People Are People... WHY?

I find it fascinating how other people choose to live their lives.  What happened to make people the way they are and why do they feel the way they do.  Perhaps it's the old actor notion in me that wants to understand people to a degree, but in truth I just want to put my own mind at ease.

For instance, what makes a person who grows up with a shitty father act the same way years later?  I'm not talking about psycho-babble Freudian crap either.  Just trying to find the bones deep truth of it all.  I had a crappy father... which I have made mention of several times before.  But I always felt the best way to handle that was to be a better person in all aspects of my life.  I chose to learn not just from my mistakes but from his... and my brothers as well.  I have no excuses because I know how not to be and what doesn't work.  The key is to keep figuring life out until it makes sense.

I know people aren't born with the answers they need so we have to make it up as we go.  But there is something to be said for common sense which seems to be lost on the masses and observed by the very few.

All I know is, I would never end up in the projects somewhere, cashing welfare checks and dealing drugs to survive... but if I ever were I would get up and move the F--- away... start over somewhere new and attempt to make a life for myself.  I fail to see me being really that much smarter, more dedicated and understanding than 90% of people in this world.  Then again... perhaps I really am born this way... to think for myself and not depend on others to lead me to their dreams.

I always felt that being intelligent is more than being able to calculate complex problems... but it is also trying to see other people's point of view and relate.  An art that is lost on today's world.