Dr. Shane Posted May 17, 2006 Posted May 17, 2006 Snow chokes up during first on-camera briefing </font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr /> "I had cancer last year," Snow said when asked why he was wearing a yellow bracelet from fellow cancer survivor Lance Armstrong's LiveStrong Foundation. <hr /></blockquote><font class="post"> </font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr /> "I lost a mother to cancer when I was 17: same type, colon cancer," Snow said. "And I feel every day's a blessing." <hr /></blockquote><font class="post"> I listened to Tony Snow on the radio when I was young and before he went to work for FOXNews. He said something that was profound and has really helped me since I was in college. He said their are two philosophies about life. One is that our lives are determined by the circumstances that surround us. Such as where we were born, the religion we were brought up in, the schools we attend, the opportunities we have, etc. The other is that our lives are determined by the decisions we make. Such as who and if we marry, if we finish high school, if we go to college, if we take music lessons, the friends we choose, if we go to church, etc. While both our circumstances and decisions impact who we are, some believe circumstances play a larger role and others believe that our decisions play the larger role. Quote Pastoral Family Counselor... Find me at www.PostumCafe.com Author of Peculiar Christianity
Moderators Bravus Posted May 17, 2006 Moderators Posted May 17, 2006 I think that's a good distinction to make, and of course the truth lies between the two extremes. IMO those on the left tend to over-emphasise the influence of environment and those on the right to over-emphasise the role of decisions. Decisions are crucial, of course, but what they sometimes miss is that some people are born with a narrower range of available decisions (e.g. not enough funds to attend college). On the othre hand, the left's emphasis on 'environmental determinism' can lead to 'learned helplessness' and people being stuck in cycles of dependence. I think on this one I'm gonna plop myself in the centre with Shane. <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Quote Truth is important
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