Environment vs. Breeding

One of my family’s favorite movies is Trading Places with Eddie Murphy, Dan Akroyd, and Jamie Lee Curtis. The two wealthy brokers bet one dollar on what is more important one’s environment or one’s breeding. If you haven’t seen it – do. It is wonderful.

I think the answer does come out in the movie although others may disagree – that environment may color but does not mold the character. It gives nothing but a veneer coating, but the natural wood will eventually show through. The hero is not hidden in the slums, the scoundrel cannot hide amongst luxury. We are creators of circumstance, not creatures.

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About the author

Webb Hubbell is the former Associate Attorney General of The United States. His novels, When Men Betray, Ginger Snaps, A Game of Inches, The Eighteenth Green, and The East End are published by Beaufort Books and are available online or at your local bookstore. When Men Betray won one of the IndieFab awards for best novel in 2014. Ginger Snaps and The Eighteenth Green won the IPPY Awards Gold Medal for best suspense/thriller. His latest, “Light of Day” will be on the bookstands soon.