[Superman]

Okay, presented that way, SoCal's point is easy to take. A far cry from the wailing he did in a previous thread about this same subject.

Clearly, we are powerfully shaped by our heredity and our environment. In fact, those who have an epiphany and pull themselves up by their bootstraps.....may have been predisposed to that action/decision by their heredity and environment. We FEEL as though we're making independent decisions, but our decisions are largely the sum of our heredity and environment. In fact, this attitude is fairly self-serving. You see, this way you get to take personal credit for every good thing that happens to you.

The flip side of the determinist whiner is the determinist grateful. I have the personal feeling that I am lucky beyond measure. I was born to a good family, great genes, lots of wonderful experiences in my life. Good looking, big johnson, smart, funny, humble, all those things. They are GIFTS to me.