The Root of All EVIL!
Yes, you guessed it, MONEY is the root of all evil. MONEY is just another reason our American Society has gone to pot as people’s priorities are all out of kilter. “Back in the day” the institution of family, attending church, receiving excellent education, and enjoying common civility were extremely strong and were the cornerstones to the framework of our society. But not today as these fundamental basics have vanished and disappeared years ago. That’s because, due to MONEY, our society is all about “me” as we’ve become so self-centered, selfish, and greedy enthralled with the accumulation of material things–homes, cars, clothing, furnishings, and jewelry!
MONEY is the root of all evil, but it really shouldn’t be if we became far less self-centered and actually spent MONEY in ways to positively impact our society as a whole. Not only are the values which built our society gone, but our society has become so wasteful and no one really seems to care. Oh sure, you’ve got all your special interest groups and lobbyists who put on this politically correct false front believing they’re out in front to protect us from ourselves. The true reality is they only add on more waste!
Please, if you will, recall in my recent post about the letter “E” and how it should stand for “enough” vs “excess” as I continue to discuss this despicable state of waste in our society as associated with MONEY being the root of all evil.
So, speaking of waste, I’m not going to waste my time by expounding on specific examples of waste other than to generally say the following on how we waste so much MONEY. Count the ways our federal government, Congress, and the executive branch waste MONEY and all the MONEY wasted on the electoral process in America. Why is it that the United States wastes so much MONEY on foreign aid while not helping those who truly need help at home–not only is it wasteful, but it’s also disgusting! Corporate executives and BOD members being so overcompensated in both pay and perks is wasteful. Entertainers from all different genres making zillions of dollars for “what” is wasteful. The MONEY in professional sports going to both owners and athletes is wasteful and now MONEY heading to college athletes is reprehensible. Sorry, but when I attended college over fifty years ago, when a college education actually meant something, I was a student first while being an athlete was a distant second. Athletes going to college using it as a “tryout” for professional sports is ruining college sports and the reason to go to college which is to get an education–it’s totally wasteful! Well, enough with examples of wasteful spending.
While being a member of the transportation industry for over twenty years, I saw first-hand how MONEY was wasted and the root of all evil. My black car pulled up to huge homes seeing big bucks’ cars in garages taking clients to big private jets and picking clients up from their big private jets to high-priced hotels and later to/from expensive restaurants or exclusive country clubs for a weekend of golf, fun, and frivolity–all so wasteful!
Additionally, I had the displeasure of driving 20-30 folks who happened to be listed in Fortune Magazine’s Billionaires List whose MONEY mainly came from the financial industry like hedge funds. These supposed “big shots” had such tremendous egos I could barely get them into my vehicle due to the size of their heads.
One trait they possessed was that they were each miserable. I’m certainly not sure why, but their misery was probably a result of being difficult people with no true friends, not really having time for family as they kept their wives busy with “this and that” sending their children off to boarding school, sitting on boring Boards of both business and non-profit, and just worrying about keeping and adding to their fortunes. MONEY is the root of all evil!
One of these billionaires, who was very insecure and miserable, decided to strike up a conversation in order to tell me about himself after picking him up from his big private jet and taking him to a speaking engagement. He said he had just turned 65 and decided to throw himself a birthday party at his weekend retreat on The Hamptons inviting 250 of his closest friends. He went on to say how his party was professionally catered and he even had Elton John perform for forty-five minutes at a cost of $1.5 million. I mean come on–really!
I will say, though, that those I came into contact with who possessed generational wealth were usually civil and polite as they were much more comfortable in their own “skin”. It’s those who I consider to be a part of the “nouveau riche” who were the most miserable with tremendous egos making them easy to dislike. Remember, there is a big difference between having wealth and being rich.
Another example when MONEY “rears its ugly head” as the root of all evil is when family members smell a buck or two to be had. Whether it’s asking other family members for loans which never get paid back or a legal battle over inheritance money, a family’s true colors always seem to come to the forefront over a couple of bucks and that’s really a shame! Much of what you see on court TV focuses on this topic. I’m only aware of this as La Bear can, at times, be consumed by court TV especially “Judge Judy” who she thinks should run for POTUS.
(You know, as a side note, after last night’s most dismal and embarrassing debate, I just might agree with La Bear.)
I truly doubt our American society will ever return to the way it was “back in the day”. It will take a generation who is willing to make the huge sacrifice necessary to reclaim our values and I don’t see that happening as we’re just plain “spoiled”. But if folks just understood that MONEY is the root of all evil and begin to use it in a meaningful way vs the current wasteful way, we may begin the long winding road to recapturing our society. At least, we can always hope!