Can Money Affect Love?

Can money affect love? I believe that in certain cases, it can. What is it about a dollar bill that makes people relax and feel that everything will be alright? Is it the fact that in the case of an emergency, one could just use the money that they have saved up? I don't think so. I think that the media portrays the idea of having mony as being glamorous and beautiful, so much that we don't think that we can be happy without money. Everyone wants to find beauty and glamor, the question is, will they find in themselves, or through money?
We see cases on the news of women or men who marry older people who have great inheritances, just for the money. I refuse to believe that a twenty year old woman could or would choose to love an eighty year old man. She thinks that she can find happiness with the money that he has. He is rich, and she is poor. In cases like this, the girl or boy in question are never in love with their partner, they are in love with the money.
I have friends that come from relativly wealthy families. I talked to one of them on this topic, and she said, "Well my sister and I come from a wealthier family, I think that I will have to marry rich because if I didn't have cars and electronics and stuff like that, I wouldn't know what to do." I believe that this was a very interesting perspective on the life that the wealthy live. They simply CANNOT live without money. They are addicted. When money is what you live and breath, how can you settle for less?
I personally do not come from a very wealthy family. When I was younger my dad lost his job and we as a family are still trying to get back on our feet. My parents have always taught me to marry someone I love. A person who marrys for love will live happily ever after, whereas a person who marrys for money will never be happy. They will keep seeking something that they cannot find. Money cannot make you happy. It only acts as a substitute for things that you lack in your life.
Money cannot replace real love. Real love is being so happy with another person that you would do anything for them. You can fall in love with money, perhaps thinking that because of the mere "charm" of money you will be happy. This is a lie. Everything around us from magazines to newspapers tell us that money will make us happy. What the media doesn't show is how depressed and sad people are during hangovers after they have just had super expensive alchahol. Money cannot buy you happiness.

Graduation test

Should students graduating from high school take a mandatory test to make sure they know about our country and its workings? I believe that they should. We as a country are a democratic society. The people should have an appropriate knowledge of the constitution and what the leader of the country does. If we don't possess this knowledge, how is our country a democracy?

I believe that if young teens have any knowledge of our liberty and rights, they get it from press and media who twist the truth almost to the point where it isn't truth anymore. I would know, being a teenager. I have watched the candidates for presidents give excellent speeches. Some teens may not know that these speeches are not written by the presidents. These wonderful speeches are written by other people with excellent writing abilities and "preformed" by the president.
Teens need to decide where their values lie. They live in a world where values are mocked and made fun of. It can be difficult deciding who to believe, the world or ourselves. Teenagers as the younger generation MUST know the difference between a corrupt candidate and a candidate with correct values. I hope that by taking this test that teens would not only learn more about the wonderful country in which they live in but that they might also learn a little more about standing up for values and liberties.
We as youth have great power. We have the power to affect our country. I don't think that we can see how great we are because the world is constantly telling us otherwise. I think that sometimes we just vote for a person because they are the most popular person in the press or because everyone else is doing it. I would like to call this "going along with the crowd." I hope that we may be able to realize our power and utilize in a positive way as we learn more about our country.
Our country was founded upon just laws, rules and regulations. The founding fathers wrote it because they wanted FREEDOM from England. I watch the news and see these liberties and laws twisted. I hope that by learning more about our country we as the younger generation can stand up for what we know to be right. This is why I think we as a younger generation should take the a test about our country to graduate high school.