Paper is Money
Julio Almanza
October 14, 2009
One day a stranger walked down Perdido Way where he came across a small group of young, superficial, men and women hanging out in front of an apartment complex making a whole lot of noise. He observed the young group and saw that the tallest one, who wore Rocawear Gear and a gold chain proudly hanging from his neck, flashed his one hundred dollar bill into the air dancing, and singing while the others angrily yelled at him. The stranger approached the young crowd and said, "Hello there. I couldn´t help but observe you fighting for what seems to be over a hundred dollar bill. Why?"
"I found a hundred bucks on the sidewalk, and all these fools are trying to claim they saw it first. I was the one man enough to pick it up, and now that I have it, they are claiming they deserve a piece of the money."
"In that case, how about if I show you a magic trick?"
The young crowd quickly gathered around the stranger eager to see his magic trick.
"May I see your hundred dollar bill?" Asked the stranger.
The tall young man hesitated at first.
"You´re not going to run with it are you?" The young man asked.
"You have my word that I am not going to do that."
The tall young kid nodded in approval and handed the stranger the bill.
"Before I perform my magic trick, I need to explain what this piece of paper really is in order for the magic trick to work. Is that okay with you?"
The young crowd nodded in agreement.
"Good. Here in my hand I have one hundred dollars that your friend here found on the floor. You, in the red, mind holding this for me?"
"Sure," the kid in red answered.
"What do you see on the bill?"
"I see Benjamin Franklin."
"Good. You see anything else?"
"I see a bunch of numbers and words."
"Good. Can you read me the words that are printed next to the head of Benjamin Franklin?"
"Uh, this note is legal tender for all debts, public and private."
"This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private." The stranger repeated. "Can anyone tell me what that means?"
The group was silent with no answer.
The Stranger took the bill away from the young man in red and continued to hold it up for the group to see.
"This note is one of the most powerful forces on the face of the planet. This note, notice they didn´t call it a dollar they called it a note, is responsible for corruption, power, war, destruction, and greed. This note has become your God, and if you believe that I am talking non sense, just look at the way all of you were acting just to get your hands on this bill."
The stranger glanced at all of the confused young kids who shrugged their shoulders to one another.
"Let us take a look at what the term, 'this note is legal tender for all debts, public and private' really means. What is a note? A note is what you get in a notepad, right? A notepad is simply a pad that has blank pieces of paper in it which we use to write notes in. It is then safe to say that this note that I am holding in my hand is nothing more than paper. What is legal tender? Tender comes from the Latin word tenere, which means to offer. So this note, this piece of paper, was legalized by the government for the use of offering wealth that does not exist. What is debt? Merriam Webster defines debt as something owed. So, this note, this piece of paper, this government approved IOU, which is also known as legal tender, is an offering of wealth which does not exist, that is owed to you, to be used in public or in private transactions. So, this one hundred dollar note is not worth anything at all. Am I making sense?"
The young crowd nodded in agreement.
"So, this one hundred dollar note is not worth one hundred dollars of anything. We are known to kill, kidnap, rob, fight for this government approved IOU. This piece of green paper has done nothing but destroy the human race. We hold this note highly because of what it can give us, but you forget that this note is only worth what the power holders of society says its worth. You honestly believe that this note is the path to your happiness? You honestly believe that this legal tender, this piece of paper, for all debts, public and private will make your life any easier?"
"Yeah," blurted the tall young kid. "It pays for our food. It pays for our clothes and medicine, and everything else we might need, or want, in life."
"Yes, it is a good tool for society, but what happens when this dollar is no longer valuable? Can you make your own money to replace the one that no longer works? If you look closely at your history, it has happened before. It was called the Great Depression. After the stock market crashed ten dollars was only worth five dollars. In Germany, before Hitler and the Nazis gained control of the government, their notes, their currency, their approved IOU´s, became worthless. A loaf of bread would cost one hundred and forty marks, which was the name of the German dollar. You are right when you say that this note can get you the things you need and the things you want, but once the market is inflated with these pieces of paper, the value of this piece of paper goes down. So you see, you are all slaves to this piece of paper because you are willing to fight over it just like you all were doing before I came along. Are you really in control of your hearts and minds?"
The stranger looked around to see if anyone else would speak up, but none of the young kids did. "On that note, no pun intended, it is now time for my magic trick."
The Stranger ripped the bill into tiny pieces and then blew it out of his hands. The shredded bill slowly floated to the ground like confetti.
The young crowd gasped in horror.
"I own the money; the money does not own me. I know and understand that money comes and money goes and will come back again." The Stranger then pulled out a crisp new one hundred dollar bill from his pocket and handed it to the tall young kid.
"Have a nice day and remember it is only a nicely cut piece of paper that was legalized tender by the power holders of society for all debts, public and private."
He walked away and left the young crowd in stunned silence.
"I found a hundred bucks on the sidewalk, and all these fools are trying to claim they saw it first. I was the one man enough to pick it up, and now that I have it, they are claiming they deserve a piece of the money."
"In that case, how about if I show you a magic trick?"
The young crowd quickly gathered around the stranger eager to see his magic trick.
"May I see your hundred dollar bill?" Asked the stranger.
The tall young man hesitated at first.
"You´re not going to run with it are you?" The young man asked.
"You have my word that I am not going to do that."
The tall young kid nodded in approval and handed the stranger the bill.
"Before I perform my magic trick, I need to explain what this piece of paper really is in order for the magic trick to work. Is that okay with you?"
The young crowd nodded in agreement.
"Good. Here in my hand I have one hundred dollars that your friend here found on the floor. You, in the red, mind holding this for me?"
"Sure," the kid in red answered.
"What do you see on the bill?"
"I see Benjamin Franklin."
"Good. You see anything else?"
"I see a bunch of numbers and words."
"Good. Can you read me the words that are printed next to the head of Benjamin Franklin?"
"Uh, this note is legal tender for all debts, public and private."
"This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private." The stranger repeated. "Can anyone tell me what that means?"
The group was silent with no answer.
The Stranger took the bill away from the young man in red and continued to hold it up for the group to see.
"This note is one of the most powerful forces on the face of the planet. This note, notice they didn´t call it a dollar they called it a note, is responsible for corruption, power, war, destruction, and greed. This note has become your God, and if you believe that I am talking non sense, just look at the way all of you were acting just to get your hands on this bill."
The stranger glanced at all of the confused young kids who shrugged their shoulders to one another.
"Let us take a look at what the term, 'this note is legal tender for all debts, public and private' really means. What is a note? A note is what you get in a notepad, right? A notepad is simply a pad that has blank pieces of paper in it which we use to write notes in. It is then safe to say that this note that I am holding in my hand is nothing more than paper. What is legal tender? Tender comes from the Latin word tenere, which means to offer. So this note, this piece of paper, was legalized by the government for the use of offering wealth that does not exist. What is debt? Merriam Webster defines debt as something owed. So, this note, this piece of paper, this government approved IOU, which is also known as legal tender, is an offering of wealth which does not exist, that is owed to you, to be used in public or in private transactions. So, this one hundred dollar note is not worth anything at all. Am I making sense?"
The young crowd nodded in agreement.
"So, this one hundred dollar note is not worth one hundred dollars of anything. We are known to kill, kidnap, rob, fight for this government approved IOU. This piece of green paper has done nothing but destroy the human race. We hold this note highly because of what it can give us, but you forget that this note is only worth what the power holders of society says its worth. You honestly believe that this note is the path to your happiness? You honestly believe that this legal tender, this piece of paper, for all debts, public and private will make your life any easier?"
"Yeah," blurted the tall young kid. "It pays for our food. It pays for our clothes and medicine, and everything else we might need, or want, in life."
"Yes, it is a good tool for society, but what happens when this dollar is no longer valuable? Can you make your own money to replace the one that no longer works? If you look closely at your history, it has happened before. It was called the Great Depression. After the stock market crashed ten dollars was only worth five dollars. In Germany, before Hitler and the Nazis gained control of the government, their notes, their currency, their approved IOU´s, became worthless. A loaf of bread would cost one hundred and forty marks, which was the name of the German dollar. You are right when you say that this note can get you the things you need and the things you want, but once the market is inflated with these pieces of paper, the value of this piece of paper goes down. So you see, you are all slaves to this piece of paper because you are willing to fight over it just like you all were doing before I came along. Are you really in control of your hearts and minds?"
The stranger looked around to see if anyone else would speak up, but none of the young kids did. "On that note, no pun intended, it is now time for my magic trick."
The Stranger ripped the bill into tiny pieces and then blew it out of his hands. The shredded bill slowly floated to the ground like confetti.
The young crowd gasped in horror.
"I own the money; the money does not own me. I know and understand that money comes and money goes and will come back again." The Stranger then pulled out a crisp new one hundred dollar bill from his pocket and handed it to the tall young kid.
"Have a nice day and remember it is only a nicely cut piece of paper that was legalized tender by the power holders of society for all debts, public and private."
He walked away and left the young crowd in stunned silence.
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