Real Rad Magazine : Winter 2016

A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
We the people, are not created
equal. Our genes, level of wealth and privilege
are inherited. Although, wealth and privilege
can sometimes be elevated within a lifetime,
genes , DNA and what makes up a person’s
bloodline are definite. We inherit eye color,
hair color, height, physical features, even the
likelihood to develop specific diseases as well
as addictions carry on through our ancestry.
If your parents are tall then you’ll most likely
be tall. If your parents are brunette then you’ll
most likely be brunette. If you have read this
far then you are most likely saying to yourself,
“No shit.”
Any functioning human being
with a high school education can tell you
that biological traits are passed down from
one generation to the next. There are some
scenarios in which a certain characteristic skips
a generation but it still exist in the family tree.
As far as wealth and privilege, these are gifts
bestowed to the children of the wealthy and
the privileged. These advantages serve as a
higher platform to obtain success compared
to the platform a child of the less fortunate
springs from. If you are attractive and rich
there is a higher possibility to succeed than
a person that is less attractive and of lower
financial resources. There are unattractive rich
people, there are attractive poor people and
vice versa. There is a broad spectrum of human
attributes which is relative to each person
accordingly.
This doesn’t mean that people should
be treated unequally as human beings in a
social context or that people should be treated
unequally according to the law of the land due
to their level of wealth and/or attractiveness
but it does mean there are obvious advantages
as well as disadvantages that are inherited
in each family tree, comparatively. Nature is
what gives us what we initially inherit as human
beings from our bloodlines. Nurture, on the
other hand is always the parallel mentioned
to nature that helps identify what makes up a
complete human being. Nature may dictate
certain capacities but nurture heavily influences
the psyche as far as why we make the decisions
we do. Nature may give a human being a
relative range of abilities but nurture can
enhance or stifle those abilities. The way we
are nurtured is a form of inheritance. How we
were raised and what we experienced growing
up heavily affects the way we navigate through
life. Often times, what the kid sees is what the
kid does.
As a person grows to become an
adult, there are revelations along the way
of that journey that clear the path to forge
ahead and if you’re lucky those revelations will
lead to a moment of acceptance, accepting
that regardless of our inheritance or lack
thereof, it’s now time to make our own
decisions, accepting that everything you’ve
experienced in life has a secret meaning for
you and who you are suppose to be, and
accepting that these revelations, moments, as
well as decisions that are influenced by your
inheritance can very well lead you to “simple”
and/or “ordinary” destiny.
There are plenty of teachers,
plumbers, nurses, roofers, mechanics,
firemen and nannies that are perfectly happy
living their “ordinary” lives and working
their “ordinary professions.” These are the
professions that are often looked at as lead by
people with “ordinary destinies,” but these are
extraordinary people doing extraordinary work
for their families and their community. These
are jobs that require a person of accountability,
responsibility, common sense, and skill. These
people aren’t entertainers, athletes, rappers,
actors, writers, photographers, models,
dancers, producers, filmmakers, and/or some
kind of artist. These are the people that
actually have jobs and are getting paid as well
as paying taxes for the infrastructure of society
and running it on a daily basis. These people
are the very lifeblood of society.
But, what about the dreamers?
What about people that want to make a living
from their “art?” There is only one way to do
that, you have to be a genius. You have to be
a genius at what you do. That is next level,
that is high compensation, that separates.
But, genius isn’t necessarily inherited nor is
it necessarily a product of nurture. Genius is
natural born talent that has been cultivated
and applied. We find evidence in genius
athletes that may have not inherited wealth
but rather are from the ghettos of USA and
are graced with a genius ability in sport which
makes them become highly sought after
professional athletes. Over six feet tall, long
arms, fast, strong, good vision which can be
attributed to biological inheritance but the
next level to elevating it to genius athlete level
is cultivating a higher plateau of athleticism
and mental strength that separates the athlete
from their peers by simply but ironically not
so simply, working hard. A person must have
the gift in the form of whatever genius they
wish to be, to be what they want to be, in
their respective arts but to achieve genius
status they must also work at it. An “ordinary”
person, under six feet, average arms, average
speed, average strength, good vision couldn’t
possibly think they could compete with a
genius level professional athlete with superior
attributes with the gift of operating on a higher
plane in regards to athleticism, especially if the
“gifted one” cultivated their natural talent and
the other party had not worked on developing
their skill. What makes people think those
same rules don’t apply in any other art form?
This doesn’t mean an “ordinary”
person is of less value, in fact they very well
maybe geniuses at a different particular
avenue of endeavors but we are confining this
application of genius to the fine arts for the
sake of argument as well the romanticization
of the fine arts in popular culture. There is a
great saturation in these fields because there
are a large number of people that want to be
geniuses at something that they’re not. Tupac
and Biggie were genius rappers, what is the
likelihood that you are? Al Pacino and Tom
Hanks are genius actors, what’s the likelihood
that you are? Steven Spielberg and Francis
Ford Coppola are genius directors, what’s
the likelihood that you are? Meryl Streep and
Diane Keaton are genius actresses, what’s the
likelihood you are? There is no likelihood, there
is only, you got it or you don’t. You’re a genius
at that particular thing or not. Wishing to be a
genius at something will not make you a genius
at it, even working hard at it won’t necessarily
get you there. Yes, hard work goes a long way
and it can possibly get a human being very
close to genius level. Brushing aside hard work
is a mistake that some “gifted” yet lazy people
do that eventually reach their demise by a
hard worker. Although, a “gifted” person with
natural talent that also works hard compared
to a person that has not been bestowed with
the gift of genius from the universe, even if
the “non-gifted party” works hard, is exposed
to stark difference that clearly separates
the respective parties, ultimately seeing the
“gifted” party prevailing in whatever discipline
that they are gifted in. There is no way of
knowing where the next “gifted” coder or
scientist will be born or even the next “gifted”
rock star or painter will born but we do know
that you can’t wish for the
gift. A fish can’t climb a tree.
Editor in Chief,
Francisco Leal