Destiny

Pre-Destination vs. Self-Determination

People like to believe that they have the freedom to choose to be or do whatever it is that they want to be or do; it is, however, quite the opposite. This sense of freedom is called self-determination. At the other end of the spectrum, when no matter what we do seems to make any difference or when events just seem to happen and we think about them as being out of our control or somehow planned by some force unknown to us (such as a God), that is called pre-destination. Self-determination has its limitations as to what people are allowed to do, but pre-destination has no limits of any kind. Self-determination is, in fact, used to mask pre-destination, to keep people content in following a pre-set path that life offers. Without pre-destination, how do we know what the weather will be like, or if the sun rises, or if someone will stop at a red light? Without these paths where would our lives be going? People do these every day things that are simply there to keep them going down the path that they have always been on. When people get off that path, such as when they stop doing drugs, then their lives are on a new track. But the new track doesn't necessarily have anything unique about it, it's just a new path and already pre-determined. And once on a path, it is very difficult to veer away from the pre-determined, pre-disposed activities that a particular lifestyle requires.

Smith 2

Pre-destination, not our life choices, guides our lives. There is no other way to explain things such as people who grow up poor yet somehow manage to create a multinational company and become multimillionaires. Although some might say that these people chose to follow a particular path that led them to their fame and fortune. Instead, it should be argued that even if these people were born poor, they were they were destined to create that company. They were given the drive to make that company into what it was. Anyone can choose to start a company, but few actually have the ability to make that company a success. Choice does not have anything to do with ability: I choose to be a billionaire but I do not have the bank account to be one. Predestination explains almost ninety percent of what happens in the world, from birth to death, and even pure luck. Self-determination cannot: you cannot self-determine yourself to have the good luck to win the lottery; but it may very well be that you are pre-destined to win the lottery because you have good luck.

Self-determination, like the Army saying, "be all that you can be," is a lie that has taken over the human race like an epidemic. It is used to incite us to do things or behave a particular way and to cover up or make more palatable what people do not want to believe. Children in the United States are told over and over that if they just try harder, they can become whatever they want to be. Part of our cultural legacy is the legendary hero who "drags himself up by the bootstraps" to become famous, wealthy, or powerful. Look at the example of Abraham Lincoln. What are children told about Abraham Lincoln? All the stories about how he studied by the light of one single candle (because his family was so poor) but rose up, conquered, and became president, champion of the world, reinforce the viewpoint that it is through self-determination, choice, hard-work, and dedication, that people can re-make themselves into anything they want to be.

Smith 3

Even more insidious are the lies children are told about physical abilities and hard work. Through hard work and determination and practice, practice, practice, you too can become a professional athlete or a singer in a rock band. This is not true. Beyond the adage of having to be "in the right place at the right time" (luck? Or maybe it's pre-destination.), the