I have spent the weekend in the Los Angeles area with my son, Jamie.
It is a wonderful time in our relationship. I feel no responsibilities for da-to-day parenting and I am not yet at the stage of life which requires anyone to be responsible in any way for my well being.
We share many of the same interests and concerns although we also have very different talents and interests. Thus , I always I have much to learn from him as well as much to share.
This visit was relatively brief since, at the time I made the reservations my work hours did not allow for a longer visit. As it happened, by the time of the visit I could have done all my work from my computer or phone.
We spent a good part of one day at the Huntington Botanical Gardens, Art Museum and Library. As is true with many such facilities, this began as a private estate. Huntington estate was originally the Villa of Henry Huntington the railroad and real estate magnate. The main part of the house was 55,000 square feet. Later another 2900 spare feet was added. As it now stands the estate includes extensive gardens including the largest Japanese and Chinese gardens I have ever visited. There is also a rose garden and many other specially garden areas. We walked for 5 hours and still only saw a small portion of the facility and the grounds. My son and I were in awe at the beautifully designed and maintained gardens and other areas of the extensive property.
The next day we went to the Getty Center which is another enormous complex of magical gardens, outdoor sculptures and amazing buildings housing art and other exhibits. This enormous complex is high on a hill. One arrives by bus, car, or bicycle (for the very fit) and can either walk up the hill or ride the tram. Unlike the Huntington complex this one is free unless one counts food from one of the several cafes or items from one of the museum gift shops. My understanding is that the complex is supported by the Getty trust and private donations. I cannot imagine how much it cost to maintain this pristine complex which looks as new and clean as it must have looked in 1997 when it opened.
Both my son and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were reminded of what marvelous experiences are often provided through the generosity of those who have amassed great wealth. Certainly it beats spending obscene amounts of money on finding new ways to harm each other. Art in its many form does feed the soul. Artists have long been dependent on the wealthy as their sponsors or patrons.
As we know the very wealthy often support many other worthwhile projects such as some of medical research work and medical treatment provided by the Gates Foundation.
Whether I am enjoying and appreciating some of the great cathedrals, castles, art, pyramids, or other achievements of we humans, I am acutely aware of what it cost in terms of the lives of many of those whose labor was used to amass such wealth or to build some of the historic treasures in Europe. Fortunately, in some countries such as the United States, there are labor laws, unions rules and other protections against slave labor is some sectors of our economy. This does not prevent the use of migrant or illegals for relatively small sums of money or the manufacturing of goods in overseas plants which sometimes continue to function in very unhealthy work conditions and with low pay. It has helped, increasingly, often via the many possibilities on the internet, that companies such as Apple get outed for these practices and are forced through public opinion to behave differently.
In the case of companies or corporations such as Microsoft, employees in the United States have often got wealthy by sharing in the profit. On the other hand their product, including programs such as Microsoft Word which I am currently using for this blog, have to sell their product for outrageous sums of money in order to pay the employees, owners and stockholders such a large amount. Large companies who use such projects may in turn charge others a lot for their product so that they can afford such tools as Microsoft Office programs. Obviously, quite a number of people earn very good livings and some get very wealthy. Some of that wealth may be used for philanthropic purpose by the owner or the employees. In terms of owners, the late Steve Jobs was someone who did not believe in philanthropic undertakings.
Occasionally, as with banks, we legislate the giving back to the community a percentage of profit to help support cultural offerings of the community such as symphonies, opera, dance or other forms of art.
Pharmaceuticals are another example of corporations who charge enormous sums for medications which people often must have to live and/or as their only way of having any quality of life. Pharmaceuticals often, as in case with other corporations, often help support the arts or in other worthwhile community projects with a relatively very small percentage of their profit. The modern day “robber barons” become the community saints.
For example I once lived in a community which was the home of a frozen food processing plants which was notorious for low wages and poor working conditions. The owner of this business was considered very unkind and oppressive. Yet, when he offered to donate a huge sum of money for a wellness center associated with a Catholic Hospital, the hospital not only took their money but named the wellness center after this person. Once again the distinction between the “saints” and the “sinners” was, to say the least, a bit blurred!
In respect of full disclosure I am well known for taking advantage of such cultural treasures; places such as the Getty Center, symphonies, operas, dance performances, museums, Carnegie libraries and many others. In fact I just recently moved from the Wheeling/Pittsburgh area which has been the beneficiary of funds from the Carnegie, Phipps, Mellon, Kaufman and other families. Since moving to Florida last August, I have really missed being able to take advantage of the many opportunities to feed my soul. (I do not want to diminish the cultural offerings I have enjoyed in the greater Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater area.)
I have to question whether we would have the rich cultural offerings we do if it was not possible for anyone to amass such wealth and, thus, be able to make the decisions about which cultural opportunities are available. Would we better off as a culture if he had a more equitable distribution of resources as the base level which might preclude such accumulation of wealth? I wish I could say that I recall enough macro or micro economics and I could accurately predict the behavior of the majority of we humans if we changed this entire system. I do not and cannot.
This is not to say, however, that I want to stop asking these and related questions. I do not want to stop challenging myself to think about the contradiction between my sincere belief in a more just world and the fact that I really want to be able to enjoy such luxuries as world class symphonies, the Getty Centers of the world, the magnificent cathedrals, and many other cultural offerings which are often only available because of our current system. Theoretically, of course, we could have a different system and, as a community, decide t allocate huge sums of money for the arts.
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