While listening to a podcast last week, an interesting subject came up. Unfortunately I was running between trains at the time, so all I managed to do was bash a note into my phone”this would make a really great blog post”.
The conversation went as follows;Him”Would you have sex with me for $100Her”No Waywerehow can we put thisnot the most appealinglet’s actually go a little further; absolutely horrifically revolting in every way imaginable. How much would be enough then? Ten million?Think about ita hundred million dollarsenough to ensure the financial security of yourself, your family, your friends, and your descendants for generations to come. What would you be willing to do to make that happen ?As my train journey continued, and I stared out of the window, my mind carried on down this somewhat bizarre avenue of thought.What about other activites than sex? Do they have a price?How about killing an animal.
Imagine a rat got into your kitchen cupboards, and wrecked your food. If you caught it, would you be able to kill it with kitchen implements? I’m guessing most people would say yes to this one (after all, you can’t chase a rat awayit will just come back). What about your pet dog? What if somebody offered you a hundred million dollars to kill it ? What if it was in the process of attacking your children ?Although all of these thoughts are dark, macabre, and somewhat twisted, they lead to the same conclusiongiven the right circumstances, provocation, and rewards, most people are capable of almost anything. While that sounds like a controversial statement, and unimaginable in the “real world”, it’s not at all. If some strange new form of topology could be applied to career choices, we might bracket prostitutes, soldiers and butchers together. Each of them require the mental tools to perform actions many of us find abhorrent.
The really interesting thought is that only prostitutes are demonised by societysoldiers and butchers both kill, and yet somehow escape judgement. Perhaps it’s about free will ? That doesn’t work either though; the soldier is ordered to kill, whereas the butcher and prostitute are fulfilling a demand.
Perhaps there is no answer. Think about it thoughgiven an unimaginable actwhat would your price be?