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Sunday, April 12, 2009

Growing up in the burbs

Earlier today myself and Nnam were talking and our discussion eventually landed on what it was like growing up in the suburbs. If one was to take a cross section of the kids I grew up with, myself included, its pretty clear that we were raised with the silver spoon in our mouths. My family wasn't rich, but I had everything I ever wanted or needed handed to me. Many would consider these handouts a privelidge or advantage in life but I have to call that into question. No matter how much we like to sugar coat our species, humans are animals. Therefore scientifically speaking our main drives in life consist of eating sleeping and screwing. Personally I disagree with boiling everything down to a simple scientific formula, life is too vast and random for that, but we cannot allow existensial matters to mask our primal instincts.

So isn't being given every advantage in life counter intuitive to nature? Living in an affluent middle class suburb pretty much muffles our primal drives for survival. I personally compare a family home in the suburbs as a giant safety net. Most middle class kids these days take their first foray into the "real world" knowing that if they fail they can retreat to the comfort of a cozy bungalow and a steaming plate of mom's pasta.

Now to say that I understand the mindset of those less fortunate would be totally ignorant of me. I'm purely speculating here but it seems to me that those who grew up in third world countries or lower class America have a drive that just isn't there with my friends and I. They aren't guranteed a secure future so they must fight for one. To compare myself with a nineteen year old third world immigrant is like comparing a mountain lion with the family cat. He is a hunter and success is his prey; I am a shell of my species conditioned to be complacent through a lifetime of handouts.

I am fully aware that this is going to come across another whiney rich kid's speel about how tough it is growing up in the 'burbs but before you pass judgement allow yourself to question the effect the suburbs has had on today's youth culture. Maybe there is a silver lining to the recession.

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