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Responsibility vs determinism

Please let’s continue have a Postel’s Law approach to this stuff: let’s stay compassionate with how other people have been steered by their circumstances and antecedents (I’ve always loved the Gaiman quote “When you know somebody really well, it’s hard to stay mad at them very long”) while continuing to take our own responsibilities seriously.

That’s not meant to be sollipsistic or patronizing against all those poor fools out there, just patient and forgiving; committing to a restorative or transformative approach over a carceral or punitive one.

On the macro and micro level there are lots of obstacles to free will, so making decisions and following up on them takes directed effort. Mind maps, lists, brain sweeps, or maybe meditation practice.

Let’s keep striving to rise above, and keep trying to live our lives right even on the brink of Armageddon.