Living your Values

I have been thinking about values of late. I have come to have known many interesting and diverse people, who have different backgrounds and different values.

Money or Modesty
When I was in college, I was friends with someone who sold equipment to companies to earn money for college. I am not sure exactly what he sold – but he asked if I wanted to accompany him to a strip club one day. I think he just wanted to impress me that "he was dealing with a strip club." Anyway, I had never been to one, so I said, sure, let's go.

I was a little sheltered, so this was the most degenerate thing I had done to date. Remember, in college, and I degenerated afterwards. Well, the club had not opened yet (I thought they were open all of the time), so it was like any other shut-down bar, except there was a stage or runway or whatever.

My friend was meeting with the manager who had been talking with two women (girls?). Both looked young to me, younger than me – who could not be in the establishment when open since I was under the drinking age. I could not believe they were 21.

Well, when the manager went to do something else, my friend and I had an opportunity to talk with these two. They needed money for college – and thought stripping was an easy way to do this. Sally-Mae, move over, gentleman's club to the rescue. And my friend, I had thought, was just a normal guy, and I assumed that he thought stripping was okay. Well, while we mingled (not sure if it was the right word, but as it implies, we were engaging in small talk), my friend started to ask the girls if they really wanted to strip for money.

He was asking them about their values – he did not use these words, but in fact, he was asking "Do you value money more than your modesty?" Or maybe other things. The respect of others. I know if I was a stripper, any one I dated would think they would "get some", if you know what I mean. Okay, I am blunt, so everyone should know what I mean.

There are trade-offs.

Money or Relationships
I read of someone who had a goal of making one million dollars in one year. He was a salesman, and it was an ambitious goal for him. He concentrated on his one goal, and he achieved it. But his wife divorced him, one of his children turned to drugs and he damaged relationships with other family-members. He valued money – something that his goal of making $1 Million in a year brought, respect from other salespeople, or whatever.

Now I am not sure the salesman or the strippers did what was central to their values. I don't know their value system – and sometimes we do things that are not logical. How many men (or women) cheat on a spouse and threaten the thing they hold most dear?

I know I may get some criticism for using money and something else for the two examples. But I try and keep my entries short. Once could easily think of deciding between compassion and displaying intelligence. How many times have we heard a person say something that was true but cruel? And the only reason they made the statement was so that others would get a glimpse of their brilliance.

I know, not a lot of Tits or Ass in the post – even if it did have a strip club. Not my usual self. Perhaps I will get dirtier tomorrow.