Who hasn’t felt cheated? Even to a minor point, who hasn’t wondered if the balance was tipped against their favor? The United States has been called the “Land of Opportunities,” and no one can deny that there is an implication for monetary gain and comfort as the gateway to such promised happiness. And it infuriates us when the country tries to take and not give. However, no one can deny the call for moral tendencies inherent in the American dream. Few are likely to want to make their living ducking authorities and judgment for the rest of their lives to build their dreams out of America’s underbelly- even criminals commit crimes to achieve a better state of living.
Amidst the hassle of making that dream come true, many forget about the quiet audience of their world. America’s youth witness and speculate on the society they are to inherit. They see that money heavily affects people and communities. Money seems to be an integral part of living, sometimes even revered. A popular hip hop group called The Wu-Tang Clan named one of their songs “C.R.E.A.M.”(Cash Rules Everything Around Me). The title implies that money sprung a mind of its own and began ruling the world. However, it is our minds that forfeit the reins; when money is taken from our pockets, we react quite negatively. And America’s youth takes note.
If money was taken out of the equation, what could take the place of such a binding system, so unanimously accepted by our world? Money is symbolic, a mere transition between wanting and getting, simply potential until it is spent. But more and more, it seems to be masked into the object, the ends to the means. The message now is “experience for the money” instead of “money for the experience.” And the goal could safely be said to be comfort and luxury.
Money’s role can be seen as that of upholding those certain rules between human beings with regards to business and its transactions. Money keeps people honest in business because people want what money can offer, be it a product or investment. No one will sell if they are held responsible for a defective product, and few will pay for something that doesn’t meet their standards. But while money binds people to the laws of business, it is the feeling of security and gain that is truly sought in the long run. No one wants to work for no gain, and gaining money is generally indicative of a better lifestyle.
The concept of money seems interchangeable with wealth because gaining it often leads to luxury. On competitive grounds like the business world, or even on campus, talents are not just admired traits, they are important characteristics that make up an asset. A person is “valuable” for it; but, in the end, isn’t the value weighed by how well the asset will charge revenue? The value is purely abstract, a projected outlook on how well that person’s skill will make money. And in the end, doesn’t that seem to devalue a living, breathing person?
Imagine a world without money, one in which morality is the only currency, and mutual progression the only aspiration.
Imagine walking into a town and making your way to the nearest market. You’re baffled when the store owner greets you and puts a water bottle and an apple in your hands. Worn from travel, you gladly accept the gifts, but you get caught off guard when the owner comes back with a broom and asks you to sweep the first two aisles. Considering the gift, the chore is not difficult to accept and do. Afterwards, he gives you another apple and thanks you for sweeping. You leave the store and walk down the street, wondering about the store owner.
Everything about this town puzzles you. Everyone you pass acknowledges you in one way or another. You slowly come to realize that morality runs the town- there is no currency. People give to accept, and the town helps itself. Since there is no money, no one is set on making it. Instead, everyone is busily helping themselves by helping others. That is, just as the store owner who gave you the gift and expected clean aisles in return, everyone helps each other. No one goes to the grocery store if they don’t have the time to give back. Everyone works together, but still ultimately for themselves.
You stop a nearby woman and you ask, “What if someone steals? What if someone lies?” She looks at you like you’re crazy. “Well,” she replies, “Stealing and lying are both good ways of getting what you want, if there are no opportunities to obtain it. But here, stealing and lying just aren’t needed. There is no poverty because there is always sympathy enough. With sympathy, there is no hunger because we gratify, and we just trust that the gratified will hold up the gratifier. The only ones who really steal and lie are the youths, but it’s natural for them to question the structure of the society they are growing up in. But sooner or later, through patience and understanding from the adults, they realize that the structure is sound.”
“So,” you reply, “what about liabilities? What about protecting what’s yours? Wouldn’t you want what’s owed you when accidents occur?” She blinks and raises an eyebrow at you. “Well,” she says, “that’s just petty. If everyone is honest and admits to their own mistakes, the system is flawless.”
The scene painted here is very idealistic and impossible to accomplish without total faith in other people. The implications are there, but a major issue stands in the way: people are separate beings. Distance is a borderline, and, except through certain assumptions, our minds are entirely unaware of each other. However, we are all undeniably a community, starting from the people immediately surrounding us and rippling out more and more until our community includes the entire world. It isn’t money that crosses the borders, neither is it material goods. Words also do not, but they are a huge part of it. It is emotions. Words merely convey emotions and thoughts, and people use words to relay what they wish the world to perceive of them. The one thing common to all people is emotions, and we can identify with one another better by perceiving them. It is almost impossible to not use money and remain a functioning member of today’s society. And as a member of today’s society, you might have felt the sting that accompanies the wrong side of the scale.
Have you ever felt cheated? Of course, it can’t be helped to look at things in this manner: that guy has a bigger house than me, that person’s car is better than mine. These comparisons are statistical in nature. The only way to combat feeling cheated is to own something so priceless that everything else pales in comparison. So it’s okay to be a go-getter, to jump into the progressive river that America’s mill runs on, to reach for the dream that this country is famous for. Just don’t forget the other side of things, like how discouragement may be inherited by the succeeding generation, and that hope is only present if you practice it. And the next time you feel that you are on the inhibited side of the scale, remember that you have something of much greater value. You think you can put a number to yourself, but you can’t. You are invaluable.
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