Horace, the Roman poet, once stated “adversity produces talents which in more prosperous circumstances would be dormant.” There are many examples to support this assertion: Martin Luther King Jr., the founding fathers of our country, and Barack Obama. There are many people who, like George Washington, do not have the opportunity to escape from hardship. They remain poor and unprosperous. Horace’s claim that adversity produces talent is wrong. Only chance can make you a better person. This statement can easily be defended using a definition of talent and “Stand and Deliver” as well as comparing the opportunities available in underdeveloped and developed nations.
Talent is the ability to excel at a particular quality. Talent thrives when it is practiced and perfected in a stable environment. If one is constantly working and worrying, how can they have time to develop their talents? While skills like organization and responsibility may develop in times of hardship, talent such as arts and sports cannot be developed under such circumstances. Talent is an innate quality that doesn’t discriminate between rich and poor. Talent development is facilitated by having the opportunity to learn from others. This concept is perfectly illustrated in the film “Stand and Deliver”. Garfield High School, located in Los Angeles’ ghetto, was filled with disinterested, lazy students. Jaime Escalante joins Garfield High School as a teacher. He transforms these children from poverty into a class which has a 100% passrate in AP Calculus. Garfield High’s math skills were not developed before. Jaime Escalante helped them to overcome the challenges that they faced. Escalante gave the students the chance to discover their potential. Escalante was the catalyst that allowed them to discover their math aptitude. It is not adversity, but opportunity that develops talents.
Even larger scales can be used to prove that adversity is not a source of talent. If this were true, those in the lowest development would be the most gifted. It isn’t true, as many of the world’s top artists, scientists, and athletes come from prosperous industrialized nations. Each country has a population who is facing adversity economically, racially and otherwise. Many Americans, for example, also experience hardship. Even though they initially face difficult times, they have many options to get out of it. These include scholarships, sponsorships, and institutions for talent-seeking. The most opportunities for the poorest Americans are greater than those in a less developed country like North Korea. Despite the fact that North Koreans are subject to a lot of hardship, they have no chance to learn leadership skills to help them achieve their goals. Their potential talent was left behind by their hardships and unprosperous circumstances. Talent is nurtured by opportunity and not adversity.
