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     Volume 5 Issue 113 | September 22, 2006 |


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Perceptions

Money Talks

Syeda Shamin Mortada

We often discuss how the world has changed. We converse and compare the people of the past with the modern folk of today and most of us reach the same conclusion, that we are living in a “Material World” where Money Talks.

People judge each other with their monthly income and the size of their bank accounts. Money it seems has overpowered and conquered all: love, happiness, status, prestige and at times even education.

Many women give priority to healthy finances than looks whilst choosing a spouse, age is no barrier either, he may be older or even younger, but he ought to be rich and in constant supply of cash!! A lot of men on the other hand want their dad-in-laws to be wealthy, holding a high position in the society. Yes, Money Talks!

They were madly in love, talked about the future, a family, kids and everything else that comes with it. The boy was a brilliant student with a great career ahead and a good family background. But everything changed overnight. He lost his father and the burden of running the family came upon his shoulders. In a span of a night he turned in to a pauper from a handsome prince. Eventually the poor chap had to give up studies for the sake of his family and ultimately the girl left him for another guy with a brighter future ahead. “I love you! But love is something and marriage is something else. We have to think practically now. I can neither be you lover, nor your partner. But I can always remain your friend” Those were the last words he heard from her.

Have you observed how at times the affluent and the famous behave in public? It's as if God has given them the right to walk all over other people who they deem to be inferior. The others somewhat stoop in obsequiousness and dance to the conceited man's tune, listening to him constantly rambling about his life, marriage, kids, his thorny past, magnificent present and his glorious vision of the future ahead.

You cannot fail to notice how the sales person treats you if you are not well dressed and don't smell of money. They will walk past you as if you are invisible and chase after the glitzy and glamorous ones. May it be a salon, shop or restaurant you are bound to get that Extra Khatir if you can assure everyone that you are the member of the upper echelon. Yes Money Talks!

A bright student of a private university went to interview the GM of a well known shopping mall. She made the mistake of dressing up very casually (a simple salwar kameez with a big duppatta). The guy and his group of (smart) staff obviously thought that the poor girl had stepped into Shopper's World for the first time in her life; they mistreated her and their remarks made her feel miserably inferior.

You can buy respect with money. Does not matter by what means you attain it or how many people you cheat, but how much money you earn is what matters most. Yes Money Talks!

Where have the days gone where honesty was considered to be the best policy? What happened to the time when character building was given preference, when being a kind and good human being mattered? Where have those simple yet golden days gone?

We hear our grandparents' gossip about the past. They describe the fairy tale life they had, how happy the little things made them, how uncomplicated the days were back then. Those people never ran after accomplishments and material things. They were content with the things they had and every little success was thought of as bliss.

Today children turn against parents for the sake of property and wealth, siblings of the same family get into rivalry and hostility while chasing family assets and land. It's hard to believe and difficult to forget that there are some folks who are ready to suck the blood and money of their own off spring where their greed and need is concerned. This is a superficial and selfish world we are living in today, a world where money is more important than life itself. A world where Money Talks!

 

 

 

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