A shock to culture - "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

I've just finished reading "Outliers," by Malcolm Gladwell. To those of you who might read this and don't know me, I've been reading and writing for about 18 years, and have recently found a reason to believe in the idea of a better world. This book does a wonderful job of describing a balanced way with which to consider one's self on the road to the phenomenon of identity. It asks wonderfully specific questions, the likes of which would likely help steer our culture toward that better world. Since I don't think I can be any more appreciative (cynics you know I love ya), I'll place my spoiler alert here.

"Culture of Honor" was perhaps the most meaningful thing I've explored in my recent re-education. The idea that my status put me high on the social ladder (height notwithstanding) due to the importance in rural communities of my grandfather's and father's experience, profession and occupation as ministers of faith was not new to me, but it was very hard to permit myself to say.

Preachers taught sermons to crowds at church. Then they taught preaching to their family at home. It is a cerebral environment that lends itself easily to curiosity. So, the reason I haven't drank myself to death, become a raging drug addict, or otherwise broke the rules of life as I could understand them was not due to a fear of reprisal at the hands of an angry god... it was because I thought about the consequences of my actions. That's not to say I always took good care, but that's a detail.

The fact is, I have very little fear of speaking to crowds and it's not just because I'm terribly narcissistic. I grew up with the expectation of a life speaking to crowds. I have found a great deal of value in being able to do what most people fear more than death.

It seems that many of our opportunities in the pursuit of a better world could be served by understanding the stereotypical aspects of seeming individual circumstances. I'm writing this review not with the assumption of impressing anyone, but rather as a signal of value to those looking for a relevant resource along the way. This book should be much closer to the foundation of education, thereby relieving the constraints we apply to our creating a better world that have to do with our acquired culture.