Money Conspiracy

  While the other students are busy exchanging a small deal of their cash with the uncles and aunties in the cafeteria for what is actually more edible than notes and coins, some of us were still having our lessons in the lecture theater, cash still concealed in our wallets and anywhere else a small number of us deem fit. We had a Macroeconomics make-up lecture which unfortunately was after our last period on Monday, after 5 p.m.

  So we learned quite a big deal about money. The majority of us became restless as they believe whatever our lecturer cited during the lecture was nothing more than common sense. However, the significantly more culturally sensitive ME stayed silent, allowing the flow of information circulate in my mind, before a thought, quite a conspiracy in nature, softly tapped on a nerve in me, like a gentle maiden strikes the strings of a harp with her two smooth fingers.

  Eh... That was irrelevant, I guess?

  Anyways, I was quite fascinated by how a simple print of note and a mechanically-imprinted piece of metal alloy can be objects of pure human desire. For instance...

Do you want them?

  We claim it is basic human instinct for us to collect as much of THESE as opportunities rise and recessions go. We want THESE, just as hungry wolves lust for fresh venison of a recently-killed deer. In fact, this so-called "basic human instinct" may have arose from some form of commercial propaganda that convinced us of their NOT-intrinsic value. We keep them, then we either trade it for stuff that we can actually use apart from trading, or save them. We save them in cookie jars, or we trust them to those buildings with sacred walls and God knows what is behind them (I believe it is not our business).

  Then when I thought of it, what if something else represents money in our era? For instance, what if cigars still represent currency just like in WWII? What if gems and coins of real gold was a globally accepted form of currency, just like in some video games I know of? Well, the same logic applies: We will still want more than our ready grasps.

  Money is, in fact, the root of all evil. And yet, money is also the root of greatness. Money is the blood in trades and commerce. Money is the target of most criminal activities. Money gives birth to convenience in exchange, and yet it also gives birth to the inconvenience of its users that corruption and injustice has to be constantly be kept at bay. Money is so common that 99.9% of the time, we will at least find the smallest of its unit inside a person's wallet or pocket. Yet, money is so rare that one does not simply find cash on the street. Money is the reason behind the cardinal sin of Avarice (Greed in short), as well as its counterpart, the cardinal virtue of Charity. All that is said, even by myself I still feel this sounds pretty hypocritical. However they are still facts, after all...

  I may spout materialistic jokes with my pals once in a while, but I am definitely not greedy. That lecture has certainly taught me the basic facts that we often do not truly realize. Then again, my purity and conscience demands that I 'value the invaluable'.

  Well, I guess I will play along with our 'basic human instincts' for now. Who actually thought that paper cheques, plastic notes and metal coins can be so... Valuable. But do know this: I am unlike many who plays dirty to get what I want. If I want or need money, I would not mind working my fingers to bones with a clear conscience. After all, money seems to be the only way of feeding ourselves... For now.

  It may yet be the only way to survive...