How Does Money Define People?
Americans revolve around money. They cannot live without it. In order to survive and/or live a good life one needs money. In the United States wealth classifies people. If one is rich, one is high class, if one has nothing, one is considered lower class. Why does money define the people? I agree with Lewis Lapham's view of " the American faith in money" because everything he states is factual, and I myself have experienced it.
People in America idolize money as if it had controlled over them. The vast majority of
Americans believe that having money is part of the American Dream. Although not everyone sleeps on piles of Benjamins, everyone wishes they did. Americans' obsession with money is actually quite incredible compared to other places. "The Soviets honor the holding of power;… Europe and Asia manage to balance their desire for wealth against other claims of the human spirit." Americans tend to go out of their way to make money. The difference between Americans and other places is that the Americans will betray what they believe in most, just to gain a few bills. …show more content…
New trends constantly arise and everyone feels the need to follow them.
New technology is constantly being released and of course everyone is all over it. These things are definitely not cheap, but people feel the need to be in possession of them in order to be accepted. "As often as not, it isn't the money itself that means anything; it is the use of money as the currency of the soul." This sentence is very real. It isn't the actual dollar bill that is important. What's important is what you can actually do with the money. If one won the lottery, one wouldn't say "oh, I got a lot of bills, I'm going to keep them forever and not spend them." No. One will most likely say, "I'm going to buy a new mansion and 3 cars, and part of the city." So in reality it isn't the money that people want, it is in fact what the money can do that appeals to
them.
However, there are groups of people in America that put other things before money. Some value things like family and religion and do not obsess over money like the rest. These people are proof that you do not need excessive amounts of money in your bank account in order to be happy. It is definitely a generalization that all Americans are money obsessed, but the quantity is so large, it makes sense. Although there are people who still have morals and care about other things more than money.
In conclusion, Americans revolve around in what they could use money for. They will do anything and everything that could gain them a few more dollars. In America, everything is expensive. If you want to survive, money is a necessity. However, most Americans, use money for things that they need for example, the new iPhone every time it comes out. The need to feel accepted gets the best of tem, and money, in America, is the key to being accepted.
People in America idolize money as if it had controlled over them. The vast majority of
Americans believe that having money is part of the American Dream. Although not everyone sleeps on piles of Benjamins, everyone wishes they did. Americans' obsession with money is actually quite incredible compared to other places. "The Soviets honor the holding of power;… Europe and Asia manage to balance their desire for wealth against other claims of the human spirit." Americans tend to go out of their way to make money. The difference between Americans and other places is that the Americans will betray what they believe in most, just to gain a few bills. …show more content…
New trends constantly arise and everyone feels the need to follow them.
New technology is constantly being released and of course everyone is all over it. These things are definitely not cheap, but people feel the need to be in possession of them in order to be accepted. "As often as not, it isn't the money itself that means anything; it is the use of money as the currency of the soul." This sentence is very real. It isn't the actual dollar bill that is important. What's important is what you can actually do with the money. If one won the lottery, one wouldn't say "oh, I got a lot of bills, I'm going to keep them forever and not spend them." No. One will most likely say, "I'm going to buy a new mansion and 3 cars, and part of the city." So in reality it isn't the money that people want, it is in fact what the money can do that appeals to
them.
However, there are groups of people in America that put other things before money. Some value things like family and religion and do not obsess over money like the rest. These people are proof that you do not need excessive amounts of money in your bank account in order to be happy. It is definitely a generalization that all Americans are money obsessed, but the quantity is so large, it makes sense. Although there are people who still have morals and care about other things more than money.
In conclusion, Americans revolve around in what they could use money for. They will do anything and everything that could gain them a few more dollars. In America, everything is expensive. If you want to survive, money is a necessity. However, most Americans, use money for things that they need for example, the new iPhone every time it comes out. The need to feel accepted gets the best of tem, and money, in America, is the key to being accepted.