…this Bechkam has got beckhamnerosity!
DB…man with a beckhamnerous heart!
People often talk about export in terms of commodity - agricultural produce and manufactured goods. In the past this might be true, but in this day and age, this narrow view about export no longer holds water because in a globalised world we should expand the scope of export to include such things as services, human brands, technical expertise/know-how, transatlantic labour mobility, etc.
It is in the light of this modernized and expanded view of export that we shall consider the subject of this editorial David Beckham as a sort of human export/brand. DB, as we shall fondly refer to him is indisputably not just one of modern British iconic figures, but his contributions to soccer which transcend the British borders have won him a place in the global scheme of things as a frontline global icon, who has in his relatively young age been trying to, in his own right, shrink the ever - yawning chasm that exists amongst nations due to natural, political, religious, cultural differences, and in some cases, wars.
In DB’s attempt to bridge such gap, he has done that at the expense of his family and personal comfort as he criss-crosses the world on assignments/services that have had unparalleled global impacts, thus bringing glory and goodwill to Britain. DB just came back from the States (after the end of his contract with LA Galaxy) where he had spent six years together with his beloved wife and the entire Beckham family. And by signing a £3.3million contract with Paris St-Germain recently, DB is bound to relocate again, this time to Paris.
Dear readers, here is a man who is not a politician, but exceeds the practicing politician in service to fatherland and humanity; here is a man who is not a career diplomat, yet exceeds the career diplomats in diplomacy, building bridges across polities and cultures. Although, first and foremost, known and respected world wide as a footballer, when this family man of no mean value ‘invaded’ the fashion realm, together with Victoria, his wife, they both conquered it to the delight of the fashion - loving world, not forgetting Romeo, who has been showing signs he will follow in the footsteps of Dad, fashion-wise, but more especially, the mother when it comes to fashion.
Of great interest to us in this editorial is our discovery that DB buys into Jesus’ wisdom that: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” And when Beckgiver said he would donate the £3.3million which are the total wages of his recent contract with Paris St-Germain to a Parisian children’s charity, we did not struggle to think about his seriousness or otherwise of the generous heart or the reasonableness of such generosity, sorry, Beckhamnerosity.
Small minds can keep blabbing their rubbish about the gesture, for at the end of the day, it is not the bigness or smallness of a gesture that counts, but the spirit that had propelled such a gift- it does not also matter at all, whether David on his own volition decided to give out the largesse or it was Vicky who encouraged him to so do. The fact remains that he has a large heart to give out such a very huge sum of money, especially in these times of recession.
The good-for-nothing arm - chair critics of David Beckham and his profligate colleagues in the footie enterprise who live life as if there is no tomorrow; who lapse into profligacy to show off; who hold parties worth millions of pounds, hire yachts to invite their empty-headed friends to the sea on extravagant cruises and who live life as if they have fallen into a bonanza, should all go and do likewise.
People like Mr Beckham do not only come once in a generation, but it is they who make the world go round. Therefore, DB, stand up and be counted!