The forces of capitalism are constantly encroaching on what little civic space we have left. Every day more and more billboard pop up, blighting the horizon; this is a horrible state of affairs. But, if they're going to occupy the sphere of our activity, the public space, then at the very least, we should to occupy the sphere of their activity... MONEY. Any political graffiti artist will tell you of the frustration of trying to compete with a multi-million-dollar advertising campaign. It's a constant cat-and-mouse game: you make your political statement at great effort, only to have the graffiti painted over shortly afterward. Maybe we should be putting our messages out on dollar bills? You can't just paint over five bucks! Sure, you can write messages out by hand, but if you have a consistent message that you want to put out over and over again, it can become very tiresome. Instead, make the equivalent of a stencil -- an ink stamp -- with your political message on it. The stamp that I decided to make says: To stop being a slave to money: get a group of friends together & learn how to make your own FOOD, CLOTHES, & SHELTER. Here's what my stamp looks like on a five-dollar bill: Sometimes the face on the bill is on the left side of the bill, sometimes it's on the right side, depending upon when the bill was issued. I decided to leave two spaces in the two bottom corners of the word balloon, so that I could use the stamp on either type of bill. After I stamp the bill, I complete the word balloon with a black pen. Here's what the stamp looks like: Here's what a stamped 20-dollar bill looks like: You make be wondering about the legality of this adventure. Of course, I would do this whether it was "legal" or not... but the fact of the matter is, IT IS PERFECTLY LEGAL. It is legal to mark up bills. The Bank of Canada will not even take them out of circulation. And it is illegal for a merchant to refuse your bill because it has been marked. You can read a letter from the Bank of Canada attesting to this fact at: http://www.cdn-money.com/ So I encourage you to go out and make your own stamp that expresses whatever you're thinking and feeling. And if you can't be bothered to do that, then the next time you see me, don't forget to bring up "Making Revolutionary Change", and I'll stamp all of your bills for you. Sure, it's just a small action... but it's a fun, effective one. Let's make revolutionary change!