Jonah: No, you’re not a sap. However:

  • I “began with minimizing fathers only, if memory serves” because my very first post on this topic, back in June, was in response to a piece Rich had posted about fathering.
  • If you think nannies and boarding schools are “parenting,” you’ve sold the pass.
  • If you can show me exactly where I said that “genes determine everything,” I’ll come and paint your house. Does anybody believe that? Or believe that anybody believes it?
  • On your (C) paragraph I really don’t know where to start. It’s “ridiculous” of me to want to give my kids an edge in a competitive society? Hooo-eee. And again, if you can show where I said, or implied, or hinted, that “all that matters is getting ahead in today’s rat race,” I’ll paint your garage, too. I could go on… and on…
  • A fondness for pie charts and bell curves does not exclude an appreciation of love and happiness (though that it does, is a very common misconception). However, I have this “ridiculous” preference that my kids, as adults, will be equipped to savor the delights of love and happiness from the vantage points of a good job, a well-stocked mind, and a useful and pleasurable range of abilities.