Money, Dear Boy

[Eva]

Once again I start a post with something someone told me: My father was always a distant man. I felt like I never really got him, and only as I got older did I start to really understand the reasoning behind many of his actions. Out of pure curiosity, I asked him what made him happy, and he replied that his family's happiness is all he needed. I then asked him what he thought was most important. His response was one different then what I had expected:

"Money is everything. One piece of paper determines whether we get to eat. That same paper is what we spend literally hours on working ourselves so that we can have some. It's flammable, it gets crumpled, it's considered something worth murdering for. Of course, those statements aren't complete truths or lies and instead are something we think. And yet, for all the happiness we strive to achieve, for all that we do, it really does control our lives. It's also a major factor in even the simplest of choices. It's something of so much value, that the same family that hardly gets any despite the bread-maker of the household doing their hardest to keep food on the table that another family simply gets by yawning in front of a camera."

As much as I hate to admit it, I have to really agree. It's almost as if money has a double-meaning behind it. It's definitely something we take for granted, and yet it's probably the single most important thing ever. You can say you want to be happy, but in doing so you need money. What, a trip to the park is all you need? Well, that park is a bit far, so you drive there and use gas. You want to walk? Well, your fifty-sixty dollar shoes are going to start feeling that. This is exaggerating a bit, but I'm starting to see what my dad says. We work and work and work and sacrifice all we can, and at the end of the day, the numbers signifying our wealth (or lack of) puts us in a position where we need to center our lives around it.

I'd like to hear opinions and thoughts on this.

 

[AIAwesome]

The American dream was all about spreading territory and gaining wealth. As selfish as any of that sounds, not everyone was greedy as it sounds. Like your father stated, a piece of paper determines many of our life's decisions. Where we live, what we eat, how we learn, our whole social status is dependent on how many pieces of green paper we have compared to the next person.

My parents always told me that the most important thing is family. And I always thought that they were lying and that they only cared about money. But it really is past the meaning of money. Money only determines possibilities. In a way, it represents choice. When it comes to choice, generally it means that we can choose to step forward or backwards, to walk or run, to go left or right, to eat or not to eat. But when it comes to the present society, money is what represents all that.

Money gives the possibilities, which then can entail who you are. The way your father put it, it seems like he thought about living, that the most important thing was to live and care for the ones you love. I guess that is what my parents thought also. Sure they did anything for money but it isn't because the most important thing was the money they worked for, it was the people the spent the money on, which would be family in their eyes.

As for me, the root of my needs would be money, but it isn't because I want to use it for my own need, it is because I want to be able to have fun with my friends and be able to care for my own family. Sure I need that $40 tank of gas for the car to drive or that $60 pair of shoes to run in, but that's just so I can be able to have fun with others.

To get down to it, in today's society, money is the most important thing because in the end, it really enables one thing or another for humans to do. And although it sounds greedy, what determines the kind of people we are is through the was we use the money. Whether it be for needs or for wants.

 

[Jesus]

Money has value because we give it value, otherwise it's just a piece of paper. But i don't think money is taken for granted. People understand what money is, they know how critical it is to society. Like you guys said, happiness boils down to how much money you have, even if you don't want to think so.

 

[Professor Ven]

Money is only a means to an end; it keeps us from having to barter for goods and services, etc. Money cannot buy peace of mind, happiness, and so on.

If happiness does derive from how much money you have, then enjoy feeling like a bucket with holes in the bottom, being constantly filled with water at intervals, but never becoming filled.

Having a lot of money gives people freedom in choices, nothing more. If you want to go somewhere to be happy, or want something, etc, you can either work for it and gain the funds, or fail.

Money isn't everything - just in this day and age, it provides the means to going/doing/enjoying.

 

[ajmrowland]

Money has value because we give it value, otherwise it's just a piece of paper. But i don't think money is taken for granted. People understand what money is, they know how critical it is to society. Like you guys said, happiness boils down to how much money you have, even if you don't want to think so.

I can agree with the first part, though to say that it's the most important thing seems like a stretch no matter how justified.

Also, what about the lottery winners who have come down with depression and other things? Having all that money caused a lot of trouble because people expected so much of them now, if not just for greed's sake, than for other things.

Money is a means. It may have complications and it may give you power, but it is only a means. Whether or not it makes you truly happy is, IMHO, a matter of individuality, at best. A complete delusion at worst.

 

[Bukkake Sensei]

Money cannot buy peace of mind, happiness, and so on.

spoken like a dude who's never had to live without it tbh

 

[Taylor]

having money definitely gives me peace of mind because i know i can pay for the bills lol ):

 

[Ðari]

I would really think it comes down the acknowledgement of its applications and value. The fact the OP is centered naturally in a nation that thrives on every dollar as its current foundation, pretty much to obtain things of value this exchange of currency is necessary and ultimately unavoidable. Who's to say we can't in some way, shape, or form develop another system? Its possible, but is it likely by modern standard? Not by a long shot lol.

I disagree to a point with what Professor Ven said, because theres always two main perspectives and then there is the person trying to analyze both and distance themselves to a middleground. First is, the what if you had to bust your ass to survive because you had way too much pride to lapse into a government program like General Assistance (Welfare) SNAP, and/or TANF. Like think about that for a second, it becomes vital with one's own sense of pride to steer them from failure, so they consider making money as a means to avoid this situation, not only to nurture the self and provide for the self, but I would also think this to be true of a domestic american family. No one wants their children to grow up with significantly less than other children, or for their kids to go to school embarrassed about something material.

The second point is pretty much, what if you were born without those limitations and happened to be fortunate in an upperclass household near the top 1 percent. Where you didn't have to worry about ambiguous factors like bankruptcy, or both parents were discharged from their workplace, or neither made enough to support their home. If the value of money is just a means to survive (function) as A mentioned in his post, then I'm pretty sure the rich have to tie their assets somewhere too and that is not to say or delegate that they don't experience any controversy or misfortune themselves with regards to their wealth.

From my perspective, I had reduced lunch all the way through the last year of middle school growing up. I worked under the books at a family owned business and was content that I was able to attribute, hold, and spend my earnings, but it was scratch compared to what I make now. Knowing that you accrue debt later in life in some way or another, I wouldn't rightly say having money makes me "happy" but I acknowledge that I feel comfortable knowing I have a job, and that I am financially stable to where I am not pulling my hair out over missing payments or anything well past due that needs to be paid. As long as my Credit Score is between 720 - 850 I'm ok lol.

Lastly, having money, does it really mean the equivalent of happiness and peace of mind? I would think that kind of yes or no answer varies on the individual basis, I would rather have it than not at all. Or if I was in a position where I didn't need it (by this I mean the society I inhabit as well), then I wouldn't want it, sounds fairly reasonable if you ask me.

 

[King Sora X]

I personally believe that, while money is essential for life, too much of it can really change a person. No, I don't know this personally, or know people in my life that have changed cause they came into a lot of money, but I watch the news, I read the articles about the government, the politicians, and so on and so forth. I know the secrets they hide and the laws they try to pass to keep their money and the control. I'm not saying that this is true, but I'm just saying what I think money does to people. Sure, there will be those who are the exception to this, but that's probably the 10% of people who stay humble. Anyways, that's my two cents on the matter. I, myself, have never had money to call my own(yet). So, yeah there it is.