all connected. Sending sunshine from Alicante
Hi Lara,
Thank you so much for your conscious comment. Yes, the sharing of these thoughts across all layers and in all societies of this world is very important. We need awareness and responsibility.
Kind regards from Paris with sunshine too, Chris
Well said and well written.. let's hope many see it.. and I'd like to take this opportunity to share a non profit idea I have, so that normal people can also help along side the millionaires.
Not everyone can donate to charity or have the skills to volunteer.. but what if they could use the skills they have to raise money by doing good deeds for others who in turn donate.
That's what Voogle is about.. and I'm looking for help and skills to launch this App to raise $15bn by 2025 for good causes to address many of the points raised in this open letter.
Here's a link to a 10min video that explains the concept and what we need.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLWW0kHeY_k
Thank you
Dear Peter,
Thank for your kind words and for sharing your project.
It’s a beautiful initiative and we hope it will succeed.
Warm regards,
Chris