Teach Your Children Well!

Hello Hump-dayers,
'sup? As I was waiting for the Mighty Vic 20s to boot up, John the Buddhist librarian and I began discussing the relative merits of nurture vs. nature in the cultivation of personality within the individual. Are we merely the fortunate/unfortunate victims of a fateful environment or does coding on our 23 (or 24) chromosomes dictate that we will be fish-breaders/proctologists/Walmart Greeters/Actuaries before we even leave the womb? And what of sociability? Is our inhibition, ennui, jubilance or extroversion determined the same way?

John takes the nature side. To him, our genes are all it takes to pull us from the mire of a life in a Trailer Park (he cites Kid Rock and Rondeau Bman) or conversely, to pull us down in enriched circumstances (for example, the "n'er-do-wells" Paris Hilton and Jimmy Vidler).

I'm takin' the nurture side. Admittedly, we have to work with what God gave us. Elwood will never teach at Harvard. Flea ain't gonna shower, even periodically. However, a supportive family and propitious socio-economic circumstances will allow us to be more than we ever thought possible. Alternately, unfavorable environments rob us of our potential. We see this in The Village all the time. For example, check Richie's baby picture above vs. the present day shot. If Momma Connie hadn't used the Sandbar as a daycare for him...life would be oh so different (and there'd be more Wodka for the rest of us)!

Ok gotta dash...today JohnCat and I are going to go to Bingo with Stevie Devie...coz I love the smell of dobbers and Peter Jackson's in the morning!