Monopoly (Sandra Mu/Getty Images)
My kids Kevin and Kristie, all of 8 and 5 years old respectively, have become aficionados of the game and keep begging me to play. I humor them and go along with their requests, and then when we go at it, I start to realize what the game is about.
Kevin will go sailing around the board on his cruiser trying to acquire “Boardwalk” and “Park Place” so he can spend 200 dollars a pop for houses and eventually crown his acquisitions with two royal hotels. Then he’ll get to charge any poor soul that happens to visit up to $2,000 for the privilege.
I don’t know what bothers me more—the greed he’s learning by saving up his money to buy more houses than he can live in or the thirst for power, knowing he will bankrupt members of his family and take all their hard-earned cash when they happen to land on his real estate.
Kristie will drive around the board in her racecar, gobbling up as much property as possible, and when Kevin realizes there are no more monopolies to be had, he will try to beg, coerce, and blackmail her into trading properties so he can quench his desire to charge exorbitant rent. Only Kristie will horde all her property to frustrate her brother because even a 5-year-old is dialed-in enough to know that once she releases her interest in a deed, Kevin will go power-conqueringly crazy to wrest her money away.
If my children are preparing for a career like Donald Trump’s, then this is the right game, but I’m not sure if that’s the example I want them to emulate. Yes, I understand that we live in America, the free-enterprise capital of the world, although Hong Kong might have a legitimate claim to that title. And yes, I know that our country is founded on the premise that anybody in this country can rise up above her lot in life to succeed if she works hard enough.
I think my problem with Monopoly is that it isn’t so much about perseverance as fostering a rampant greed already prevalent in this and other societies. No, I’m not an advocate of socialism or communism because I’ve seen its destructive impact on two people I know and love—my wife Quyen, who came from Vietnam, and my mom, who emigrated from China.
The values I’d like to promote in my children are integrity, honesty, loyalty, fairness, respect for self and others, kindness, and compassion. These are qualities sorely lacking in the game of Monopoly.
Family tip: A game that comes readily to mind in espousing very different values from Monopoly is “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” a Dr. Seuss board game for ages 8 to adult that rewards cooperation, getting to know the participants’ interests, and looking at possible future careers. Our daughter Kristie can play it with our family as long as we give a little reading help on the cards.
For those enamored with Monopoly, “Monopoly Express” is a shortened, 20-minute travel version of the game that cultivates decision-making related to risks and rewards, saving up one’s own money rather than taking from others, and arithmetic in adding up scores.
Ray lives with his wife and children in California.
If you know of someone making a difference in the community, contact him at www.raywong.info to do a possible article.
