Quote by Lewis H. Lapham
It is no accident that banks resemble temples, preferably Greek, and that the supplicants who come to perform the rites of deposit and withdrawal instinctively lower their voices into the registers of awe. Even the most junior tellers acquire within weeks of their employment the officiousness of hierophants tending an eternal flame. I don't know how they become so quickly inducted into the presiding mysteries, or who instructs them in the finely articulated inflections of contempt for the laity, but somehow they learn to think of themselves as suppliers of the monetarized DNA that is the breath of life.
Summary
This quote suggests that banks are intentionally designed to resemble temples, emphasizing their power and authority. It highlights how even the most inexperienced bank employees quickly adopt a sense of superiority and importance, treating their customers with condescension. The quote wonders about the origins of this behavior and questions the training that enables bank employees to see themselves as necessary providers of vital financial resources. Overall, the quote reflects on the way banks and their employees exude a sense of reverence, control, and detachment from the general public.
Topics
Banks / Banking
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