When it comes to philosophy: What's useful?

LIFE IS A GAME
My theory of the purpose of life is that life is a game in which we make choices that determine our experience, and because of our freedom and ability to choose good or evil choices, it creates an infinite amount of possible experiences in human lives. Each of these choices ripples endlessly and creates other situations that interact with other humans. So if you think about it that way, every millisecond you are alive you are impacting the eternal reality in some way. By that, you are part of infinity, your legacy is infinite and infinitely greater than anything that is not infinite. Which is a massive responsibility.

Maybe the intelligent designer, because we're assuming there is one or more, wanted more little creators, an infinite number of them, each with their own unique experiences. I've given up on this line of thought because I can't prove intelligent design and I don't really care anymore. Real bliss doesn't need a godhead.

Back to game theory, games imitate life, they're also called simulations. Better players are more skilled at the game of life, they achieve x, y, and z. Bad players are constantly whacked with the consequences of their decisions, but because they are bad players with the wrong mentality, instead of viewing the blowback as feedback on how to improve, they blame the designer. "This game is too hard." "I'm just not good at videogames." Blame is a wonderful tool for dodging responsibility. You can blame the problem on anyone and not have to fix the root cause of the problem. Meanwhile, the problem still exists. 

People choose how to act. Everything you do is a conscious decision. You may be raised with a certain disposition by your environment, but you are the one who pulls the trigger. That's why courts exist, they can't punish you if they can't prove criminal intent. If noone is responsible for their actions, you may as well abolish all punishment and law. And if only, say, black people are absolved by their black culture of entitlement and anger, then that's racist. They chose to commit a crime, therefore they deserve punishment. That goes for everyone, that's rule of law.

And when you make bad choices or choose bad behaviors, they become habits, they are self-reinforcing. It becomes a downward spiral, and the only way to break a downward spiral is to choose. Because it was always your responsibility for yourself.

I find it funny that real self help boils down to taking responsibility and making better choices. It's your choice, always. Everything else, the planners and etc. is fluff and bullshit without the choice to act differently. Live in the now, make the correct decision.

"Dealt a bad hand"
"Greed is better than apathy, because apathy robs the body of the soul."
"The easiest person to change is yourself, because you have constant access. You're also the hardest person to change."
"I'm looking at the man in the mirror / I'm asking him to make a change..."
"The obstacles in the way, are the way."

AMATEUR THEOLOGY
For your information, I'm not Christian, but I have always thought religion was a fun topic. The theory started by wondering how angels could "fall" from grace. If they are the word of God, how can God betray itself? My answer would be that God chose those angels to fall, because God is all powerful, and therefore the creation of evil was part of God's plan. This DOES NOT MEAN that evil is as valid as good. That's retarded. Evil is not good. They're complete opposites. But evil is a part of the universe which is the creation of God. Maybe it reflects the designer, but again, the painting is not the painter.

So why would God create evil? Because it offers choice. Without evil, good would not exist, there would be no choice and no dimension, no possibility for change. Likewise, without good, evil would not exist. Without choice, humanity would be a bunch of robots or angels, animated by the strings of God without a will or soul of its own. Without the ability to rebel, humanity would not have its depth. But the right to rebel was granted by God through "Lucifer," who is a slave for God's plan. Evil is a consequence of free will and being like God.

Yeah, the whole thing is dangerously close to Luciferianism. But the key is that choice and freedom is not the be-all end-all, but the choice to do good instead of evil. Which is nitpicky on the side of Good is Good. "But what the heck is good anyways? You can't be right all the time," says the lawyer and the Daoist rationalizer. But you know what's good and bad. You know you do. And when you deny what is good or the right decision, you're lying to yourself.

Good is ephemeral and based on your taste, but you know it when you see it. Believing there is no good makes you a miserable, evil person.

"Make the decision you'll regret least." (Levi, from AoT *yeah ikik, still a good quote though.)
"He who sins is lower than the beasts, he who is without sin is higher than the angels." (Paraphrased Rumi)

I think people have two voices, a little Christ and a little Devil on their shoulders. Evil behavior and desire vs. Selflessness and virtue etc. You don't have to be religious to acknowledge the 'duality of man.' 

CHOICE, AGAIN
Choice DOES exist. If free will doesn't exist, you may as well kill yourself. After all, you don't even believe you have the ability to choose whether or not to kill yourself. You're just a consequence of atoms on its inexorable way to blowing your brains out. 

Freedom or Fate? The two feed into each other. As I said, at the end of exposure and environmental factors, choice is the final action. If there is the slightest possibility of choice, you could always have chosen a different path. Even for rape victims. For example, the rape victim had to choose to be at a specific place at a specific time, but fate had to provide a rapist at that place at that time. The rapist has to choose to be a rapist, after whatever caused him to be that way. But, say, even if the rape victim was trained and had weapons, the ending might still be grim, so what can you do? Sometimes fate just fucks you. But still, how we react, how we choose, is always in our hands. You can't let the murky workings of the universe stop you from taking action, that's just an excuse. You may as well blame life.

"C'est la vie, that's just the way it is," right? Wrong. You can make a change. You have to do what you can. It's your responsibility to yourself and to others and blah blah blah. Do you see how hard it is? It's so easy to give in. Keep trying. Do what you can.