Peace, Baby

This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.

Yesterday, TIME magazine announced its Person of the Year - or should I say Persons of the Year, in the form of Bono and Bill and Melinda Gates.  In a year the magazine had a number of colorful figures to choose from (including Mother Nature, thanks to the tsunami in Indonesia and Hurricane Katrina), it went the way of the humanitarian.

Bill and Melinda Gates have built the world's largest charity, with a $29 billion endowment.  TIME praised the couple for "giving more money away faster than anyone ever has" in 2005.  And Bono "charmed and bullied and morally blackmailed" leaders of the world's richest countries into forgiving $40 billion in debt owed by the poorest countries.

Yes, Mr. & Mrs. Microsoft have billions at their fingertips.  And Bono uses his rock-star celebrity to get the attention of leaders around the world (make no mistake - Bono knows more about world debt, statistics and solutions than most major economists).  But TIME made this choice because they feel the trio represents the best in each of us as individuals.

I believe TIME senses a shift in society that is moving away from individual egotism toward the era of the humanitarian.  Roy H. Williams wrote about it more than a year ago, (Download Marketing In 2005), saying we won’t feel the full-blown effects of this shift till 2008 or 2009.

Start paying attention to the news and you’ll begin to sense the shift, too.  Young people are saying, “I need to transform my life and do something I’m passionate about - that’s the only way I’ll make a difference in the world.”  Thousands are flocking to Road Trip Nation and its funky green RV’s that travel to campuses across the country, eager to be inspired and learn life lessons from the leaders around them.

In the best sense of transparency and mind-bending vision, corporations are investing big time in the future of our children.  Take the Kalamazoo Promise, a new scholarship program for children in the Kalamazoo, MI public school system. 

Every one of the system’s 10,000+ students is guaranteed a four-year college education at a Michigan university, tuition-free. 

A child can enter the school system as late as the 9th grade and still have 65% of their tuition paid.  Think families weren’t affected by this recent announcement?  The Today Show filmed students in school hallways, weeping with joy at this gift of a college education - an opportunity otherwise out of reach. 

Would you like to know who the donor is?  So would everyone else - anonymity is a condition of the endowment, which has enough money to continue indefinitely.  There is a “trickle down” effect to this program, as well - Western Michigan University (my alma mater) has stepped up to announce they’ll provide room and board for these students.

Is there a shift in society rumbling underneath us?  Definitely.  Is it good for the economy?  If you don’t know the answer to that one, you need to enroll in Business 101.  As Thomas Friedman says, the world is quite flat - each small step taken toward a world vision can only make us stronger economically.  The stronger we are economically, the happier and more peaceful we are as nations of the world.

How will you make a difference in your community in 2006?  As the bumper sticker says, “Think globally, act locally.”  What is one thing you’ll do in the coming year to keep things rumbling?