You're right, I did try to understand how my actions resulted in my circumstances. Then I figured out what circumstances I wanted to be in, identified the acti

You're right, I did try to understand how my actions resulted in my circumstances. Then I figured out what circumstances I wanted to be in, identified the actions that had a high probability of putting me there, and took them. Not every action worked as desired, but the majority did, and I didn't get discouraged at the occasional failure - I learned from them. I was literally at the bottom of society, with every disadvantage, and now I'm pretty far on the other side of the distribution. I'm not particularly gifted in any way, I just never quit striving, I thought carefully about my actions, and I learned from my mistakes. Almost anyone could do what I did, provided an example to work from. I am happy to step forward and uplift people who encounter adversity, pick themselves back up, figure things out and keep striving. On the other hand, I'm not going to provide positive reinforcement to people with a negative attitude who think life comes down to luck/genetics/parents, and they are out of control. That attitude is a sickness, and acknowledging it is like giving a homeless drug addict money; you might think you're helping, but you're only fueling their downward spiral. I understand perfectly well that the addict feels substance abuse is the only way to numb the terrible pain and emptiness of their life - I know exactly how shitty they feel inside. Don't assume because I don't think coddling people with certain maladaptive life views is the best way to help them that I don't understand their suffering. As for understanding people that are in no way like yourself, you haven't the faintest clue either - nobody does. That doesn't mean that when they are in circumstances similar to me, and they take actions that are self-defeating, I can't apply life lessons I've learned to them. Relativism taken to that extent is just foolishness.