Better Yourself

We never had alot of money, barely enough to get by, but we managed. Even so, my dad strove to keep me culturally enlightened. When families go to the amusement park for a fun day, we went to plays at the amphitheatre or to the museum of natural science, and i loved it. My parents made sure that I kept an open mind and always pushed me to better myself. They never closed off anything to me. If I wanted to do something they said go for it, if I wanted to know something they found a reputiable source to give me the strait facts. And so I grew up with all avenues open to me. but my boyfreind, Joseph, is quite different. His father is a truck driver and they have never been exactly prosperous. Both his parents are ex drug addicts and he has grown up with very few avenues available. The only options that have really been offered to him are manual labor and alchaholism. So I'm sitting here, at his house and experiencing what he's grown up with, trying to elaborate on the issues close to my heart, and i can't help but wonder how anyone could ever excell in this stiffling atmosphere. How is it that in this day and age people can still live with out the light of knowledge? How is it that in modern America people are still denied the birthright of education? The logic behind the economic seperation in america baffles me.