“I have always been amazed that the very people forced to live in the worst parts of town, go to the worst schools and who have it the hardest are always the first to step up to defend that very system.” Michael Moore in Fahrenheit  9/11

“The first guys to sign up to fight are the very ones this country doesn’t treat that well.” Janine Roth (Meryl Streep) in Lions for Lambs

“The tough thing about adulthood is that it starts before you already know it’s started, when you are already a dozen decisions into it.” Dr. Stephen Malley (Robert Redford) in Lions for Lambs

Okay, I will admit it; only the first two quotes above are relevant to this piece. What about the last one? Well, it just sounded so cool I had to include it!

It’s now time to get thoughtful. Even gorillas get serious about life sometimes!

My Statistics lecturer introduced us to the concept of statistical insignificance early on at college because of its importance wherever numbers are involved. Its essence is that though there may be many numbers, not all of them are influential, of consequence or significant.

It is possible to go through life as a statistic, one that is insignificant, sheltered in obscurity. We all have one life and also one shot at life so if you miss this ride, there is no next one coming. This fact alone begs us to maximize on this one life that we have.

Insignificance is twofold; natural and manmade. For instance, what is the difference between a boy who is born in war torn Somalia, is recruited as a child soldier who dies in battle and one that is born in a private hospital in Sandton into a wealthy family? As far as the two kids are concerned, they have contributed nothing to their circumstances. One is born to have it hard in life and the other is born with a golden spoon. The first kid becomes statistically insignificant, while the other one, depending on the choices he will make in life ,has a chance at influencing society in a real way. We can thus conclude that at this level the circumstances in which one is born are not of their choosing, they are predetermined and thus natural to the newborn. However if we dig deeper, we find that Somalia, or any country for that matter, is the way it is because of countless small decisions made by the powerful, that may have appeared to be insignificant but that added up to create those hospitable or inhospitable conditions into which every child is born.

I used the example of a country above but the same principle can be applied to the family level. Parents affect the path that their kids are going to take in life. While they are still young, enlightened parents will already choose significance over obscurity for their children and fight hard to create and defend that path.