Charlie Munger and Henry Kissinger are dead. Munger died 34 days before his hundredth year. Kissinger crossed into his hundredth year in May of this year. Both are generational lights, one in business and the other in statecraft. Their deaths are a reminder that even the greatest among us cannot escape the veil of eternity.
Eric's statement here sums it up best for me. "Both men were realists. They saw the world as it is and sought to make it better. Today, we are surrounded by weak minded whiners who confront a world as they want it to be instead of as it is."
Weak-minded whiners abound today. And I would add that weak-minded whiners are usually cowards.
The left see the world as Rousseau. They are objectively, demonstrably wrong but because they speak their truth and believe with all their might they right and righteous they in fact prove Hobbes right.
Excellent column, Erick! I was distraught reading an NBC News column that feigned objectivity but got their point across that Mr. Kissinger was in fact, a war criminal, dismissive of his achievements. Thanks for setting the record straight. Those of us who were there in his "heyday" appreciate it.
For those of us old enough to remember Carter ran on the promise to fire Kissinger. Deeply tainted by the Watergate scandal the voting public had had enough. His accomplishments were overshadowed by him being part of the Nixon White House. Time erased many aspects of those years from peoples memory but he never fully regained the luster he had gained by his efforts to end the conflict in Vietnam.
U.S. citizens who hate our Country always overlook the fact that capitalism and liberty created the venue that they enjoy in peace and security each day and from which they complain without being arrested, imprisoned, or eliminated. And they are unable to offer an alternative system to improve and replace it.
Our world is less for their passing. Not because they are gone but because so many who come after them willfully fail to learn anything from their monumental efforts. We will have to learn those lessons again. Hopefully, we will get them right, again.
The left is doomed to repeat the failures of history because they have learned nothing. The Dark Ages were liberal utopia. The rest of us will suffer the fools.
I once knew a highly educated man who looked upon billionaires with not distain, but possessing of pure evil and in favor of limiting the creation of said wealth via government restrictions and laws. I had no means of understanding him other than he was an idiot.
Some peole think wealth is finite, a pie and when one person has so much, other can only have little. The reality is wealth is like art. It can be created and also destroyed. Created and multiplied by an idea and hard work. And, just as there were and are centers where great art was created, wealth is created in certain centers. (large cities, tech areas, the West in general) to the benefit of all nearby even if minimally.
I often think about the glory of Europe. Al the incredible architecture and art. All built by the creation and accumulation of wealth. Faemrers and brick layers are very important, but it is those with wealth which employ them. If there were no workers one might ask? On this planet, generally speaking, workers are in infinite supply. Capital is finite.
For all the incredible work Kissenger did (and didn't he have just the best accent? ) I would be hard pressed to say his work was more meaningful than Munger's. I might argue Munger's was way more important.
Great column. Two great men who bettered human life and were examples of how to live. Memento Mori! I remind myself of this everyday. However, God endures forever and Jesus is King. As Christians, we have comfort and confidence in how it ends and why we are here - briefly…
You are so right about "God endures forever and Jesus is King." And the Bible tells us that we will be in a "One World Gov." when the seven year peace agreement is signed and we start the last seven years. We are closing in on those times.
Eric's statement here sums it up best for me. "Both men were realists. They saw the world as it is and sought to make it better. Today, we are surrounded by weak minded whiners who confront a world as they want it to be instead of as it is."
Weak-minded whiners abound today. And I would add that weak-minded whiners are usually cowards.
The left see the world as Rousseau. They are objectively, demonstrably wrong but because they speak their truth and believe with all their might they right and righteous they in fact prove Hobbes right.
They are the dictators they fear.
You said it all with the last line.
And may I add Barack Obama’s and the Biden’s
There is no worse human than Larry Fink! RIP to two great men…
Erick, your writing style is exemplary, soulful, compassionate, honest and brave.
Thank you! Well put!
The TRUTH is not cruel and destructive, it simply is. You can gaslight and twist it, accept it and move on, or repent.
Excellent commentary!
More Bernie Marcus's and less Alejandro Mayorakas's!
Amen squared to your final paragraph, Erick. Thank you.
Excellent column, Erick! I was distraught reading an NBC News column that feigned objectivity but got their point across that Mr. Kissinger was in fact, a war criminal, dismissive of his achievements. Thanks for setting the record straight. Those of us who were there in his "heyday" appreciate it.
For those of us old enough to remember Carter ran on the promise to fire Kissinger. Deeply tainted by the Watergate scandal the voting public had had enough. His accomplishments were overshadowed by him being part of the Nixon White House. Time erased many aspects of those years from peoples memory but he never fully regained the luster he had gained by his efforts to end the conflict in Vietnam.
U.S. citizens who hate our Country always overlook the fact that capitalism and liberty created the venue that they enjoy in peace and security each day and from which they complain without being arrested, imprisoned, or eliminated. And they are unable to offer an alternative system to improve and replace it.
Their alternative is where they run the show and we all know it would end in a Lord of The Flies misery…
They cannot offer an alternative system because there is no alternative system.
What a great tribute. Thank you, Erick.
Our world is less for their passing. Not because they are gone but because so many who come after them willfully fail to learn anything from their monumental efforts. We will have to learn those lessons again. Hopefully, we will get them right, again.
The left is doomed to repeat the failures of history because they have learned nothing. The Dark Ages were liberal utopia. The rest of us will suffer the fools.
I apologize up from for this musing:
I once knew a highly educated man who looked upon billionaires with not distain, but possessing of pure evil and in favor of limiting the creation of said wealth via government restrictions and laws. I had no means of understanding him other than he was an idiot.
Some peole think wealth is finite, a pie and when one person has so much, other can only have little. The reality is wealth is like art. It can be created and also destroyed. Created and multiplied by an idea and hard work. And, just as there were and are centers where great art was created, wealth is created in certain centers. (large cities, tech areas, the West in general) to the benefit of all nearby even if minimally.
I often think about the glory of Europe. Al the incredible architecture and art. All built by the creation and accumulation of wealth. Faemrers and brick layers are very important, but it is those with wealth which employ them. If there were no workers one might ask? On this planet, generally speaking, workers are in infinite supply. Capital is finite.
For all the incredible work Kissenger did (and didn't he have just the best accent? ) I would be hard pressed to say his work was more meaningful than Munger's. I might argue Munger's was way more important.
Great column. Two great men who bettered human life and were examples of how to live. Memento Mori! I remind myself of this everyday. However, God endures forever and Jesus is King. As Christians, we have comfort and confidence in how it ends and why we are here - briefly…
You are so right about "God endures forever and Jesus is King." And the Bible tells us that we will be in a "One World Gov." when the seven year peace agreement is signed and we start the last seven years. We are closing in on those times.