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["Marie McHarry" <mmcharry AT gmail.com>]

> I brought up the subject of parental quality because I believe that
> average people can be well-fed, productive citizens if they have one
> thing: a strong, positive self image. Children don't get that from
> nothing.

Statistics back Gene up. The best thing that you can do to assure your
future success in life is to choose to be born into a middle or upper
class family. To reach a healthy old age, choose to be born to healthy
people who come from a line of long-lived people. Those are the most
important choices you can make.

I'm not denigrating other good choices that individuals make as they
go through life, but they are seriously kidding themselves if they
think it's only themselves they have to blame or praise for the course
of their lives. We all climb on the shoulders of others.

Yes, I think some members of our society tend to blame their failures
on anyone but themselves when they are clearly the principal guilty
party, but I don't know many of these people personally. In fact, most
people I know -- maybe I'm just selective in my friendships :) -- work
hard and take adversity in stride, some to a remarkable degree.

As for educating people, I'm for it. Deciding who deserves what is an
ideological game that I don't care to play. Instead look at who
benefits from education: everybody. At the present time -- though this
may not last -- we're a rich country. There is no reason that we
shouldn't provide enough assistance that kids who have the ability
should get as much education as they want. I don't think James has to
worry that no one will be left to do the grunt work; we manufacture
plenty of those too. If the supply ever gets low, we will recruit
foreigners to come here.

Marie, trying to stay reality based