Topic 53 Is money the most important aspect of a job?

Most people have some sort of bias (какая-то предвзятость) against money, thinking that everything linked to money, no matter what the thing is, is evil. If money is really evil in itself, it must follow that money should never be a consideration in choosing a job. The validity of this argument, however, is seldom questioned. Only when we notice that money is merely a means of exchange and does not lead to any moral judgment in itself, we can then study the issue impartially (беспристрастно).

 

The crux (krʌks затруднение, Суть) of the issue here is why we should take any job at all. Surely there are many reasons for taking a job, such as for professional respect, for the passion (за страсть к служению) to serve the society, for some kind of social status—and, for money. In very rare cases do people ever choose their jobs for merely (просто) one of these reasons. Most of the times people work because they want to achieve a number of their personal goals. The most important aspect of their jobs will hence (следовательно) vary from person to person. Of course it is perfectly possible that a person may choose a job largely (в значительной степени) because of the generous pay (щедрой оплаты) that the employer offers. Everyone has to get enough money to survive. Hence if a person is currently living in a miserable condition (бедственное положение) and, out of his desperate desire for money, he accepts a job offer, the most important aspect of his job is most probably the money. And there is nothing morally wrong with that. The demand for money should surely prevail (преобладать) in this case.

 

However the need for certain minimum level of salary is only one of the considerations (компенсация, вознагражден, мнение) that people make when choosing jobs. It is hence also possible that (Это значит также, что) the person is already rather rich even without a job, but he chooses to work to make himself happier. The pleasures of his career life may emerge (возникнуть) from his passion for the profession or the social recognition (общественное признание) he may get thereby, but no matter why he feels happy after taking the job, in this case money may only play an insignificant (незначительную) role, if any, in his job.

It would be judicious to remain silent. — Разумнее всего - сохранять молчание.

What have now been presented can actually be seen as the two extreme (крайних) ends of the issue. Most likely is still that a person works both for his basic needs and for the pleasure specifically derived from the career life. Whether money will come out as the single most important determinant is hence dependent on the various possible cases, or more particularly, on the importance of the wages to (заработной платы) his living standard. It is therefore rather ridiculous (нелепый, смехотворный, смешной) to give a general yes-or-no response to this question and it takes person judicious considerations (разумный, рассудительный рассмотрение, анализ; принятие во внимание) before he decides to take a job.

 

Topic 54 Should one judge a person by external appearances?

What do you feel when a handsome gentleman or a beautiful lady passes by?

Then how about a fat short person wearing a dirty shirt? You feel differently?

Yes, most people do. It's very common for people to judge a person by external

appearance, because it's easy and direct, and it's instinctive. Appearance is a

very important aspect of a person and reflects one's personalities. Sometimes

you can tell the person's characteristics from his appearance. However, in most

cases, you cannot tell exactly what the person is like just from the external

appearance, and ethically, we should not judge a person just by one glance at

his external appearance.

 

"Beauty and beast" and "Snow white and seven dwarves" are two stories that

are almost known by everyone. Although there are fables, there are deep

meanings inside them. What you can learn from them is that people that are not

so good-looking can be very good people internally. And actually there are tons

of examples in reality. Napoleon is a very short guy, but he was one of the most

famous people in the history. Theodore Roosevelt, former US president during

World War II, is handicapped; but he is one of the most successful presidents in

American history. So how can you tell about the people from their external

appearance?

 

Moreover, there are other undeniable facts that show that a beautiful person

may be rotten inside. There are many prostitutes on the busy streets. It's

obviously that they are very beautiful, but are they really righteous people? A

beautiful appearance is a good thing, but a righteous heart is more valuable.

Finally, as we can see, it's out of question that we should not judge people just

from their external appearance. The most important standard is their internal

personality.