My wife forwarded me this comic today (click for a larger version):
She thought I'd enjoy it, because one of my pet peeves is that idea, so prevalent in children's entertainment and education today, that you can be anything you want to be, that you are not limited by anything, etc., etc.
I don't have a problem with people being free to try various things out, to experiment with their giftings and see what kinds of things they are good at, etc. That's part of growing up. But this idea so often perniciously morphs into the idea that I have a right to be whatever I want to be, regardless of the limits of my talent or ability or life situation.
It reminds me of an episode of a certain TV show (that shall go unnamed – email me if you want to know) where they skewered this idea: one of the characters demands that a plastic surgeon make him look like a dolphin because he feels like a dolphin trapped in a man's body… he has a right to be anything he wants to be!
Yeah, our society always seems to tell people to value and pursue their dreams and desires above all else. I have a hard time seeing how that is any different from what Satan told Eve. And yet, the pull of that lie in our culture is so strong, it’s hard to directly call it out without coming across as a thoughtless jerk or a kind-but-depressing cynic.
Yes, but it was a bit of a let-down when my 4-year-old gave up the dream of becoming a mermaid one day…
Awesome, Ben.