Baby A, who is an only child, lives in a big house on a big lot on a quiet street on the edge of town. Aside from the occasional sound of a vacuum cleaner or lawn mower, Baby A hears few sounds not produced either directly or indirectly by Baby A. That is, in part, because of the white noise machine which drowns out noises. More importantly, A's parents subscribe to an educational-toy-of-the-month club, so every few weeks, beginning with the cute little Busy Booties® from Month 1, Baby A gets another new toy expertly designed to meet Baby A's needs in a manner most perfectly suited to Baby A's current level of cognitive development. The first instructional unit has focused on the concept of Cause and Effect, and Baby A has learned that a shake of Baby A's left foot, thanks to the red Busy Booty®, will produce an amusing rattling sound, a shake of Baby A's right foot, thanks to the green Busy Booty® will produce a pleasant ringing bell sound, a squeeze of the purple plush octopus will produce a squeaky sound tuned to one of eight tones of the C major scale, and a tug on the blue ducky will cause music to play and the mobile over Baby A's crib to turn. When Baby A cries, one of Baby A's parents hears, thanks to the house intercom, and quickly comes and removes Baby A from the crib and solves whatever problem is bothering Baby A. As Baby A gets older and learns to talk, A's parents will usually give A whatever A asks for.
Then there is Baby B. Baby B lives in an apartment on a busy street in the middle of the city. Baby B shares a room with two older siblings. The neighbors in the apartment above Baby B's room are also noisy people who often play loud music not requested by Baby B. Because of the liquor store and the two taverns within a block of Baby B's apartment, Baby B's sleep is frequently interrupted by the sound of breaking glass or drunken brawls from outside the window. Baby B also hears random sirens, gunshots, and barking dogs. When Baby B cries, Baby B's parents might respond, but they may both be too busy with the other children. As Baby B gets older and learns to talk, B will speak out about what B wants, but B's parents will not usually be able to give B what B asks for.
One of these children, barring the parents' deliberate effort to teach otherwise, will probably grow up to be a free market Republican who believes that the world is a fair place and that with enough effort, one can accomplish whatever one wants to in one's life, so people all deserve to be exactly as rich or poor as they are.
The other child, barring the parents' deliberate effort to teach otherwise, will probably grow up to be a Democrat who believes the world is unfair and stacked against many of us, and that forces beyond our control often deny hardworking people the rewards they deserve, through no fault of their own.
I invite you to guess which is which.
Both of these children may grow up unable to understand how the other can possibly have a view of the world so different from their own.
