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	<title>Comments on: Why People Fail</title>
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		<title>By: Debbie G</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5346525</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Debbie G]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Jan 2014 19:03:00 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[In ancient times, it would have been virtually impossible for a widow with several children to feed her family.   The same would have been true for a severely disabled person with no family.   Nowadays,I  still have no problem with people who go to their church to ask for help, with the understanding they must also help themselves (even if it&#039;s a miniumum wage job). 
But I get your point.  Welfare has become a bloated, fraudulent, controlling system]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In ancient times, it would have been virtually impossible for a widow with several children to feed her family.   The same would have been true for a severely disabled person with no family.   Nowadays,I  still have no problem with people who go to their church to ask for help, with the understanding they must also help themselves (even if it&#8217;s a miniumum wage job).<br />
But I get your point.  Welfare has become a bloated, fraudulent, controlling system</p>
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		<title>By: Matt Dickinson</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5345993</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Matt Dickinson]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Jan 2014 17:21:00 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[Does charity keep people down too? I&#039;ve always seen welfare as a collective, forced charity, although in the Bible it mentions the Israelites are commanded to give up a portion of their wealth to the needy among them.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Does charity keep people down too? I&#8217;ve always seen welfare as a collective, forced charity, although in the Bible it mentions the Israelites are commanded to give up a portion of their wealth to the needy among them.</p>
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		<title>By: Fairfield CT</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5345957</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fairfield CT]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Jan 2014 15:07:00 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[The author could also have noted the effect on urban-centers of giving these &quot;communities&quot; the economic means to sustain their dysfunctional (violent, anti-education, anti-family, pro-gang, Al Capone, The Wire) cultures with the lucrative (~$100 billion tax free, roughly the size of the U.S. mutual fund industry) proceeds from drug trafficking and human trafficking (aka, prostitution). This is perhaps an even more powerful (albeit indirect) institutional influence as direct government dependency programs.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The author could also have noted the effect on urban-centers of giving these &#8220;communities&#8221; the economic means to sustain their dysfunctional (violent, anti-education, anti-family, pro-gang, Al Capone, The Wire) cultures with the lucrative (~$100 billion tax free, roughly the size of the U.S. mutual fund industry) proceeds from drug trafficking and human trafficking (aka, prostitution). This is perhaps an even more powerful (albeit indirect) institutional influence as direct government dependency programs.</p>
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		<title>By: 11bravo</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5345897</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[11bravo]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Jan 2014 04:57:00 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[If you took out the test scores of all NON-Asian minorities; US schools, and the US would rank right up at the top of global rankings. Instead we hover around what - 26th?
It is the students that are pressured to NOT act white, that are broken. Sad to the core, but true!]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If you took out the test scores of all NON-Asian minorities; US schools, and the US would rank right up at the top of global rankings. Instead we hover around what &#8211; 26th?<br />
It is the students that are pressured to NOT act white, that are broken. Sad to the core, but true!</p>
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		<title>By: philbest</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5345892</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[philbest]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Jan 2014 03:44:00 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[I fail to see what you are ascribing to Sowell. He was not raised as an African pagan. 


&quot;Conservative&quot; American culture in which African-Americans were immersed when Sowell was growing up was far superior to modern relativist culture and its effect on African-Americans, as Sowell demonstrates.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I fail to see what you are ascribing to Sowell. He was not raised as an African pagan. </p>
<p>&#8220;Conservative&#8221; American culture in which African-Americans were immersed when Sowell was growing up was far superior to modern relativist culture and its effect on African-Americans, as Sowell demonstrates.</p>
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		<title>By: philbest</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5345891</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[philbest]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Jan 2014 03:40:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=214997#comment-5345891</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Criticising a &quot;culture&quot; is not &quot;racism&quot;. For example, when someone criticises a Christian Sudanese because according to the critic, Christianity is unenlightened and irrational, that is not &quot;racist&quot;. 


So why does the left perpetually get away with it, in Europe, when smearing anyone who criticises Islam, as &quot;a racist&quot;? They could be criticising a Muslim Arab, a Muslim Persian, a Muslim Pashtun, a Muslim Indonesian, a Muslim Chechen, or a Muslim Celt. An Arab is an Arab. If I said something derogatory about &quot;Arabs&quot;, I accept that that is &quot;racist&quot;.


If I criticise Islam, I expect people to engage with my arguments about Islam, not write me off as beyond the pale because it is &quot;racist&quot; to do so. 


I am unaware of anyone criticising Christianity, who is immediately written off as &quot;racist&quot;, nor do I think it logical to expect it. 


I have used religion as an example; however, national or regional &quot;culture&quot; could be used too. The one thing I do not accept as interchangeable with &quot;culture&quot;, is race. No-one can change their race. Anyone can choose to switch to another culture. Inter-cultural competition is good, like inter-municipality competition. It shows up &quot;best practice&quot;. 


You might say there is an British culture, and that this is synonymous with being Anglo-Saxon by race. This would be nonsense. There are Anglo-Saxon Buddhists and there are many people of different races who are proudly &quot;British&quot;. A recent Serbian immigrant to Australia wrote to Quadrant Magazine saying how proud he was to &quot;be an Australian&quot; now, contrasting his pride with certain cringing multi-culturalists in Australian Universities. 


Asians, especially Chinese, have a term, &quot;Banana&quot; - meaning &quot;yellow on the outside, white on the inside&quot;. It is used either to criticize Asians who have &quot;westernized&quot;, or by those westernized Asians themselves as a matter of pride. 


If I make derogatory remarks about &quot;Chinese&quot;, that is racist. If I say what a disaster Communism/Buddhism/Confucianism has been for the Chinese, that is anti-racist. If I say the same about Islam for the Arabs, that is anti-racist. It is people on the Left, conflating race and culture, who are the real racists. 


All the more bitterly ironic, because those Leftists have expected Anglo-Saxons to march forwards into the age of reason, science and atheism - why not other races too? And when &quot;indigenous&quot; people anywhere have predominantly converted to Christianity (a perfectly rational decision), the Left&#039;s white ants work industriously to get them to revert to pre-christian paganism - or at least manipulate public policy to conflate the indigenous race and the pagan values in terms of &quot;respect&quot; being demanded in all manner of socio-economic policy areas. 


The Left are the pathological racists in these issues. Conservatives are actually &quot;culturists&quot; and anti-racists, for which the truly racist Left smears THEM as &quot;racists&quot;. Entirely typical of the Orwellian nature of the Left.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Criticising a &#8220;culture&#8221; is not &#8220;racism&#8221;. For example, when someone criticises a Christian Sudanese because according to the critic, Christianity is unenlightened and irrational, that is not &#8220;racist&#8221;. </p>
<p>So why does the left perpetually get away with it, in Europe, when smearing anyone who criticises Islam, as &#8220;a racist&#8221;? They could be criticising a Muslim Arab, a Muslim Persian, a Muslim Pashtun, a Muslim Indonesian, a Muslim Chechen, or a Muslim Celt. An Arab is an Arab. If I said something derogatory about &#8220;Arabs&#8221;, I accept that that is &#8220;racist&#8221;.</p>
<p>If I criticise Islam, I expect people to engage with my arguments about Islam, not write me off as beyond the pale because it is &#8220;racist&#8221; to do so. </p>
<p>I am unaware of anyone criticising Christianity, who is immediately written off as &#8220;racist&#8221;, nor do I think it logical to expect it. </p>
<p>I have used religion as an example; however, national or regional &#8220;culture&#8221; could be used too. The one thing I do not accept as interchangeable with &#8220;culture&#8221;, is race. No-one can change their race. Anyone can choose to switch to another culture. Inter-cultural competition is good, like inter-municipality competition. It shows up &#8220;best practice&#8221;. </p>
<p>You might say there is an British culture, and that this is synonymous with being Anglo-Saxon by race. This would be nonsense. There are Anglo-Saxon Buddhists and there are many people of different races who are proudly &#8220;British&#8221;. A recent Serbian immigrant to Australia wrote to Quadrant Magazine saying how proud he was to &#8220;be an Australian&#8221; now, contrasting his pride with certain cringing multi-culturalists in Australian Universities. </p>
<p>Asians, especially Chinese, have a term, &#8220;Banana&#8221; &#8211; meaning &#8220;yellow on the outside, white on the inside&#8221;. It is used either to criticize Asians who have &#8220;westernized&#8221;, or by those westernized Asians themselves as a matter of pride. </p>
<p>If I make derogatory remarks about &#8220;Chinese&#8221;, that is racist. If I say what a disaster Communism/Buddhism/Confucianism has been for the Chinese, that is anti-racist. If I say the same about Islam for the Arabs, that is anti-racist. It is people on the Left, conflating race and culture, who are the real racists. </p>
<p>All the more bitterly ironic, because those Leftists have expected Anglo-Saxons to march forwards into the age of reason, science and atheism &#8211; why not other races too? And when &#8220;indigenous&#8221; people anywhere have predominantly converted to Christianity (a perfectly rational decision), the Left&#8217;s white ants work industriously to get them to revert to pre-christian paganism &#8211; or at least manipulate public policy to conflate the indigenous race and the pagan values in terms of &#8220;respect&#8221; being demanded in all manner of socio-economic policy areas. </p>
<p>The Left are the pathological racists in these issues. Conservatives are actually &#8220;culturists&#8221; and anti-racists, for which the truly racist Left smears THEM as &#8220;racists&#8221;. Entirely typical of the Orwellian nature of the Left.</p>
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		<title>By: Marlin B. Newburn</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5345882</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Marlin B. Newburn]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Jan 2014 02:29:00 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[I&#039;ve worked and socialized with Asian folks as well as attended university with them (the latter, years ago), and to an individual, they&#039;re wonderful people. Their industriousness is standard trait for them as is there sociability and kindness.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;ve worked and socialized with Asian folks as well as attended university with them (the latter, years ago), and to an individual, they&#8217;re wonderful people. Their industriousness is standard trait for them as is there sociability and kindness.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>By: Daniel Greenfield</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5345864</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Jan 2014 00:32:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=214997#comment-5345864</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[William Wilhelm jr]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>William Wilhelm jr</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>By: Daniel Greenfield</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5345863</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Jan 2014 00:32:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=214997#comment-5345863</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Indeed. We either choose or the choice is made for us]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Indeed. We either choose or the choice is made for us</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>By: Daniel Greenfield</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5345862</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Jan 2014 00:32:00 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[It&#039;s also a common story. Asian students keep succeeding in the inner city showing that it&#039;s not the schools that are broken, it&#039;s the students]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s also a common story. Asian students keep succeeding in the inner city showing that it&#8217;s not the schools that are broken, it&#8217;s the students</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>By: Daniel Greenfield</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5345861</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Jan 2014 00:31:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=214997#comment-5345861</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Often people who come from genuinely oppressive, rather than merely corrupt societies are less trusting of institutional determinism]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Often people who come from genuinely oppressive, rather than merely corrupt societies are less trusting of institutional determinism</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>By: objectivefactsmatter</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5345839</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[objectivefactsmatter]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Jan 2014 22:54:00 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[Successful as individuals while working to destroy society in the name of altruism. Indeed they have.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Successful as individuals while working to destroy society in the name of altruism. Indeed they have.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>By: objectivefactsmatter</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5345838</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[objectivefactsmatter]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Jan 2014 22:52:00 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[Failing to discern between useful and useless is pretty lazy.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Failing to discern between useful and useless is pretty lazy.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>By: Seek</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5345830</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Seek]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Jan 2014 22:19:00 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[I&#039;m a longtime fan of Thomas Sowell, but the idea that race and culture should be seen as separate is absurd.  Race is very much a part of culture, a point, ironically, that Sowell himself has made many times.  Read him a little more carefully.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;m a longtime fan of Thomas Sowell, but the idea that race and culture should be seen as separate is absurd.  Race is very much a part of culture, a point, ironically, that Sowell himself has made many times.  Read him a little more carefully.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>By: veeper</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5345796</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[veeper]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Jan 2014 18:44:00 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[the point is generalities don&#039;t work out...


they just make for a lot of discussion and articles.....]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>the point is generalities don&#8217;t work out&#8230;</p>
<p>they just make for a lot of discussion and articles&#8230;..</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>By: veeper</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5345794</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[veeper]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Jan 2014 18:42:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=214997#comment-5345794</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[and yet....some...


have made very successful careers out of doing that.....]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>and yet&#8230;.some&#8230;</p>
<p>have made very successful careers out of doing that&#8230;..</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>By: veeper</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5345791</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[veeper]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Jan 2014 18:40:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=214997#comment-5345791</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[the point is &quot;lazy&quot; poster....is.....


picking one general cover-all label to explain failure or success is just as silly as picking any other general label.....]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>the point is &#8220;lazy&#8221; poster&#8230;.is&#8230;..</p>
<p>picking one general cover-all label to explain failure or success is just as silly as picking any other general label&#8230;..</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>By: physicsnut</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5345778</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[physicsnut]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Jan 2014 17:16:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=214997#comment-5345778</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[MSNBC says &quot;it is cool to be a liberal again&quot;
yup - and Bill DeBlasio eats pizza with a freakin FORK.
That sandinista worshipping clown would never have been elected if anyone knew.
The Left always seeks to destroy the family - that is how values are transmitted, and that is what they seek to destroy. Of course they don&#039;t come out and tell you that up front.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>MSNBC says &#8220;it is cool to be a liberal again&#8221;<br />
yup &#8211; and Bill DeBlasio eats pizza with a freakin FORK.<br />
That sandinista worshipping clown would never have been elected if anyone knew.<br />
The Left always seeks to destroy the family &#8211; that is how values are transmitted, and that is what they seek to destroy. Of course they don&#8217;t come out and tell you that up front.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>By: darnellecheri</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5345764</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[darnellecheri]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Jan 2014 15:48:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=214997#comment-5345764</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This article is so full of excellent points, I would have to cut and paste it in its entirety here.  If I had choose one point to highlight, I will choose:  &quot;Institutional determinism promotes learned helplessness. It teaches people that their failures can only be remedied by blaming someone else. Without individual responsibility, all that’s left are institutional subsidies for failure and there are only so many companies that can be bailed out and only so many individuals who can live off the welfare state. Many of the cultures that Chua lists are refugees. That distrust of government may be a powerful antidote to Hillary Clinton’s village of the state. And all of the cultures on the list are family oriented.&quot;

Back in the 1980s, I worked with refugees from the Soviet orbit of Eastern Europe, and I can attest that very rarely did I find anyone willing to rest on the American welfare system. They were frightened and unfamiliar to the American system of self-initiative, but once they were enlightened and psychologically unburdened from Communism/Socialism, it was amazing to see them bloom into independent workers and independent humans.

I think of my grandparents as well.  They came from the European slums and worked hard here and became business owners.  The American story is so opposite of learned helplessness that I wonder how many generations does it take to unlearn the example of our own ancestors.  With that being said, I have to post the author&#039;s last statement, as it is very inspiring to me:

&quot;We are more than the sum of our institutions, we are our parents and our grandparents, we are the things we read and the things we believe, we are the sense of mission that brought our ancestors through thousands of years of trouble and we are their strengths and their weaknesses.  It’s not institutions that make our successes possible. It is our beliefs that make all the difference.&quot;  A difference indeed.  Thank you for a well-written piece!]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This article is so full of excellent points, I would have to cut and paste it in its entirety here.  If I had choose one point to highlight, I will choose:  &#8220;Institutional determinism promotes learned helplessness. It teaches people that their failures can only be remedied by blaming someone else. Without individual responsibility, all that’s left are institutional subsidies for failure and there are only so many companies that can be bailed out and only so many individuals who can live off the welfare state. Many of the cultures that Chua lists are refugees. That distrust of government may be a powerful antidote to Hillary Clinton’s village of the state. And all of the cultures on the list are family oriented.&#8221;</p>
<p>Back in the 1980s, I worked with refugees from the Soviet orbit of Eastern Europe, and I can attest that very rarely did I find anyone willing to rest on the American welfare system. They were frightened and unfamiliar to the American system of self-initiative, but once they were enlightened and psychologically unburdened from Communism/Socialism, it was amazing to see them bloom into independent workers and independent humans.</p>
<p>I think of my grandparents as well.  They came from the European slums and worked hard here and became business owners.  The American story is so opposite of learned helplessness that I wonder how many generations does it take to unlearn the example of our own ancestors.  With that being said, I have to post the author&#8217;s last statement, as it is very inspiring to me:</p>
<p>&#8220;We are more than the sum of our institutions, we are our parents and our grandparents, we are the things we read and the things we believe, we are the sense of mission that brought our ancestors through thousands of years of trouble and we are their strengths and their weaknesses.  It’s not institutions that make our successes possible. It is our beliefs that make all the difference.&#8221;  A difference indeed.  Thank you for a well-written piece!</p>
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		<title>By: objectivefactsmatter</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/why-people-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-5345700</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[objectivefactsmatter]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Jan 2014 11:13:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=214997#comment-5345700</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&quot;I just wanted to see what he considered success.&quot;



That&#039;s not how you framed your question.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&#8220;I just wanted to see what he considered success.&#8221;</p>
<p>That&#8217;s not how you framed your question.</p>
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