Oh it’s a lovely Christmas Story about Moral Leadership
eRobin provides a great summary of the tale. Read hers, then her links to Greg Palast and the NY Times stories.
These are stories that warm my heart: leaders with principles, serving their people, with wisdom and courage. Sure, the cynic in me says “But Chevron will never pay.” Which overlooks the overriding point: Chevron will make a few less people suffer because of leaders who refuse to let them kill their citizens openly. Chevron may never pay what it owes for its past sins, but it won’t commit fresh sins in Ecuador. It will have to conduct its human sacrifices elsewhere.
And someday, maybe it will pay, or face the day when it’s persona non grata everywhere.
And that, I’m sure, would make Tiny Tim giggle.
December 27th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
The common thread in a lot of blog discourse these days is a kind of hand-wringing woe-is-me defeatism but I think we all need a dose of being reminded that standing up to authority DOES work and that we can make a very large difference in the larger world.