Sometimes I wish I could fly around the world dropping copies of Sartre's Existentialism is a Humanism. I think it really would so us some good.
Now I certainly don't wholly accept existentialism, but there are points made that I think people need to understand. Primarily that man is 'condemned to be free,' and thus his actions are determined only by himself. Therefore, he is ultimately responsible for his actions and the consequences of his actions. Too many people are self-deceiving themselves about their complete and utter freedom. It seems like this abstract 'society' is blamed for everything from pedophilia to drug use to gun violence. Few people actually blame themselves for anything. But can you blame them? It's so easy to shield one's self from responsibility and its associated guilt by finding some sort of scapegoat. And yet we are only deceiving ourselves. If everyone realized that their actions belong to nobody but themselves, and that they are responsible for the consequences of those actions, people would actually learn from their mistakes. People would realize the true weight of their actions. No longer would some ominous force, 'Society,' be responsible for the bad things of the world, people would hold themselves responsible. And hopefully change.
I just get annoyed when I see all these blogs about having to "conform to society," or "society and the media made me do ________." No they didn't. You acted the way you did because you made a conscious decision to. Ultimately you make yourself and if make bad decisions, hold yourself accountable. Don't play the victim. It's only a form of self-deception.
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