You DO Always Have a Choice

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   greeneyedblondieposted 9 years ago

   It may not seem like you always do, but you do. It makes me mad, especially when reguarding parenting, when people say, "You don't always have a choice in life." Yes, you do.
   
   You can choose to break into that car over there, you know, the one that always has the keys in it, and go on a joy ride or You can walk away, and go for a joy ride in your own car.
   
   You can choose to go to work today or You can stay home, and risk getting fired.
   
   You can choose to go to bed early, so you can wake up early or Go to bed late, to wake up late and suffer the conciquences.
   
   You can take out a loan to buy a new car or Save up to pay for one with your own money and not get into debt.
   
   You can live off of the grid and depend only on yourself or You can live with the rest of society, and have a rent/morgage, insurance, electric bills and such.   
   
   We all have choices in life, even children. It might be between several decisions where none of them sound good, but it's still a choice.

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      Kathryn L Hillposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      When do people say you do NOT have a choice. What have you experienced regarding that issue?

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         greeneyedblondieposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I recently read an article on MSN that read, "Things not to say to your children," and comments underneath were extremely negative. It was full of people saying, "My parents said all of these things to me and I turned out fine," and "I raised 3 kids and they all have college degrees and I said all of these things to them." The one that hit me the worst was, "'Because I say so' is needed sometimes because if you explain everything to them all the time they're going to think they always have choices in life, and they won't."

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            Kathryn L Hillposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            So, what is your point in all this? I am still confused.
            What were all of "those things" that were said?

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               greeneyedblondieposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               It just made me mad to know so many people in the world don't believe anyone has choices in life. That's all.

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            psycheskinnerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I don't see a problem with that.  Some things in life are not choices.  Get cancer just at random, some guy runs into your car, policeman legally arrests you etc.  Sure everyone has choices, but not everything is a choice.
            
            I thought the article was silly.  My mother sometimes just told me to do things because it was not the time or place for a full explanation, and I just did them because I accepted her role as parent and trusted her.

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   word55posted 9 years ago

   Yes, you always have a choice. You are always responsible for what happens to you.

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   Kathryn L Hillposted 9 years ago

   "You don't always have a choice."
   
   This phrase should not be taken literally.
   Humans have a lot of choice as we are not led by instincts. Instincts guide the animal kingdom, but not ours. Therefore, our parents give us our boundaries when we are young. This early training stays with us and serves to guide us in keeping us out of harm's way. Around age fifteen humans have a sense of their own will and begin to make decisions for themselves. They may learn from the school of hard knocks if they go against what they have learned from their parents. It really is just a matter of common sense. You will reap what you sow. Boundaries will be learned, relearned and lost all through life. You do have free-choice and free-will. Go camping with your friends, and explore the world if you can, greeneyedblondie. Go get some freedom and enjoy it.  Just remember, other people will be disappointed if you end up in jail or worse. (Not to mention YOU will suffer.)

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      janesixposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Humans absolutely have instincts.
      
      Survival, the instinct to eat, the instinct to reproduce, the instinct to be in a social group. I could go on and on.

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         Kathryn L Hillposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         These are not instincts. Prove they are. I say they are consciously made choices based on individual preference.
         I, for instance, consciously chose to have only two children.
         I choose to live a quiet life as do my very reclusive parents. it is freedom for them. I was raised with freedom from overabundance of friends and family, and to this day, I can't get enough of the freedom provided by being alone. (People keep relying on me for their own stupid mistakes. I help them, but only for the sake of harmony in the world. I wish they would take care of themselves.)

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            janesixposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            We have instincts that we can choose to go against. If there were no hunger instinct to go against, then you wouldn't have a choice to make. A dog can choose not to eat if even if he's hungry. They are just less able to than a human being. A mouse is even less able, although it has been proven in tests even they are able to go against instincts. Humans are more able to predict what might happen in the future, and think about the consequences.
            
            Probably any animal with a brain of some sort has some amount of free will to chose. I doubt plants or amoebas do, because they have no brains and are unable to think of possible consequences of their actions.

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   gaddieposted 9 years ago

   I enjoyed reading this hub, it reminded me of the work of holocaust survivor and inspirational speaker Victor Frankl on human choice and the last of the human freedoms.
   Great read, thanks for sharing.

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   Joe Fiducciaposted 9 years ago

   I agree that everyone has a choice.  Sometimes our hand is 'forced' making us feel otherwise (e.g. paying taxes, healthcare, etc.), but even in those examples one has a choice on what to do.  Thank you for the reminder. 

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