How Much Is It Worth?

Below is an excerpt of a letter that I wrote to a friend in Scotland... ...Back on the homestead, I'm waiting out the right-wing political shift of my country. Luckily, I live in a more liberal section of it. Whenever I volunteer my time to my attorney/ambassador friend, I feel like I'm doing a small part for the principles that I believe in. But when I see his efforts on behalf of his Democratic principles, I feel inspiration tempered by cynicism. In all the time since we humans have banded together into societal units, money and power has ALWAYS been the constant measure of success and standing in ANY society. We haven't been able to move PAST this mentality and it seems to affect our basic thought process. For example, when people inquire about my comic collection, the first or second sentence out of anyone's mouth is "You must have some comics that are worth some MONEY!" Then you have things like antique roadshows on television with the same basic message: Family heirlooms=cash. Hell, even in casual conversation, you always get "So what do you DO?" Ergo: "Where are you on the socio-political hierarchy? How much do you pull down? Do you MATTER?" Depressing...