I’ve always thought it was not only misleading but in some sense cruel to tell kids “You can be anything you want to be.” No, they can’t. There are all kinds of limitations on what we can be. We can all fulfill our own best potential, but that potential does not necessarily include astrophysicist or rock star, sports hero or president of the U.S.
And that damned Little Engine That Could tells us that if we fail, it’s because we didn’t try hard enough. In other words, if we don’t conquer mountains, slay dragons, and make a million bucks by age 30, it’s our own fault and we’re failures.
Having aspirations is good. Even having wild aspirations can be good. But it is also good to keep them somewhere within the realm of the possible. All those feelgood and rah-rah slogans—such as “You never know what you can do until you try”—may be a spur to effort, but they shouldn’t be taken as literal promises.
These days kids also have to be told that they do have to work for their dreams; they shouldn’t expect a brilliant future of accomplishment and reward to be handed to them as a birthright.
I’d like to see one of those books.