Nature vs. Nurture . . . Again

Perhaps the most famous feud in American history is that between the Hatfields and the McCoys. Anecdotal evidence suggests it lasted from the Civil War era as recently as 2003, when an official document was drawn up and signed to bring it all to a formal close, or at least an official truce.

Now the medical community has come forward with the results of decades long studies to suggest that at least one underlying factor in the longstanding feud was genetics, specifically, the development of tumors on the adrenal glands that affect numerous bodily functions and organs. The symptoms described are remarkably similar to those attributed to road rage and other manifestations of poor anger management.

Those involved in the studies are quick to qualify their findings as only a partial potential explanation for the generations long fighting. Members of the McCoy clan, a fair number of whom have married out and scattered across the country, have differing reactions to this pronouncement, ranging from relief at the discovery and concern for fellow clan members to skepticism that the lifelong learned animosities and century plus of violence could or should be attributed to "illness".

This is not the first time the medical community has attempted to explain violent behaviors and propensities as the result of physical defects, possibly though not always correctable by surgery and/or other treatments involving radiation or pharmaceutical regimens. Religious fundamentalists naturally disagree vehemently, preferring to hold each individual morally accountable for his/her actions, regardless of any potential physiological inequities.

So are these excuses or is there blame to be cast? Why must the answer be either/or? Or must it?