Money and Class in America

In American culture, money has been directly related to success. We idolize those we see on television or hear on the radio. We respect those who have nice belongings. Power is given to those we see with money. Those that have little to no money are not respected in the scheme of things, no matter how cultured their mind is. This money mindset is both a blessing and a curse, we always aim for prosperity but in that goal we don’t watch out for those around us. In our pursuit of money we will often treat others wrong.
Specifically it’s not money that Americans are after, it’s the things they can do with it. You can judge someone’s character best by paying attention to how they spend their money. Often, a good person will lend it out, donate it, or invest for the future. However, there are those that will continuously buy items that have no significance, they will throw their money away when there are people that only hope for that much. Many rappers throw money to the crowd at performances, this is to show they have it. With this gesture, they expect to be respected. But it cannot be called a donation in this manner. They throw away their money wastefully, to people they don’t know. They have no idea what this person is going to do with the money thrown at them. This is irresponsibility.
Until someone gains money, they will never be fully respected in America. As Lapham says “…if an American success is to count for anything in the world it must be clothed in the raiment of property.” Unless you have a lot of things with a lot of value, you won’t be valuable in many people’s eyes. This is different in other cultures. Native Americans appropriate family and togetherness as valuable. Some other countries describe skill in a craft as valuable. They have gotten over the feeling that money may give people, so why is it that we cannot? Money has become something of a religion in America, and the want of it is growing rapidly. I feel we need to rethink our values.