A Race To Nowhere

One of my favorite movies is the Dead Poets Society. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097165/ There's always been pressure put on kids to get into "the college of their choice". I, myself, attended an elite private high school the first year it opened. That lasted about 6 months (LOL and thank God it did) because I played hooky one day (I was literally on a boat) and got expelled and wound up in a public high school. I was accused of being the "ring leader" and the idiot administrators took the other kid's word over mine because the other kid's parents were doctors and lawyers and such, Mommas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys! LOL!

I agree that kids nowadays have more pressure put on them when it comes to scholastic achievement, etc, however the pressure has always been there to an extent. It's just that nowadays, more kids are attending colleges and universities, therefore there's more competition. Talk to many "successful" first and second-generation Americans, for instance, that are in their 50s and 60s and they'll tell you that they were pushed to over-achieve. As I've said: There's an "opportunity cost" for every road or path we head down. There's an opportunity cost for every kid that grows up in an upper middle class neighborhood just as there is for a kid that grows up in a poor neighborhood. The parents can only guide, but in the end, the kid has to make up his or her own mind about what direction they'll head.

Have you read Erich Fromm's, The Sane Society? http://www.amazon.com/Sane-Society-Erich-Fromm/dp/0805014020#reader_0805014020 I honestly believe that there are many more mentally ill "successes" out there than we're led to believe. The problem with American society is that nut cases are often given a pass because they're "successful" and have a lot of dough. I'd rather associate with ignorant crackers in many cases, because at least they're honest and don't put on airs.

It's definitely "a race to nowhere" http://www.racetonowhere.com/nowadays for many kids that want to be accepted to elite American universities. Some kids can handle it and some kids can't. But this is what American society has become: Namely overly competitive to the point where people will sacrifice everything (including their kid's peace of mind and well-being) in order to "get ahead" and make the big bucks. I think it's pathetic and when I see pompous "successes", full of hubris walking around strutting their stuff with their chest out, like their shit doesn't stink, I cringe because they're more often than not the most shallow, callous, and ignorant individuals out there. And I'm not alone in my sentiments. Indeed many here in America and throughout the rest of the world view Americans as I've described them in the above.