Tuesday, December 6, 2011

I like you, here's a dollar.

I saw this in a parking lot a few weeks ago:


My first thought (obviously:) "Take a picture! That's SOMETHING!"

Then, I thought about the phrase "MONEY IS NOT SPEECH". Huh? Isn't it? Why not? And if I paid you, would you listen to me?

I've known many people with lots of money and many people with no money. Each has the same view of money: it's valuable. However, after getting into a huge debate with my father-in-law (someone with lots of money), he told me this - "I spend my money the way I do because I have families that I have to support."
Okay. Fair enough. My retort was - "Yes, but if you are more careful about how you spend your money, then you can support even MORE families."
His response was simple: "But I LIKE them."
Ah. Point. Match. Game Over.

And I thought about it some more. Isn't money a tool to tell someone that you LIKE them? That you APPROVE of what they are doing? Even if you have very little money, you may go to a fast food joint because it's convenient, and you choose that particular fast food joint because you like it. And you part with your money because you are getting something out of the transaction.

Money may not be speech, but it definitely is a signal. It's a sign that I like you.

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