I don’t pretend to be a debater or a philosopher. But what I do know is I have plenty of reasons to hold a victim mindset and I’ve changed the way I thought and moved (and am moving) forward. Yes we all have influences and influencers that have shaped our thinking but I believe we all have choices of what to do with that information. That’s the core of what I’m getting at. Again, not a debater :-)

To your peeve, I agree as well. Cigarette butts really set me off. I’ve always wanted to have the stones to throw a butt back in someone’s car and say “you dropped this,” but I’d be responsible for my own actions on that one. ;-)

However, I do not hold the same value of “People are responsible for their own actions” as you do. I do not think it is as simple as that. Especially if there is some sort of cause and effect in this universe, whether it is, or is not deterministic.

Now, I guess my biggest pet peeve is when a person leaves a bottle, or plastic bag, or something in their parking spot and drive off. My corresponding value is that people should try harder to look at the long term effects on their actions. What I found is that generally, people are not really good at connecting the dots and generally think too individualistically.