Bill Gates, Be a Hero

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has funneled millions of dollars into education programs across the world through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. A noble gesture, indeed.

On Monday, however, Gates was challenged to do the unthinkable by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev who asked Gates to help a Russian teacher who has been accused of using pirated Microsoft software in his classroom.

This is truly a water shed moment in his remarkable life. Will Uncle Bill be the benevolent philanthropist or the greedy business man?

I certainly hope that Bill chooses the benevolent philanthropist role. His actions for improving education and helping the poor are well documented and are quite staggering when you consider how much money he has personally donated to improving the world.

According to the Fact Sheet on the foundation’s Web site, Gates has endowed $31 billion so far, with more than $11 billion already committed to use. Much of this money has been used to fund a wide variety of educational programs.

In this case, I believe that Bill should intercede on the teacher’s behalf. Yes, what he was doing wasn’t legal. But he was using the software to further the education of children, which is one of the primary philanthropic focuses of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and of Microsoft itself.

To pursue action against this teacher would contradict everything that these two organizations so highly promote.

Uncle Bill, this situation gives you the opportunity to improve the world for a large number of children. Make yourself the hero and save this teacher from prosecution. At the press conference, be sure to surround yourself with the smiling children when you announce that you are going to fill the school with brand new computer equipment and legally licensed software so that this doesn’t happen again.

A noble gesture, indeed.