hi ...today i participated in my schools public speaking competition...guess what?i won it....maybe ladyluck is on my side today.....here's my text...hope you all enjoy
Imagine you won the lottery In a space of seconds you've become a millionaire, but what will you do with the money? Spend it on good causes and charity? Or buy five flash new cars and a house with more bathrooms than you'll ever have use for?
There are many different answers to consider when contemplating what is the root of all evil. A Channel 4 documentary has presented the idea that religion is the root of evil. Another possible answer, from a Buddhist perspective, is that there are three roots of evil: greed, hatred and delusion. If these are not the cause of evil then countless people would suggest that income tax and political views are to blame for evil in this world, as well as being evil themselves. Or could it be money that is the root of all evil?
For instance, one of the major reasons why people believe that money is the root of evil because of the vast divide between the rich and the poor, which money defines. As a result of its creation by humanity, millions of people die each year in places such as sub-Saharan Africa because they cannot afford food. They also die, unnecessarily, of curable diseases such as malaria as governments in these countries do not, because they cannot afford t
In addition to this, as has been featured in the news recently, large corporations such as Adidas have been accused of exploiting people in ELDCs (Economically Less Developed Countries) in Asia. It was reported that Adidas has been forcing these people to work in sweatshop conditions for minimal wages, in order to help Adidas make a large profit. This seems to support the idea that money is the root of all evil because it is for money that Adidas is taking advantage of their employees.
However, many people counter this argument by stating that money is just a medium of exchange, it's what we do with it that counts. For example, although Adidas may be seen to be exploiting people to boost their profits, extremely wealthy individuals such as Bill Gates are donating billions of dollars to charity each year. In fact, Bill Gates has even set up his own foundation which aims "to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty, and, in the United States, to expand educational opportunities and access to information technology". Other well known celebrities and humanitarians Bob Geldof and Bono have been using their names and their money to bring awareness to serious issues such as AIDS and povery and help raise millions of pounds to fight them.
As can be seen above, when people are generous with their money, rather than selfish, it can do as much good as evil. Schools can be built and children can be given the education they deserve; hospitals can be built and people can have acces to the healthcare they require: to have money means one does not need to live in poverty and people are given these opportunities as a result of people being generous and giving their money to charity
Alternatively, could it be that the desire for money changes people, making them selfish, and greedy? This desire cause people to act immorally – from mugging old ladies for the ten pounds in their handbags to major fraud which could destabalise the British economy, like in the recent case where an Edinburgh gang was jailed for over twenty-two years for making counterfeit twenty pound notes. If this is the case, money is the root of all evil because it drives people to act in an evil manner, tempting them to commit these crimes in order to gain money.
But does money define who we are? There are many philosposhical arguments about who or what defines a person. It could be our actions or thoughts that makes us who we are today, or who we are could be defined from the moment we are created. One idea which is debated is that is that if a person is evil, or good, they are born that way. So, if a person is evil it is because they have been created as such, whether it is as a result of God or genetics, and an external factor (i.e. money) has not made them this way. Atheists believe that it is the choices that a person make and the actions they take which make a person who they are: if a person acts immorally to gain money, then surely it is they who are evil, not money. Money itself hasn't forced them to act in this manner.
Accordingly, it would seem that money is not the root of all evil. Rather, it is the love of money, and the human failings such as selfishness and greed that come with it. As shown previously, when it is placed in the right hands money can be a power of good.
