CRITICISM OF THE DEAD
The King is dead, long live the King.
No, not Elvis or some deceased monarch, I mean King Steve Jobs.
Such adulation, praise, glory, laud and honor spread around the world. We are used to false idols in our country, money being the real king. Power and celebrity status are next. Since Jobs’ death the outpouring of articles, recollections and already a book are ponderous. I am sure a movie and TV series are in the making. But the quip I loved most pointed out that Jobs was an Arab as his father was Syrian.
Jobs created a business and industry that changed our lives. But nothing Jobs created or Apple sells were necessary. Computers, phones, music, games were all available elsewhere. I am an Apple user and like the products I have.
Jobs was a rampant perfectionist. He demanded and got his way. He abused, used and stepped on people, swiped other people’s ideas and developed fine products that we can well do without. He created work for people, that’s true. I was in an Apple store the day after Job’s death, I saw no tears or interest in talking about their leader.
The all-demanding, arrogant, 24/7, hard driving, hard-boiled and ruthless entrepreneurs are held up as heroes in our country. Yet we see early death, ruined marriages, empty lives, failed businesses and bank failures resulting from those very leaders.
I believe the calm and gentle ways of Zen, Jesus, Gandhi and others make for a better and more healthy existence.
posted by RWC | 10:25 AM
1 Comments:
Robert - I've thought about this some, too, as criticisms have arisen. My initial response was "well, he can't exactly defend himself, can he? Isn't that why we don't speak ill of the dead as a general rule?" But I think part of that was that I just love the things he made that are in my life and want to defend him.
I'm aware that highly successful people in every field have created enemies getting there. Jobs was no different. We all have moments we're not proud of, and the more celebrity we have, the more scrutiny we're under. That applies to Jobs, too.
Overall, he was no better or worse than any of us (we're all equally precious in the eyes of God, after all). I'm glad he had the drive to produce what he did. My life is more efficient, and more beautiful, because of it.
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