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Circumstances Do Not Make Us Who We Are
The story of three men
I have always found it fascinating that people, especially men, can go through the same experiences and come out having learned totally different lessons and reacted in completely different ways. I know three men personally who prove it.
My brother had the same upbringing as my sister and me. We were probably lower middle class, but our parents were both college graduates. We were raised to be polite, speak well, and we all did fairly well in school. Our family life was pretty much stable. My brother went on to college, got his degree in fire science, and worked his way up from the bottom to being a captain of a department before he retired with a good pension. He has been married twice to women who come from well-off families.
My second husband was also raised in the middle class and had a stable childhood. He went to college, decided to join the carpenters’ union, apprenticed, and made money as he learned his trade. He then became a union organizer and later a work/wage investigator, walking into each job seamlessly. He’s now retired with a very good pension.
Both men were able to do what they chose to do and made good livings. Now they are two of the grumpiest, most bitter, hate-filled people I know. They are selfish and self-centered. They have ruined their…
