Youth is Sin...

Years ago when my conscience wasn't so burdened with regret and guilt, I trusted the world and surrendered to the current that carried me through time. Unfortunately I wasn't able to hold onto that innocence. That current was my family, my school, my friends. Friends betrayed me. School mislead me. And family simply couldn't be burdened with carrying me forever.

I left the nest, still retaining the concept that people can be trusted. Little by little I realized that tragety could lay around every corner, and other people were aware of that same truth. Everybody fell into competing for advantage so as to insulate themselves against the unknown. The unknown is only threatening because there are people willing to employ villainous tactics to strip resources from the gullible and naive.

Indeed advantage is only acquired through the detriment of others. Those not willing to share equally, those that poach, and those willing to compromise the welfare of the many for selfish gain, are all those that succeed in the "real world."

Why then, in my youth, was I taught to trust people, to share with others, to show compassion and mercy? Those virtues of yesteryear have become hinderances of today. If sin is a liability then youth itself is a sin.

Should parents provide their children with personal assets that will guarantee success? They could lift the burden of a conscience, teach methods of pilfering, instruct them to swindle, lie and cheat. Those skills will aid them in becoming a success.

Given this revelation, I still don't think I will abandon this conscience that torments me, nor those niave virtues that I believe contribute to pointing the collective experience toward a brighter future. Certainly, I think it disappointing that youth is sin. I just hope that someday youth is in.