Seeds and Their Offspring
Apr. 24th, 2004 08:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vollmusIn English on Thursday, we wrote outlines for a few practice Writing WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) prompts. My favorite, the only one that I could actually respond to with feeling, was this (or something similar):
One idea that has been around since the creation of the first monetary unit is that money is the root of all evil. While many so-called "evil" actions have taken place in order to gain wealth, it is not true that all "evil" things are able to be fully traced back to money. Instead, it is the human desire for power that is the root of all evil.
The first thing to be understood is the difference between money and power. The words are often seen as synonymous, but they are two separate words with two very different meanings. Money is "something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment," according to http://www.m-w.com. Merriam-Webster also tells us that power is "possession of control, authority, or influence over others." Where in the westernized world money usually brings power, it is important to know they are not one and the same.
This difference in definition is easy to see by looking at history. Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, for example, was angry at their distinct lack of power after the end of WWI. The country was forced to acquiesce to the armistice, basically signing away the mild power it had enjoyed in pre-war times. A leader rose to be at the head of the government, calling for better employment, improved living conditions, internment camps and renewed power to the almighty Germany. Adolf Hitler persecuted the Jewish people and he did not care about working conditions. He had an extreme sense of nationalism; he hated the other countries far more than his own, so why not bring Germany power? Of course, he couldn't help his least despised rise from the ashes without rising to the top himself. In a similar fashion, Joseph Stalin's thirst for power is clear to anyone who knows anything about the USSR. The least likely of three Reds to take the place of the late Vladimir Lenin, Stalin maneuvered his way into dictatorship by staying shrewd and silent in the background. His desire for absolute power led to the terror of citizens and the further corruption of government that took place during his rule. Money was simply a stepping stone on his path to power.
It may be said that Hitler persecuted the Jews for money and that Stalin decreased monetary value in the USSR. Money is the root of these actions, but these actions are part of a bigger picture. The goal of each plan was to bring power to the dictator and his country, and an important piece was to gain wealth. Where there is a desire for money, there is a desire for power, and one want surely stems from the other. There is no question as to which is the seed.
Holding true to my english class ways, here is my prompt for you: Respond.
"Money is the root of all evil." Write a formal letter to your teacher in response to this idea.It took me a second to wrap my brain around their "idea," but once I did, I wrote furiously for the next five minutes. My teacher had told us to make an outline, so I made that cluster shape, but I put complete sentences everywhere because I was so against the idea that the essay poured out onto the paper. My hand could hardly keep up with my thoughts, but I did succeed in making one hell of an outline. I want to briefly explain my point to you, and hopefully receive a response explaining your thoughts on the subject, so please bear with me if this next part is a bit dull -- it is extremely history-based and is generally something you only really think about for school or when someone in school asks you to. If you don't care about definitions or historical evidence, read the next paragraph, skip two paragraphs, and then read on from there.
One idea that has been around since the creation of the first monetary unit is that money is the root of all evil. While many so-called "evil" actions have taken place in order to gain wealth, it is not true that all "evil" things are able to be fully traced back to money. Instead, it is the human desire for power that is the root of all evil.
The first thing to be understood is the difference between money and power. The words are often seen as synonymous, but they are two separate words with two very different meanings. Money is "something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment," according to http://www.m-w.com. Merriam-Webster also tells us that power is "possession of control, authority, or influence over others." Where in the westernized world money usually brings power, it is important to know they are not one and the same.
This difference in definition is easy to see by looking at history. Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, for example, was angry at their distinct lack of power after the end of WWI. The country was forced to acquiesce to the armistice, basically signing away the mild power it had enjoyed in pre-war times. A leader rose to be at the head of the government, calling for better employment, improved living conditions, internment camps and renewed power to the almighty Germany. Adolf Hitler persecuted the Jewish people and he did not care about working conditions. He had an extreme sense of nationalism; he hated the other countries far more than his own, so why not bring Germany power? Of course, he couldn't help his least despised rise from the ashes without rising to the top himself. In a similar fashion, Joseph Stalin's thirst for power is clear to anyone who knows anything about the USSR. The least likely of three Reds to take the place of the late Vladimir Lenin, Stalin maneuvered his way into dictatorship by staying shrewd and silent in the background. His desire for absolute power led to the terror of citizens and the further corruption of government that took place during his rule. Money was simply a stepping stone on his path to power.
It may be said that Hitler persecuted the Jews for money and that Stalin decreased monetary value in the USSR. Money is the root of these actions, but these actions are part of a bigger picture. The goal of each plan was to bring power to the dictator and his country, and an important piece was to gain wealth. Where there is a desire for money, there is a desire for power, and one want surely stems from the other. There is no question as to which is the seed.
Holding true to my english class ways, here is my prompt for you: Respond.
