Kissinger

There is no fairness and justice in the world. While he was never made accountable during his life, we can only hope that history judges him harshly (for whatever that is worth). Unlike with Munger, Kissinger dying has no impact on my own sense of mortality. I always assumed he made an immortality pact with a demonic entity to absorb the souls of all the people whose deaths he caused. Good riddance, asshole.

Charlie Munger

Out of all the people in the world, I never thought Charlie Munger's death would have an impact on me. I am not a fanboy and don't have particularly strong feelings either way about his financial advice or world view. Also, there are thousands of people dying around world in various conflicts, whose lives should be considered to be just as precious. Unfortunately, those people didn't have the good fortune that Munger had to be be born and grow up in a safe environment where he could develop (being white during that time didn't hurt either). 

So why did Munger's death evoke a kind of emotional response, whereas reading headlines of X number of people killed in senseless war and indiscriminate bombing doesn't? (seeing images and footage is a different matter) Probably because it is a reminder of my own mortality. I am fortunate enough to live in a place that isn't going to be involved in violent armed conflict any time soon (*fingers crossed* but who knows how quickly and deeply Chris Luxon and Winston Peters can fuck things). The stories of tragedy and mass killings in other parts of the world just don't apply to me. On the surface, the life of a billionaire doesn't seem that relevant to my life either. However, it does represent the best case scenario when it comes to privilege. I don't have better access to healthcare than Munger. As a regular peon, I will have to rely on the local healthcare system in my country (I am fortunate that I am not an American peon who doesn't have this basic right, though). It is unlikely that I will live to 99, and when I subtract my current age from that number, what's left looks smaller than I'd like. 

It is a lovely sunny day outside, and I should probably go outside and enjoy it, rather than wallowing in my feeling of guilt that I am more concerned with my own mortality than the lives of unfortunate people in faraway countries (whose lives are just as valuable as my own).