Individual Guilt vs. the Guilt of the Commons

[kanzeon_2040]

[A sample Bug post about climate change from 2007]About 20 years ago, I came out to my grandfather. From 3912 miles away. Via a letter. Weeks later his snail-mail response arrived: He advised me to give up this "dirty habit", as though I were smoking tobacco

Comments

Part I

[matrixmann]

Tell you something - and you can decide on your own how much it applies or not -: This whole thing with being guilty all the time, it's a result of US culture being overly, overly obsessed with and obsessively convinced by the idea that all human acts are a product of voluntary choice. Things like "hereditary disposition", "biology", "biochemistry" and "upbringing in bad conditions/with malfunctional parents" all don't exist in this idea

Part II

[matrixmann]

...But this way, the idea of "humans all do everything consciously, so if bad things happen to them, they must have done a bad decision ( = sinned in the eye of the Lord)" sank deep down into the US culture.
And that's why US people are quick to work with guilt and shame, if they deem something socially "inappropriate". Acting like all that man does is a product of voluntary and well-though decision.
Although probably only just 5 to 10% of the human brain are and/or can be consciously used. 90 to 95 % remain instinctive, unconscious and totally not under voluntary control (see most tasks that the cerebellum performs e. g. operating the heartbeat, breathing).
And that's why they also very overly tend to think and firmly believe"shaping things through one's will", in everything being able to being shaped according to human will - even in spots of life were one's personal will is irrelevant and humans are powerless to do something about it.