You don’t have to be a fan of Charles Dickens' seminal work to appreciate that the holidays sharpen the contrast between the pain of those struggling to make ends meet and the privilege which allows millionaires and billionaires to live in a bubble.
In “A Christmas Carol,” Dickens used his character Ebenezer Scrooge as a symbol of the disconnected wealthy whose privileged lives allowed them to keep the poor at bay. I’m always taken by Scrooge’s exchange with the two men who ask the well-off curmudgeon to donate to a fund for, as one describes, “the poor and destitute who suffer greatly at the present time.” Scrooge asks of his solicitors, “Are there no prisons?” Now, I can’t summon up a current day one-percenter who is as nastily dismissive as Scrooge was of the fundraisers and their cause (at least not in public). But there are plenty of others who can’t see anything beyond their Instagram high life. They could use a wake-up call from three ghosts right about now — at least to help them be less tone deaf. Jeff Bezos, I’m looking at you.
If you haven’t heard, Bezos, the billionaire owner of Amazon, has had — for a while now — his gaze fixed upward. Way upward, into space. He’s the enthusiastic founder of Blue Origin, the company hoping to create commercial space travel. Correction: the company hoping to create commercial space travel first. Back in July, Bezos and his fellow billionaire Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic competed with dueling inaugural trips to space, ferrying a mix of space professionals, regular folk and celebrities. For up to five minutes, these newly minted amateur astronauts experienced the thrill of weightlessness. Who can forget Star Trek actor William Shatner’s emotional — if confusing — reaction after he returned to Earth? And, just a few days ago, Good Morning America co-anchor Michael Strahan joined a crew that included Laura Shepard Churchley, daughter of American astronaut Alan Shepard. This marked Blue Origin’s third trip into space with passengers. Blue Origin said it paid for both Shepard Churchley and Strahan, but that the other four passengers paid their own fare, estimated to cost somewhere between a whopping $200,000 and several million.
Bezos excitedly greeted the returning group and touted the trip’s success. That was the same day that a powerful tornado fueled by historic high winds leveled communities in three states, including nearly the entire town of Mayfield, Kentucky. In Edwardsville, Illinois, an Amazon warehouse roof collapsed and killed at least six workers inside. Virtually all of the survivors of the massive multi-state storm lost everything. When Bezos failed to address the tragedy soon after it happened, online commenters posted angry messages. One tweeted, “Will any of your Amazon workers take flight?” It’s the second time Jeff Bezos has let his passion for passenger space flight put him out of touch with earth bound hardships. On the very first Blue Origin passenger flight, he thanked Amazon workers for being part of “the team” that made the pilot voyages possible. That didn’t go over well with some who complain they are underpaid and under resourced on the job.
But Bezos was the top charitable donor in 2020 and has pledged several million in 2021. Of course, his ex-wife Mackenzie Scott has been on a donation hot streak donating more than 8.5 billion — with a b. Having noted that, I will agree that people, including the uber rich are, of course, free to choose how they spend their money. But as Dickens powerfully pointed out, it is my business and our business to pay attention.
Ebenezer Scrooge begins his journey to redemption when the ghost of Jacob Marley, his former business partner, rejects Scrooge’s praise of him as a “good businessman.” The angry apparition instead shouts, “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business, charity, mercy, forbearance and benevolence were all my business.” I can’t help seeing the Blue Origin civilian space flights as little more than one rich man’s indulgence. Could space tourism eventually offer benefits to the greater common good? Maybe. Hard to envision when right now consumer prices are rising, food pantries are straining to feed many more who are hungry and federal eviction protection is ending.
Note to Bezos: This very public flaunting of vast wealth is offensive in general, but obscene during this time of great need and the season of giving. Do better.
