One of the enduring myths in the United States is that of the “self-made man,” the one who “raised himself up by his bootstraps,” the “Horatio Alger-type.” No one is “self-made” but is the product of so many influences. Family — even if dysfunctional it provided grit and determination. Education — even if one’s school was poor those who had gone before showed the way. Environment — the food we eat, that we breathe clean air are not our productions. St. Paul puts it: What do you possess that you have not received? The myth of the self-made man is toxic because it absolves one from helping to provide the next generation the family, the education, the environment they will need in order to thrive in this world.
