Bono has become a regular guest columnist for the NY Times Op-Ed section much to the chagrin of journalists like Sara Libby.
In this column, Ten for the Next Ten, he presents a list of ten things we should be looking ahead to in the coming decade. Somehow he gets away with this after starting the piece pointing out how much we overindulge in top ten lists.
In most of the points in his list he hits home with things that really matter in the world. The most poignant of which I believe is: "People Power and the Upside-Down Pyramid". In this 7th item in Bono's "Non-Top Ten", he points out that the pyramid of power is bring turned upside-down:
"A lot of us have seen or lived the organizational chart of the last century, in which power and influence (whether possessed by church, state or corporation) are concentrated in the uppermost point of the pyramid and pressure is exerted downward. But in this new century, and especially in some parts of the developing world, the pyramid is being inverted. Much has been written about the profits to be made at the bottom of the pyramid; less has been said about the political power there. Increasingly, the masses are sitting at the top, and their weight, via cellphones, the Web and the civil society and democracy these technologies can promote, is being felt by those who have traditionally held power. Today, the weight bears down harder when the few are corrupt or fail to deliver on the promises that earned them authority in the first place."
I believe we will increasingly see this concept prove to be true in the decade we have just entered. I think this is meant to be.
"For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest." - Jesus (Luke 9:48)
What do you think are some of the most important things that need to happen in the world over the next ten years?
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