I've been Watching Ken Burns' "the west" lately, if you don't know it it's a very sad in-detail look at the grim realities of the wild west in the nineteenth century through the voices of those who were there. Primarily it is the detail of man's cruelty to man: native American Indians, African americans, the chinese labourers, Mexicans and Mormons. All got a brutal dose of the wrong end of humanity as the European settlers of the new world spread westward across the north American continent with voracious appetite for land, riches and glory.
Which ever way you look at it the conquest of the west is a miserable tale of what competitive-man can be like faced with abundant opportunity. Most importantly, what is most depressing is the failure to seek it in a sustainable fashion or with any sense of moderation. Furthermore, the speed which many will resort to acts of theft, betrayal or will renege on a promise waterboards any faith in human nature with each sordid anecdote.
It led me to think of what an amazing new opportunity such a great piece of virgin, mineral rich and accessible new land afforded the people of that time. Then I wondered whether that could ever happen again.
Then i went to see "the social network" and of curse remembered all the analogies everyone made between the West and the dot com boom of the late nineties. Particularly the Land and Gold Rushes but also the building of the continental railroad and the rapid proliferation of new towns and cities all across the western plains and down the west coast. (This analogy was particularly echoed by the famous bumper sticker "f@&$ you...and the dot com you rode in on!").
Certainly one comment that made this seem all the more poignant was one made by an Indian chief writing as the final collapse of his people' future seemed nigh. I cannot quote exactly from memory but it is to the tune of, "we thought there was enough here for us all to share. We were wrong. They wanted it all."
Spoiler warning.
This in my mind mirrored a key plot in the Facebook movie. Mark Zuckerberg ultimately ended up accruing an incredible $25 billion in less than seven years with his little idea, (which he argueably pinched off the Winklevoss). Yet along the way he cheated, he lied and most astoundingly he stole whole swathes of company assets that has been promised to his hitherto best friend, co-founder and CFO. The sheer audacity is as breathtaking as it is disappointing. But the tune was very familiar for me and if you look at the ways the Indians were betrayed over the black hills or the way the Chinese were treated, you'll see what I mean. Greed outweighs all conscience.
However, while scorned and disapproved of, like the crimes of the wild west, zuckerberg's greed is accepted and excused in the name of good enterprise and entrepreneurship. In one vivid scene in the film, Zuckerberg is discussing one of his many law suits for ill deeds with his lawyer, who urges him to settle: "it's just a speeding ticket." she says.
Now...what shall I do next, update my status or watch "blazing saddles"?