Hello! 

Welcome to Slash & Byrne where I, Bella Byrne of the Race Street Company, will present a topic to the streets from time to time to be debated and discussed.  As a rule, I will be using classical philosophical debate questions, but occasionally may accept suggestions and questions from our particpants to be used if they are particularly timely or strike my fancy. 

⚠️WARNING:⚠️ 

PLEASE remember that mobsters responding to this particular discussion may not share the views of their ancestors or their future children.  Many of us speak from our own personal experiences of THIS LIFETIME and NOT as the whole of our lineage.  As such controversial thoughts had by this person may not be shared by their future sons or daughters.

Opinions expressed here as they may not represent an accurate image of EVERYTHING that person's bloodline stands for.

We good?

Good, let's begin.

FATE AND FREE WILL

So whether you are religious or not, you probably have a belief in some form of "Free Will" but  maybe you also think about all of us having a fate that is knowable by a supreme being or God(s)... well, can you really believe in both and if so, how do those ideas live in harmony for you?

WHAT'S FREE WILL?

the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion.

WHAT IS FATE?

the development of events beyond a person's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power.

By the definition above, Free Will excludes the possibility of Fate... but maybe you don't see it this way? 

1. Do you make your own decisions or are you an actor in a play that the script is already written for?  Or is it some combination?
2. Do you think about these things when you share the stories of your life in the streets? 
3. How does this inform your beliefs, hopes, dreams and goals. 
4. Is it WRONG to believe in fate or free will?  Why or Why not?

Let's hear it, Mobsters and Molls... what say you on this topic?

With the crowd dispersing from another street corner discussion of debatable substance, Adonis followed Isabella, who was carrying on about some form of debate somewhere else. Maybe, in a funny twist of fate, the guy that sparked the original slander fest had done the thing he was possibly meaning to do.

He didn't seem like a smart one to Joe Adonis, so he just chalked this new turn of events up to the hands of the God's. But if this was what the people wanted more of, namely a very minute and select few who kept trying to speak for the majority, then fuck it, Joe was going to partake. There had to be something about these things that got the very small number into a frenzy now and then, all negative and dangerous with their story time abuse.

Taking note of the current topic, Adonis nodded a few times as he rubbed his hand against his freshly shaven chin and cheeks. He'd lived a life that had changed drastically from where it began. So much so, given the question regarding free will and fate, his history and experiences gave hints of both at work...

Joe believed in the divine. Not always, though. He originally chose his nickname as an egotistical boost alongside his decision to let loose on the underworld. To have something to prop him up. He heard the stories of the God's, the Greek and Roman, from an old friend. Red was her name. He couldn't read for shit. Never really wanted to. All he wanted was to smash his knuckles against whomever was in front of him to help ease the burden of feeling empty inside.

As time trickled along, that all changed. Events that unfolded in his life had him thinking outside the box. It was no longer all about what could or couldn't be done by what he balled up at the end of his sleeves. It became a dance. He'd throw himself into situation after situation and see the workings of something greater by the way he'd always seem to walk away, to drink, fuck and fight another day.

Then there was Ilaria. Fate, had brought them together he would often muse. She came into his life like a whisper on the winds of 'meant to be', that slowly got louder until the God's were shouting Adontoro from the streets. It was at a pivotal time. One where if he hadn't met her, none of what had now come to pass would be, at all, especially the crew he was tasked with running.

If it weren't for her, there would be no Midas. That much he always knew. So whatever forces played a part in her entrance into his alcoholic, poker and brothel driven life, he knew they weren't of his own doing. His sights were set on the material world. He had no desire for things of the heart. But now look at him, them, running an airline that trafficked drugs across the country. He'd never have a need for money again. But was that solely his doing?

And Joe's legacy. His views on that too had also changed. Once upon a time he feared living old. He'd rather have died young and with money, than live old and without. He believed his legacy hinged on how well he would do hoarding riches and how many newspaper headlines he would be able to capture during those adventures.

But, with a kid on the way, his legacy was no longer down to his own choices, his own free will. It was now about setting things up well enough so that whatever came after him would be able to carry it on and then some. So in that sense, didn't fate also play a role? That unknown variable he'd no longer personally have control over after his days were dust?

His life was a dance, a swing of choice and synchronicity. He didn't believe one over the other, yet did have an idea on how he'd like to answer this intriguing topic. After clearing his throat and deciding where to start, Adonis chimed in.

"I have to say in all, I believe in both. Yet if we have to cut right to the core, Fate is what I believe to be what is more true or real. I'm not sure that's the question, but I'll try explain it.

Free will I think is an illusion when you realize that there is something else at work. We have choices, but do we really? If whatever we choose becomes written in stone, then aren't they one and the same thing? One leading into the other, that nods at that which is leading it?

If the God's are behind creation, then isn't free will their will anyways?

I've lived an egotistical life. I always believed my destiny was in my hands. I had the ability to make it what I wanted. And I really did. I set my goals and got to making shit happen. But after awhile, I started to look to nature more and more. And what I found was something that tied everything together.

I like to think my efforts are only mine and nothing else. But I can't shake the idea that there is something at work even behind my own will!"

Fate or free will...I hadn't thought about it really. Would it be fate for members of a faily to keep dying one way or another, or was said members choosing that end  game? Of course everyone says fate when you meet that one person, right...who know really.. couldn't it be either, maybe both? I don't know much about fate though myself.. maybe thats more of a hopeless romantics thing. Thw whole stars are aligned, star crossed lovers and stuff like in the novels with the embraced people without an ounce of fat on them, and the guy of course has like a 12 pack just right there ....Fate or free  will... hmm... something to maybe think about

John was walking about with his horse trailing behind him when he heard a voice starting to speak. He turned to see some fancy lady and heard her talking about fate and free will and acting.....well maybe he didn't get everything right at first. Today he felt a bit more talkative than usual so he thought he would add his two cents to the conversation.

"Now, I don't know much about no fate. My father was a religious man who would have agreed with that side of the conversation. I ain't got much of an idea of whether or not there is a God out there making decisions for everybody like it's all one big chess board. What I do know, is that my body don't go moving about or making decisions without it usually coming from my own thoughts." He paused to ponder his thoughts further

"I mean we would never really know if every single thing we said or did was 'scripted' as you put it. Possibly my script says 'big dumb cowboy who don't know nothin and thinks fate don't exist' and I would never know the wiser. I still like to think that we all control our own thoughts and actions, it's just the outcome or consequences that we can't always control. That's sometimes controlled by others."

There were probably others out there who thought like his father did. Some who were less impacted by faith and just felt that there might be SOME sort of power out there even if it was just the same as gravity causing an apple to fall from a tree or a man from his horse. Rather than it being a God, it could have just been some force of nature we called fate. It was a bit of a mind boggling thought now that he got deeper into it. This was why he usually left the bigger thinkin to others. 

"When I share stories or talk with other people, this whole topic don't usually impact what I say or feel okay sharing with them. I just say what I say. I just....say what I feel like I want to say at the time and no more. At the end of the day I really don't have much of a worry in regards to fate or the outcome of all this. I'll try to do what I want and accomplish what I can. Hopefully things turn out alright."

He turned back and took a bottle of whiskey out of the saddle. Taking a swig from the bottle he wiped his mouth and placed the bottle back. Following that he decided to hop back on top of his horse.

"Oh yeah, about the last question you had. No I don't think it's wrong to believe in fate or free will by itself. Although I do think that people can take it too far. If they believe too much in free will and try to do whatever they want, that can end poorly for them or others. They cold also be too trusting in fate and never truly break out of their shell. I mean, how much could you really accomplish or strive for if you just go through the motions each day thinking it's all fate." He smiled as a thought came to his mind making him feel like maybe he could get into this philosophical stuff a bit more.

"I mean, is it truly fate if you continue to strive for more and to do better while still thinking it is fate? Would that not be your own free will driving you to do better and just filling in the blanks with the explanation of some higher power? It really is an odd subject the more and more you try to grasp it." He tipped his hat at the woman known as Isabella and began to move his horse down the street.

From death to birth. From revenge to mercy. From greed to poverty. Each unveils as the sequence of life unfolds, constituted through a Supernatural force. Are we really questioning fate and free will, or should the question be worded differently? Let me uncover my hidden supernatural force first, it lies in a small metallic piece cocked inside a device by my side. Should God decide to take a life, he can do so with a contraction of the fingertips. If I thought Jimmy's lifelong principles and hopes were not to hold existence in our reality, all it takes is from me is a contraction. Jimmy no longer exists. So I beg to ask, am I God? Or is reality too simple for our brains to comprehend? A lack of an answer does not justify another. If you cannot accept reality, however messed up it is, then you'd fall into an everlasting cycle of thought regarding an impossible utopia promised by an eternal being, thought to be the answer to everything. Wake up, better yet, get up. Life is the driver and time is its vehicle, and you are its passenger. Should life crash, so will you.