The title of this weekly debate is a sentence from a quote from the first Pokemon movie (yes for real), the quote goes: 'I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevent. It's what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are'. This quote was used at the end of the movie by the clone pokemon Mewtwo. For a kids movie there are alot of 'life lessons' put into the movie itself but this one is the most remembered and sums up the subject of the entire movie. But ofcourse this debate is not about if the pokemon movie was good or not, this debate is about the gift or curse we call life.

There are hundreds of quotes in movies, video games and books about the gift or curse of life. But most of them all say the same thing: 'it's not about the circumstances of your birth but it's about what you do with life and that will determine who you are. Another 'famous' quotes about this subject from the game Elderscrolls V: Skyrim is: 'What is better ? To be born good or to overcome your evil nature through great effort ?'.

So what do you think about our 2 quotes, is life true a gift or is a curse, is it better to overcome your inner evil or to be born without it, and what makes you the person that you are ?


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http://consentus.co.uk/debates/noxarion's-weekly-debate-1-'death-the-end-or-the-beginning-'/

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Not 100% sure where I should start on this since there's so much to say. First off, I'm sort of seeing this as a "nature vs nurture" type of debate to start. Are we born into who we are merely through genetics, are we developed into our person through life experiences, or both?

Evidence has shown that both your genetic predispositions and social upbringing play a role in personal development and that is what I agree with. This coming back to the question of whether the circumstances of our birth being irrelevant though bring up a whole new area. Absolutely the circumstances of your birth play a role in who you are - your location, social/wealth class, race, etc. all play  major roles. This in itself is included among one of the major political debates in the United States about class warfare and the notion that "the American dream is possible for everyone." Statements like that claim that no matter who you are, if you set your mind to it and work hard and fight through your circumstances, no matter how tough, you can become successful. This I find blatantly false while, yes, it is possible for some to overcome their hardships, the majority don't have the opportunity due to the circumstances of their birth.

If a man is born in the slums of a worn out city with a family of minimum income and on welfare, with public schools way below average, and with poverty surrounding the entire area leading to drugs, crime, gangs, etc., how does he have the same opportunity and ability to become successful and "happy" that a man born into the complete opposite has? Some claim that if people born in bad conditions work hard and get a good education, they're able to grow and achieve their dreams and become happy, in spite of the conditions they grew up in and were born into. But, if a person has a poor education system around them with no money to move to an area they can afford with better schools and are forced to stay in a poor area full of crime and poverty, then how do they have the ability to succeed to the same extent as someone who didn't have these hardship imposed on them? Just the fact that the debate is going on about this possibility shows that the circumstances of one's birth does definitely play a role in one's life and the person one becomes.

If you are brought up by people with little aspirations you have a fight to get out that mind set, but if you are a determined person then of course you can,  Its just easier if you are surrounded by money and supportive parents.

At times I believe people should not be allowed to have children, I see too many women have babies, with unsuitable partners, the children have little success and often have medical issues. 

Its tough being brought up in poverty surrounded by negativity.


On the flip side, what sort of person gets life handed to them on a plate?  Never appreciating anything given?  The pressure on them to do well is huge, often they slip into drugs and bad habits to cope.

I am a big believer in the saying "you cant make a silk purse from a sows ear"