For most parents, child rearing is an absolute shot in the dark.  Kids don’t come with owner’s manuals and each one is uniquely different from the last.   But now, research has revealed why some kids, no matter how great their parenting is, just don’t turn out the way we hope.  And the answer is found in their DNA.

Evidence not suggests that about 30% of kids have a defect in their genetic code prevents their brains developing enough dopamine receptors.  It seems that a lack of dopamine receptors predisposes kids to an inability to avoid self-destructing behavior.  Apparently, children with this defective gene are unable to learn from their mistakes.  I have met many adult victims of this genetic defect who just don’t seem to learn from their mistakes.  And I think the number is far greater than 30%.

It’s enough to make you wonder.  If people can inherit this genetic defect and never learn from their mistakes, what about nations?  Have we finally learned that crime doesn’t pay?

Why can’t we learn that drinking and driving are a bad idea?   Despite all we know about the dangers of tobacco use, every year many thousands of new smokers take up the habit.

We still drive without seat belts, still play with loaded guns, still consume 5 thousand calories meals, and still refuse to exercise.

As a nation, have we learned that intolerance and hatred based on race, gender or sexual orientation is just plain self destructive?  As we look at our selves, it would appear that we just haven’t learned from the mistakes of our past.  Maybe there’s more to it than simple DNA.  Sometimes we just simply choose to remain ignorant, to stumble in darkness, and follow our tails.  Genetics or choice, the outcome for our nation will always be bleak, until we learn from yesterdays mistakes.