A Price To Pay

The power of green paper...

The numerous felicitations toward Henry's sudden stroke of financial abundance were not unexpected by him. Neither were the sudden visits and calls from people he had nearly forgotten about. Everyone wanted to see him it seemed, even people that disliked him. He only reflected on how odd it was that with the abundance of these pieces of green paper in his possession, he became a hot commodity. But with little or none of these same green notes he became a leper. To this our modern society has conferred importance; not a man's character or his intellect, neither his kindness or virtue.

   Power and wealth. The subjugation and destruction of people came down to those two things. Those at the top seeking power over all and the rest of society seeking wealth unto their own destruction. That people would not or could not realize that wealth as defined by society was an entirely false concept, Henry did not know. How could worthless paper, or even gold for that matter, confer power and status? Only if the society has venerated currency as the god to worship as truth, is the answer in summary. That we progressed out of a bartering system stems from greed, nothing more.

   Furthermore, that the system has progressed to making society dependent upon it for survival in the modern world and is controlled by governments whether totalitarian or not, is and has been an oppression upon peoples since its inception. It has been seen time and again that the poor man with very little is often much happier than the rich man, or that a certain man should think of himself as rich because of his continual attainment of knowledge and not money. Why should this be? Why is the philosopher happier to simply contemplate eternal questions for a lifetime and the CEO miserable despite the millions she makes? Because wealth in any earthly form is artificially valued.

   There is no edict from some cosmological power giving our wealth value; it is we who have done that, we who have made it the main pillar upon which our society rests. It follows that real human happiness cannot be gained or sustained by an artificial system of wealth. This is why the philosopher is happier with his contemplations, the artist with his canvas, the writer with his words. They all seek in their own way to further enlighten mankind, not enslave it. For as long as monetary systems exist in control of governments and money is made, that money will be taxed ,and the power to tax is the power to destroy. Henry left these musings for the time being and wondered if the price to this sudden windfall had yet to be paid.