Careless or Compassionate
Some people wake up every morning and carry out their entire day without hardly a thought of anyone else. Others seem to perform every action conscious of their peers. These contrasting attitudes result in two types of people: those that are caring and compassionate, and those that are egocentric. At some point we have all encountered each type of individual, and if I had to guess, we all prefer to be around the former. However, in order to understand these two different types of people, it is important to know why they develop this way. What makes some people care for others while others seem only to care for themselves? This trait could be genetic or it could be a result of the way the person grew up, a product of their environment. The most obvious possible cause is the environment. Some parents put their kids above themselves in the household and treat them with affection and love. Others act as if their children were a mistake, and carry on their lives as if they had no kids. The parents who treat their kids with respect and as equals breed children who care about people besides themselves. Careless parents are creating the types of humans that we all try to avoid. However, it is not all in the hands of the parents, but it may be in their genes. Research has discovered that genetic deficiencies in human seratonin pathways have led to aggressive and basically rude behavior. Interestingly, this is a case where a physical issue shows through in the way a person interacts with others. This means it is not all how you are treated that makes you who you are; some of your personality is in fact written into every cell of your body with genetic code. Certainly, not all careless behavior comes from genetics or environmental factors, but it may come as a surprise that genetics actually play a substantial role in our personalities.
There are social and environmental factors that are believed to be associated with increased aggression, including poverty, alcohol and drug abuse, neglect, and physical and psychological abuse, but what is not as well known is that there appears to be a heritable component to temperament and personality.
Several genes involved in our cells' serotonin pathways have been linked to cases of extreme aggressive behaviour.
Mean Genes
Next time I encounter a hostile or careless person, it will be easier to ignore their behavior and move on with my day. Afterall, maybe their ancestors and DNA are just as much or more to blame than they are.
Comments
Dear: Michael I found your
Dear: Michael
I found your post, "Careless or Compassionate," to be thoroughly enjoyable because you seemed to catch the essence of one of the many problems with today's world.
One sentence you wrote that stands out for me is: " Some people wake up every morning and carry out their entire day without hardly a thought of anyone else." I think this is very insightful because it is very true and many people go on with their days only thinking about themselves. I feel that it is very disgraceful and that taking the time to think of others can brighten our own days.
Another sentence that I agreed with thoroughly was: "Careless parents are creating the types of humans that we all try to avoid." This stood out for me because I really do think that when parents are ignorant or use unsatisfactory parenting, it creates a child who is, for lack of a better word, despised by others. Parents who are blinded by their own stupidity are creating not only a few but a generation of people who are mixed up and have many issues.
Your post reminds me of something that happened to me. One time I was helping out as a chaperone for a camp and I went over to invite some younger kids to come and play basketball with us. As I asked the boy to play with us he snapped at me and said, "You have your own ball!" This kind of reaction, to me, can only be a response to an issue not yet resolved inside himself. This has to stem back to his home life because, in a good home, this issue should not occur. There should be an openness and ability to speak freely in the home and I immediately felt that this was not the case for this little boy.
Thanks for your work on this. I look forward to seeing what you create next, because the more that parents learn about being ignorant, hopefully the more that they will change their ways. This is a very important topic becase the children are our future.
-Alex Khan