What We Won't Do For Money
Seriously, let's make a list
When I was a kid, there was a name-your-price game that kind of stemmed off of the would-you-rather game. It went like this:
You would think of two really gross things (say, eating a spider and licking the bottom of a sneaker) and force someone to choose which one they would do, if they HAD to choose. Once you found something that someone just never chose, you’d dig in. Would you do it for a hundred dollars? 500? 1,000? A MILLION??
One time when a group of us were laughing through a round of this game, one of my friends said, “You can go as high as you want. There are some things we don’t do for money.”
Her response was so perfect, so self-assured, and so effective, I wondered how no one else had thought to end our turn this way. There was a way out of this game without choosing your sellout point and losing all dignity after all!
Her words were so powerful that I remember them decades later verbatim. I’ve used them many times verbatim. I think about them right now especially.
Today is a day inundated with reminders of greed. Black Friday history is full of people failing to live up to calls of humanity, instead opting to fully define themselves as cutthroat consumers. American retailers set the stage by pitting customer against customer in the name of arbitrary savings on unessential goods. People fight their way towards big screen tv’s and hot ticket toys, shoving their way through their basest instincts to the check out line.
Somehow this holiday is depressingly on the nose for our current political atmosphere.
Speculation now abounds about people who dropped their concerns, court cases, or vehement oppositions to Trump to abruptly pivot and stand at his side. People who stepped out of his way and paved a path for his victory who then gained some interestingly timed success or financial gain of their own. Entire industries full of people who knew better but on some level rooted for his chaotic destruction to prevail because it might help their bottom line.
Each of them had a price tag. Every one of them could be bought. None of them had the moral fortitude to say, “Nope. I’m not for sale.”
This month, UK journalist Carole Cadwalladr wrote an amazing article called How to Survive the Broligarchy on Substack. In it, she discusses steps to take to safeguard yourself during the Trump presidency. One tip she highlights is “Know what you stand for and what you think is good.” Many of her others touch on how to act professionally and personally, in a way that maintains the greater good and your personal integrity.
In light of the financial motivations that many people had for voting for Trump and for bending to his will since he came into the political picture, I propose we test our nerve.
Let’s find the clear boundaries in our lives that cannot be crossed for personal gain, that there is no blank check big enough to override.
What will you or won’t you do in your job that tilts the table towards the ultra wealthy and against those with lower incomes. What will you or won’t you do to protect the most vulnerable people in your communities? Who will you or won’t you sell your land to, invest your money in, or support with your business? In what circumstances will you or won’t you use your voice?
Take out a pencil, and fill in the blank:
There are some things we don’t do for money. What are they?
With love and hope for the future,
Stephanie
Please share your thoughts as you explore your own boundaries. What is a limit you think we all should adopt?
I’d always believed most folks won’t sell out their principles for money. I’ve been proven naive in that regard quite a bit in recent years.
Some seemingly simple stands can make a difference. My fav was “during the McCarthy era, named after Senator Joseph McCarthy, who led a campaign against alleged communists in the U.S. government and other institutions. This period saw many people accused of being communists or communist sympathizers, leading to job losses and ruined reputations.
The phrase often associated with the end of this era is “Have you no sense of decency, sir?” This was famously said by Joseph Welch, the chief counsel for the U.S. Army, during the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954. Welch’s question to McCarthy is widely seen as a turning point that led to the decline of McCarthy’s influence and the end of the widespread accusations and fear-mongering.”
McCain also did it once with a vote against his party in favor of keeping Obamacare.
I am struggling with my personal guide, and it doesn’t much have to do with money. More like what I won’t do is belittle others to look like a big tough guy to my family and friends. As a senior, I want my kids and grandkids to remember a guy who is a pretty decent role model. One small thing at a time.
Stephanie, thanks for asking this question.