Amazon’s Jeff Bezos entered the fray on the use of money and
fame to support political causes with a large personal donation supporting gay marriage,
specifically to help support a “yes” vote ratifying a new Washington state law
supporting same-sex unions, Referendum 74, on Nov. 6.
Forbes has an article, “Jeff Bezos kicks straight support
for gay marriage up a notch”, link here.
CNN was debating the idea, suggesting an ethical issue with
the way celebrities use fame, and businesspersons use money to support social
causes. I took a third path, without
fame or a lot of money, but just low costs, determination, and some social
detachment to influence debate (as with gays in the military) by staying online
for 15 years with user-generated content and leveraging user generated content. That effort raised questions about “the
privilege of being listened to”, as I have debated with myself on my main blog.
It also raises the issue of my dislike
of joining fundraising issues for specific “other people’s causes”.
Remember, on June 25, the Supreme Court had (implicitly) rejected a Montana’s campaign
finance laws or mechanisms, and given a green light to “money speech” (see
Issues Blog, June 23 and 25). That seems
to contradict my own concern over “conflict of interest” in the workplace, as
mentioned yesterday in conjunction with “Chick Fil A”.
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