Let’s Prioritize

I’m a PC guy. (Putting it out there, so you can judge accordingly).

So it’s been a couple of weeks now since the passing of Steve Jobs and somehow I’m caught thinking about it now. In all honesty, I’ve been thinking about various things about his death since I heard the news, but something about his death and America’s reaction bugged me, A LOT. I was afraid to vocalize it or even think it because I caught myself saying, “Jeez, Shawn, this man just died, what’s your deal?” But now thinking about it for about two weeks, I think I’m somewhat justified.

Okay, here’s the deal! Let’s get this straight off the bat, Steve Jobs was an amazing man, in his own right, and he definitely revolutionized technology, and more significantly, marketing in such a way unprecedented in human culture.

There, I said it. (For all you Apple fanatics out there).

But that’s just it, all you Apple fanatics out there. The way America and the media reacted to his death was shameful to me. The amounts of people pouring into random Apple retail stores and leaving notes and flowers. Mobs of people were actually crying over his death. The media just kept pouring over his life and achievements.

Really? This is the man who America chooses the mourn over? Of all the amazing people out there in the world who have died fighting for human rights, freedom, against genocide, for religious freedom, etc., we, as a society, have chosen Steve Jobs as the man we will remember for this past year.

The same day as Steve Jobs died, the Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth, who was bombed, beaten and repeatedly arrested in the fight for civil rights and hailed by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. for his courage and energy, died Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011 at the age of 89.

Hundreds are being killed daily in Syria for standing up to an oppressive regime.

The list goes on and on.

But let’s look at Steve Jobs. What has he given us? The iPod? The Macbook? The iPad? The iPhones 1-4? Though these are great things, and they have changed our lives in a significant manner, doesn’t our mourning of Steve Jobs rather than people who had actively tried to save lives and better the quality of life for the oppressed show where we as Americans put our value in? I think it’s rather shameful.

Not to pass judgment on Steve Jobs, but beyond his contributions at Apple, what else does he show for his time as one of the richest people on earth? Not much. The record shows that his philanthropy was pretty shameful. Sure, he spent his time making amazing products, but that kind of demonstrates where his priorities lied, doesn’t it?

Compared to his ‘arch-nemesis,’ his mongoose to his cobra, Bill Gates does a pretty good job in that department. And when he passes, I hope we remember Bill Gates not only for the Microsoft and the Windows trademark, but also for his foundation, his generous giving, and how he is vaccinating the world and educating the undereducated, one child at a time.

But this isn’t a piece about Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates. It’s about us.

This isn’t a stab at Apple and its loyal consumers, but rather an introspective look at ourselves, as a culture, as a nation. We need to look at ourselves and see who we truly see as inspirational, try to recognize which people are changing the world for a better place. And if Steve Jobs, Lebron James, and various other people who you can assume are on that list, we need to re-analyze who we are and what matters to us the most.

Rest in Peace and Memory Eternal, Steve Jobs. But let’s just hope that memory is eternal in the correct lens.