Money, money, money

Yesterday (or rather, earlier today), I journeyed home at 1 am. Despite a *slight* mishap at Q ave, I managed to go home safely. Since there are no more buses going to Malinta then, I had to use the Monumento route and ride a jeep there. I noted several things while on my way home.

One, there are many *bars* in Caloocan. And not the high-end or even standup comedy sort of bars. The sort where there are lots of women and there's videoke and drunk men all over (I passed about four or more of those, almost side-by-side). I wonder why that sort of business is tolerated...

Anyway, beyond that, I also noted just how many people are still journeying home at that time. And not the well-dressed yuppies (call center agents), too. Some are those who have blue-collar jobs and stuff.

Then I thought, in a year or so, will I be one of these people, going home during witching hours and having little rest before another day? After all, that is the working drill, right?

But then, I can't help but think, it's just money. Why are people so wrought up about it? Why must you work so much to earn so little (or to earn some more)? They're just pieces of paper and metal, after all.

The answer, however, came to me in a moment: money is what makes this world go round, at least with the current system. With a culture of consumption and capitalism, money is needed to survive. We must always strive to have more; such is the culture fed to us. For there is no such thing as "enough," we must always acquire more profit, more possessions. There's no level of satisfaction.

In a capitalist society, money is one of the most essential things to survive. I guess, then, that this is why we always strive for more. And this is why many among us work to the wee hours of the night. We need money to buy more, consume more. Money, after all, is our capital. And this is a capitalist society, driven by money.

I hope to see a time when money (or lack of it) is no longer a big issue. So that we can stop killing ourselves to live and survive.