“Is it better for a man to have chosen evil than to have good imposed upon him?”

― Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange

The quote from Anthony Burgess’s novel A Clockwork Orange encapsulates a profound ethical dilemma about free will and morality. This question is central to the themes explored in the book, which delves into the nature of good and evil, and the importance of choice in defining one’s humanity.

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Creating a life that reflects your values and satisfies your soul is a rare achievement. In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life, a person happy doing his own work is usually considered an eccentric, if not a subversive. Ambition is only understood if it’s to rise to the top of some imaginary ladder of success. Someone who takes an undemanding job because it affords him the time to pursue other interests and activities is considered a flake. A person who abandons a career in order to stay home and raise children is considered not to be living up to his potential-as if a job title and salary are the sole measure of human worth. You’ll be told in a hundred ways, some subtle and some not, to keep climbing, and never be satisfied with where you are, who you are, and what you’re doing. There are a million ways to sell yourself out, and I guarantee you’ll hear about them.

– Bill Waterson

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“Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.”

― Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

This quote comes from Viktor E. Frankl’s influential book, “Man’s Search for Meaning,” in which he reflects on his experiences as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps during World War II and the insights he gained about the human search for meaning and purpose.

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“My children didn’t choose to be born, I chose to have children. They owe me nothing, I owe them everything”

This quote can be seen as a direct challenge to the sense of entitlement that some parents feel towards their children.

Some parents may believe that because they chose to have children and raised them, their children owe them certain things in return. This could be in the form of obedience, achievement, financial support in the parents’ old age, or even just constant gratitude. In some cases, parents may use phrases like “After all I’ve done for you…” or “You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me…” to guilt their children into certain behaviors or choices.

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