Free-will

1262: 

When young people are growing up they develop reasons and justifications for what they do and thus are drawn into the ‘adult world’ that’s already set up.  They must accept most of it just to survive.  Maybe they want to make changes, but if they do there’s going to be perhaps too much personal loss.  If they enjoy any free will at all, it’s at first granted by the adult world.  As they become adults they are allowed to exercise free-will, and with the earning of serious money they enter the world of adult privilege - they drive, vote, go to bed late, use intoxicants, eat food of choice, dress in clothes they choose, etc. From having been controlled during childhood, now, with free will, they have a ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ card.  They can determine things their own way.  However, they soon realise that they can’t change the world.  They more or less have to fit in.

Unfortunately many adults use free-will to experience pleasure, but don't use it to address their responsibilities.  They miss the subtler opportunities, to construct an individual character. Instead they follow.

If we, as vegans, try to push our views too hard we fail because we don’t take into account people’s determination to protect their ‘right-to-choose’.  Self interest seems to trump acting for the ‘greater good’.  Do we have a right even to try to persuade them, when there’s no chance of succeeding.  And is our inevitable failure down to people’s freedom to act in any (legal) way they want to?