Why Does A Dragon Have Need Of Gold Anyway?

"I thought dragons were extinct."

It seems that as I get older, I meet more and more people who have achieved their dreams - successful people who have done life right. They studied hard, developed life skills, worked hard, built their mansions and bank accounts and have everything they ever wanted. They are living the American dream, and I'm proud of them and happy for them. I'm farther away from that goal, but getting there sort of.

I believe in hard work and the risk/reward equation on which our economy and culture is built. I get the Republican disdain for a government that wants to take away the fruits of their labor and give it to people who didn't work for it, didn't make good decisions, don't earn their keep and don't add anything to our society. The government wouldn't care about them either, except that they can vote.

I even get it that people who crossed the finish line years ago, and have enough wealth to fund the rest of their lives and their children's still work every day to increase their success and impact on the world around them. They just keep doing what they do, being who they feel they are created to be and expressing themselves through the gifts and resources they have been given in life. Their self worth is in their success, and their reward quantifies their value. I get it.

But at some point, people become just like dragons of ages passed. They accumulate gold for its own sake, and defend it with all of the claws, teeth and fiery breath of the best folklore. They act as if they will live a thousand years, and drive themselves mad with fear that someone will take away their fortune.

I don't ever want to be a dragon.