Profoundly Moving
Listening to: From Yesterday - 30 Seconds to Mars
Last week was VC week and seeing as most of my meetings were AM PST I needed to crawl out of bed a little earlier than usual. On Friday I slunk home a little early and collapsed on the couch to catch up on my pod cast list. I mused at how wonderful TV was now that I downloaded a lot of the content. I selected Bill Clinton’s TED 2007 talk.
Earlier in the week I had seen a BBC HARDtalk interview with Lieutenant General Romeo Dallaire - the UN Force Commander in Rwanda ‘93-’94. Dallaire, justifiably, heaps derision on the leaders in the West and the the role they played in allowing the genocide to occur. He singles Bill Clinton out as someone who could’ve done a lot more.
About 2/3s of the way through Clinton’s TED speech there is a moment that I think I will remember for the rest of my life. Clinton talks about the people who could’ve done a lot more to prevent Rwanda and then says “and most of all me”. It is a very rare moment when you see some one of his stature take some responsibility for such a horrid event. I found it very moving. It was this clear chiming note that rang in my ears. While he didn’t show the same level of leadership when the event occurred he was actively trying to make reparations.
