Quote of the Day
by JS
From Neil Gaiman’s FAQ:
Q. How can I get Neil Gaiman to make an appearance at my school/convention/event?
A. Contact Lisa Bransdorf at the Greater Talent Network. Tell her you want Neil to appear somewhere. Have her tell you how much it costs. Have her say it again in case you misheard it the first time. Tell her you could get Bill Clinton for that money. Have her tell you that you couldn’t even get ten minutes of Bill Clinton for that money but it’s true, he’s not cheap.
The whole post amounts to a spirited defense of a speaking fee. I don’t necessarily think that this kind of spending was or is justified for a public library, but my opinion on public support for these kinds of things is sort of beside the point. What I enjoyed about this was seeing someone whose been through whatever mysterious machine transmogrifies individuals into successful people come out on the other side having a degree of ethical intelligence.
I’ve become quite a cynical person. I’m introspective enough to know that this is not a good quality that I’ve developed, but, less some kind of miracle, my cynicism is now as deeply rooted as many of my other, better qualities. One particular idealistic belief that I’ve regrettably had to put aside is the belief that good, ethical, thoughtful people have some kind of leg up in life over greedy narcissists. So it’s nice to occasionally read about successful people who make a lot of money and still have time to demonstrate that they still think about things like speaking fees in an ethical framework that involves more than the simple calculus of greed. Whether you agree with Gaiman’s defense or not, you should find it somewhat uplifting that he spends some iota of time considering the issue. This is, I think, rare.
