"And my rebuttal to your rebuttal was that being rich isn't the problem -- it's what people *do* when they're rich. If you've got money, power, and influence, you should use it in a way that improves society, or at least a part of it, instead of just sitting back and buying yourself a bunch of mansions and limos. Helping others is one of the purest forms of Slack."
Perhaps the issue is _staying_ rich. Getting rich is fine, being rich is fine, but hording lots of stuff is about as healthy and attractive as hording a little stuff.
The ancient Egyptian SubGenii were judged in the afterlife by having their heart (ie conscious) weighed on a scale. If it weighed more than an ostrich feather, they could not progress to the next level.
As always, we ask ourselves: What would "Bob" say? I imagine he'd remind us we owe it to _ourselves_ to send $1.00 to Box 140306, Dallas TX 75214. After that, he'd remind us being rich isn't all it's cracked up to be, but neither is being poor. _Being_ isn't all it's cracked up to be. But being _cracked up_ is underrated as well, so we should buy cheap and sell high, turn our personality disorders into money machines (the old pain --> art --> rent formula), and not think about these things too much.
- Dr. Onan Canobite
box2321@teleport.com http://www.teleport.com/~box2321 Post Office Box 2321 Portland OR 97208-2321 USA
Original file name: Onan on Riches
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