Rich Man, Poor Man...

I've come to believe that human beings are collectively afflicted by an epidemic far surpassing all other ailments and traumas combined in terms its potential lethality for all mankind.

Strangely enough, what stirred the kettle in which these thoughts had heretofore been simmering to a roiling boil was an innocent examination of the "Basic Stats" of one of my non-poetic endeavors here at Writing.Com last evening. I was perusing the statistics more closely than I normally do, and noticed for the first time that one of the ways the demographics of various viewers of a given piece is sub-classified is in terms of their reported annual salaries and/or income.

I realize that there are very sound arguments to be made for why such a demographic category could, should, and/or would be considered pertinent in this instance, and am not criticizing WDC in any way, shape, or form for including same in their "Basic Statistics" compilations. I'm merely noting that this particular category IS, in fact, hugely important and/or influential to the vast majority of us... which I find intriguing, upon serious contemplation of the reasons why.

Perhaps it is true that "money makes the world go 'round", but burrowing deeper, it seems to me that what really drives majoral humanity... the true fuel that fans both our best and most detrimental flames as a species... are money's Masters, Ego and Power. There exists between these Masters a symbiotic relationship, the outcome of which is greatly impacted by the ratio of one to the other in the blend. Money is the Servant of them both ~ perhaps the most powerful of the tools with which they hew footholds of varying degrees in every man's existence. There are also the implements of physical beauty,status, educational level, etc. ~ but all of these must first answer to, and may be wholly altered by, the Masters' Servant's reign.

And so it is the Masters, Ego and Power, to whom we ultimately bow or stand in rebellion against. It is they... and our ability or lack thereof to contain and harness their potential for the greater good, that in the end most clearly reflect the true measure of every man. They may be permitted to become the spawning parents giving rise to progeny of racism, prejudice, and hate... or they, themselves, can be made the servants of humanity's every shining potential and laudable achievement. When Ego and Power become the latter, money no longer serves only them ~ it serves us all. And once thus stripped of its detriments, eyes wide open can see that money has naught to do with true wealth. For if it did, we would all go destitute to our graves.