Nature vs Nurture: The Environment Wins

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One of the most thought about issues and biggest questions that has plagued mankind is what causes people to turn to violence and a life of crime. Are our actions based on biology or external influence? Some believe that the sole reason behind our behavior comes from nature, that our personalities and reactions to daily life are inherent within us from birth. This is clearly not the case. Decisions based on instinct and intuition, such as knowing when a situation may be dangerous or needing to buy a lottery ticket on a certain day because you can feel it, may be attributed to being born with a gift. However, most choices in one's life are based on one's surroundings. There are too many factors involved to counter the argument that people are born the way they are; we are a product of our environment. There are many aspects of someone's surroundings that affect how they act and react to situations. When someone is born they are already being molded into an image that their parents want to have them be. Parents who raise their children through love and who stress the importance of an education will most likely cause them to grow up and achieve whatever goal they have set before them as well as having great personal values. This includes having a good work ethic, caring for friends and family, and knowing what is right and what is wrong. On the flip side, if children are neglected or not given the tools to get started in the right direction, the opposite effect will happen. Without someone to look up to at an early age, children will have no sense of direction and will be influenced by outside sources such as television or their surrounding neighborhoods. Television can be potentially dangerous because of the amount of violence broadcast today and if the children are growing up in a hostile neighborhood they will grow up thinking everything around them is natural and

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