The speaker at my neighbor kid’s 8th-grade graduation ceremony spread an unabashedly capitalistic message: Get good grades in high school so you can go on to be a big financial success. She gushed about moneybags role models Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Lopez and rapper 50 Cent. No word about their good works or artistic contributions; this speaker clearly was enamored of their big bucks.
I’m not sure how much of her message sank in with my graduating buddy. Hours later, all he could talk about was his upcoming baseball game and the Shady shirt he’d just bought with some of his graduation money. But her words got to me. With the message “money equals success” burning in my brain, I kept my mouth shut. I was too embarrassed to ask my young friend to hold off till my next payday before cashing the graduation check I’d given him.
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