Paper 2

(Paper #2) Interview two people about money. Whose picture is on a twenty? Ask them why they ‘believe’ in money. Do they imagine a time in which people might not believe in money? Why is money important? And two of your own questions. Write a page describing the results of your survey.

I conducted two interviews one with an older woman, mid sixties, her name was Eloise, and young man in his mid twenties named Charlie. I asked both the same questions: 1) whose picture is on the twenty 2) why do they believe in money 3) Do they imagine a time in which people might not believe in money? 4) Why is money important 5) Is money the root of all evil? And 6) what is the first thing you would you do if you won a million dollars?

Both Eloise and Charlie answered question one correctly saying Andrew Jackson. When asked why they believe in money I received very different responses. Eloise was baffled by the question and adamantly answered saying she does not believe in money, it’s simply a means to an end. Charlie on the other hand said money was empowerment. With regards to question three, Eloise stated that there will always be greed and therefore always be a belief in money. Charlie answered with the question, “How can people live without money?” A very telling answer, that money is simply accepted as a part of nature as if was born and there is the earth, the sky, and money. Eloise, when asked why is money important, answered that it is not important, referring back to her earlier answer, that its simply the vehicle for obtaining things, and that people are important not inanimate objects. Charlie stated that money “makes the world go ‘round”. Question 5 was exciting because it solidified my original impressions of the two, Eloise answered saying that money was not evil, but people use it as an excuse to do “evil things” whereas Charlie said money was a necessary evil. The final question, what would be the first thing you do if you won a million dollars, Eloise answered take care of her children and grandchildren and go on vacation. Charlie answered quit his job and school and then retire.

The answers were very telling because it shows you a gap in thinking. Eloise believes in humanity, and that people are to blame for the negative characteristics people attribute to money. The consistent theme of money being a vehicle to obtaining things exemplified the notion that what people do with money is an extension of their natural character. Charlie in the other hand is looking for an escape. The very idea of him working, and educating himself is to reach a point in his life where he would no longer have to do such things, money is his solution, a dream. This to me shows the gap between two generations of thinking. One where perhaps people lived within their means and the other which I call the credit generation in which people are willing to indebt themselves in order to obtain and do the things they always wished to fulfill.