Peter Buffett, son of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, is an Emmy Award-winning composer, NY Times best-selling author and noted philanthropist. Currently, he is releasing socially-conscious music and touring his “Concert & Conversation” series in support of his book Life Is What You Make It .
Disguised as charity, something damaging is happening. As wealth and inequality increase, philanthropy becomes the “it” vehicle to level the playing field. As more lives and communities are destroyed by the system that creates vast amounts of wealth to then distribute in charitable acts, the more heroic it sounds to “give back.” The emperor has no clothes. No “charitable” (I hate that word) intervention can solve the issues of poverty, environment, health, etc. Oh, it can kick the can down the road. But the “issue areas” of philanthropy are all symptoms–symptoms of a fundamentally broken structure.
“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it” –Albert Einstein
Here is my latest song, “Already Flown:”
Taking me in and then
Turning me ’round and then
saving the day
Tell me what’s right and then
Show me I’m wrong and then
You make it okay
And all that you see for me
What you can be for me
Just take it away
‘Cuz I’ve lost my faith in you
Now I can see right through
You’re fading to gray
This can’t take another lifetime
‘cuz you know just what you know
You can’t let it go
We don’t need to use a lifeline
While you’re counting what you own
We’ve already flown
Thank you I’ll do without
Mountains of fear and doubt
Let’s call it a day
And then build a wider road
Nothing to hide or hold
Just give it away
You can come ride along
There’s room for everyone
When nothing’s at stake
I’ll watch you laugh at me
Wondering just what I see
Will keep you awake
This won’t take another lifetime
‘cuz you know just what you know
You can’t let it go
We don’t need to use your lifeline
While you’re counting what you own
We’ve already flown
I saw you
But you’ll never know
What you’ll never know
What do you think? Visit www.peterbuffett.com to learn more and Change Our Story to join the conversation on how we all can become active participants in shaping our future.