Just a Piece of Paper?

Have you ever taken a good, hard look at a one-dollar bill? Have you really looked at the color of the ink, the feel and smell of the paper, the shape and the size, and read the year it was minted and the words printed on it—”In God We Trust”?

When I’m speaking in an assembly, I often ask students, “Who has a one-dollar bill easily accessible?” There’s usually one young guy who pulls a crinkled bill out of his front pocket and makes his way down to the front of the stage.

I ask if what he’s holding has value, and the guy always says yes. Then I hand him a $20 bill—or if I’m in a generous mood, I pull out a C-note—and ask him to analyze it.

“What does it smell, feel and look like?” I’ll ask.

The answer is usually, “The same as the one-dollar bill.”

“If you had to choose between your bill and my bill, which would you pick?” I ask. Of course, he wants the larger bill!

But my next question is, “Why would you want my bill? After all, isn’t it just a piece of paper?”

The Naked Truth is that one piece of paper has greater value than the other. People have been known to mug little old ladies, rob banks and steal others’ identities to acquire money, which at the end of the day is “just a piece of paper.” The larger the number written on the paper, the more it is valued. That’s why some people counterfeit: If they can’t earn it, why not copy it?

Now, we know money gets respect, but what about other paper? Try presenting your favorite Pokemon card to the Highway Patrol when he asks you for your driver’s license, registration and insurance. Let’s see how far you get.

Or how about going to the state lottery officials to collect the $87 million jackpot with the card you made for your mom on Mother’s Day in the second grade? How much cash do you think you’ll collect with it? You guessed it—nada!

The reason some forms of paper command respect and esteem is that their value has a direct relationship with an object or activity. Paper money issued by the government represents something of real value, such as gold or silver. A lottery ticket and its numbers are related to the jackpot. A registration tells the policeman your relationship to the car you’re driving, and your license tells him that you have been deemed a legal driver by your state.

My marriage license, though it’s printed on a piece of paper, has value because it defines my relationship to the man I sleep with every night as wife—not wifee, shortee, friend with benefits, significant other, partner, or anything else. This paper says we are legal and legitimate, and we are driving this life together.

Given the choice, most people will choose items of greater value over lesser ones—or will they? Why is this true about other forms of paper but not about the marriage license, which gets about as much respect as toilet paper these days?