Key West The Newspaper

by Kirby Congdon…….

At age six or seven a child in a minority (beyond his own position in his own minority of being a child) wants to bond comfortably with his superiors. If his family is uneducated he will see that as his standard. Without the essentials, like food, housing, clothing, companionship and a decent income to begin with, his imagination has nowhere to grow and so we lose another generation of citizens. That one-on-one learning process relies on close associations where empathy, rather than competition, is exercised. Our public approval of winners, champions and public success in our news, sports and social life diminishes the real achievement of personal development when so much of experience is out of our control. Comedians know this and often let us see what it takes to just know ourselves. Perhaps this is why free speech works out so well.