Menacing Money

As graduation draws near what seems to be a common occurrence among the graduates is empty and sad wallets and bank accounts. Money is such a weird thing, idea, substance, and object. Physically it is a piece of paper plastered with important people with a value on it. Emotionally people die for it, surrender their lives, and desire more and more of it. The thing that is the most bothersome about money however is that it is not the same if I took a piece of paper and plastered an important person on it myself. Money is similar to modern art, or art in general- the value is in the appreciation and what the people make it to be. Money however cannot be considered in the same category as art. Money is a silent beast yet a savior. The con about money is it evidently causes greed. People want more because our whole society believes if you have more you are better, and you'll be happier- which is true in some ways. It is true in a sense that if you have money to buy food as oppose to starving then money does make you happier. However, because everyone is in this race against time to make money to be able to spend it to be happier by wasting their times with shady business or horrible jobs that they hate, they miss out on their life and are miserable anyways. Money also categorizes the people. The rich are more superior in an economic sense and the poor are the lowest of the low, literally sitting on the bottom of the streets. What I don't understand is how some people can automatically have more because of these paper bills while others have so little because of what they are born into or where they are from. I am almost tempted to say that the world should make it to be like some virtual game site like Neopets where you sign up and make a pet and get a bonus 10 000 neopoints just for making the darn thing. Oh, I suppose that would just lead to everyone wanting to have babies to get money and lead to overpopulation and lack of our limited resources even more- again, the greed.

But, don't get me wrong there is a bright side to money- there has to be because we still live and breathe under its command. As sick and chaotic as it is it also is a system that creates peace and adds fairness to exchange. Before the values were in livestock and items but now it has been replaced by small, accessible, and simple pieces of paper that allow for us to take and give. Having a standard money system allows for everyone to value everything the same, no one can say the 20 dollar bill is worth 20 dollars and another say it is worth 100, it doesn't work that way. It also is an organized system, I give you the money and you give me the item or service that I desire. I also feel as if these flimsy pieces of paper are much more, they have a sense of hope in them. I feel like if you try to imagine yourself 200 years before trying to exchange livestock only to have the cow you just got die within a week leaving you empty handed with nothing else to exchange but your life for death the piece of paper doesn't seem so bad. Money flies all around in our world. You can if you honestly look hard and long will be able to find a lot of money in the streets and on the ground. Money is like its own entity that feels immortal. Also money just works for us, and our society. It works with the way we learn math and count, it works in the way that we fairly exchange and it works in a way that us humans feel desires to have things and to hold them and be comforted by them.

All in all, money is quite horrible in the way it can be a deciding factor to your future and the way you progress through life but the reason why we hold it so dear is because it is so important. Money is something that has worked and has always worked and this is why we are so forever bounded to it because it feels like on of the constants in our worlds. It's something we can be sure of, or what we think we can be so we continue to stay bounded.


Han Van