Posted by PseudoName on September 27, 1999 at 22:20:31:
In Reply to: the aristocrat, the bohemian, and thoughts on chicken soup posted by johnmerrick on September 27, 1999 at 19:35:21:
: right!! i don’t feel so bad about the misery in the world after all!! i now realize that my point was indeed SKEWED.
: yes, he has decisions to make, and they all SUCK. so don’t give me your dog crap about everyone having choices.
Bad logic. Because choice is present, does not make the world black and white and all's fair. OF COURSE there are atrocities... OF COURSE there are arenas where all the external choices are bad ones. You are still master of your own mind.
You can die on your knees, or you can die upright. Which would you rather? If choice were not an option, perhaps the Judaic peoples would have laid down and died, rather than fight for the right to their own country... perhaps apartheid would still be the norm in S. Africa - perhaps, perhaps. The will is an incredible thing. Externalities aside, people have choices. You determine what you will be. Then you be that. Whether you're going to starve in the next five minutes or rule the world, you have a choice as to who you ARE. You can split hairs until the moon turns purple... choice is still a factor. That's where these little human jewels like courage and principle originate.