The tone of the above writeup seems to obscure part of the message (though to convey another). It is often claimed that
true depth or
profundity consists in recognizing that
life is pain (or that
people can't change, or that x is false, where x is anything positive that your parents or society told you when you were young). Lots of famous, excellent thinkers have held such beliefs--
Friedrich Nietzsche is a good example. Unfortunately, many extend this trend into their own lives and allow the experience of pain to overwhelm their other activity, and restrict the focus of their attention to their own lives.
Jean-Paul Sartre and other
Existentialists are interesting and valuable because they do not dwell merely on themselves, nor merely on the recognition of the problems inherent in
the human condition (though this is an important part of the project), but because they universalize their thinking and offer solutions for us all.
Another major theme that appears to be at work in the above writeup is the appreciation of the everyday. One need not be exceptional to be a good person. The responsibilities of a
citizen are quite burdensome enough that fulfilling them is worthy of pride and the approval of one's peers.
Finally, issues of
free will bear on, though are not explicitly expressed in,
PureDoxyk's writeup. A
Determinist might accept that individuals are not responsible for their actions, but would presumably find the location of responsibility with one's parents, society, or anything smaller than the entire universe unjustified (barring special accommodations for the transmission of responsibility, such as those proposed by
A.J. Ayer and
Daniel Dennett). Those who believe in an
incompatibilist free will would, except in extremely unusual circumstances, simply claim that the individual is responsible as a result of free choices made in the past.
Ultimately,
I agree with the message that I find above, that people should try to take
responsibility for themselves, regardless of what their environment has done to them. I do think consideration for
environmental factors is warranted from others, but then, I sort of feel as though
everyone should be generous in their evaluations of others, and not in their evaluations of themselves.