The Daily Gist: With Ben Istiphan

As an individual employed by the YMCA, I am  frequently exposed to the interaction between children. To often I witness their pettiness, impatience, and selfishness, but I guess they will eventually grow out of it. However, sometimes I think that these personality traits linger within an individual when they approach adulthood. Of course adults can act selfish, yet the logic that is absent during their early stages, can be utilized inconspicuously as an adult.

Politicians and businessmen constantly use rhetoric to bury their greedy intentions, while the public is unable to see through their cynicism. The two children fighting over the last ice cream sandwich may also end up being the same two adults taking their country to war over oil. In the case of the ladder, shrewdness is present. If I am right, what are the reasons? Are malevolent traits inherent and genetically determined in many individuals or can they be explained by the way each individual is socially constructed into society? In other words, is violence inevitable or can peace always  be attained based on external forces and our social interactions?

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