Seeing the Warren Buffett donation thread (http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=114257) made me think about (ok, daydream ) what my cause/focus would be if I had the money. I think it's a pity that the largest philanthropic organization in human history is dedicated to the promotion of health when (in my humble opinion) overpopulation is probably the most pressing challenges facing humanity. So...MY charity foundation would certainly not be focused on health or food production research or any of that stuff that will exacerbate overpopulation problem. Ok, there's the D&D bit (and also anticipating some responses that might land this is D&D). The question is, what would your fund be focused on? Mine would be on basic education -- immerse children in the fields of language (everyone should know at least 2 languages from different language systems -- i.e., knowing Spanish and Italian doesn't count), mathematics and music, which I think are 3 core areas.
I'd be like the mysterious John Smithson, the foreigner who gave his fortune to America which became the lauded Smithsonian institute...Instead, my museums would be influenced for children as a better children's museum than what is available today...
the poor,hungry and sick. then children. then the enviroment.................and whatever is left to the top 1% who have more than half the wealth in the world because, damnit!!! they get taxed too much.
Mine'd be to make drugs and patented technology cheaper in order to improve the quality of life for everyone. Alternatives are sometimes neglected in R&D because the numbers don't match.
I speak 3 languages (Spanish, German, English) and don't find very much use for Spanish and German at all. Yes, when travelling to those countries it's nice to know them (and necessary in most of latin america), but in Germany you don't even need to know German because everybody speaks English. In the US you simply need to know English. Spanish is kind of nice, but very unnecessary to know in the workplace. I understand that you learn about the culture of the various countries when you're learning the languages, but I would rank languages pretty low on the list when it comes to educational goals.
If it's alright by you, I'd rather address what the focus if my charity fund would NOT be: Anything related to Bill Gates
I was being purposefully vague because I wasn't sure about the family tree of various languages. What I had in mind was something like Chinese/Japanese/Korean vs. Arabic Lanaguages vs. Romantic Languages. I'm a firm believer that total immersion in different language roots trigger different ways of looking at the world.
My charity would be to educate people on the proper spelling and pronounciation of "shih tzu" Also, the "A-Train needs a new flat panel wide screen TV" fund is running a little dry these days...
