For a long time, I naively believed there was such a thing as "us" and "them." Certain events (particularly, unfortunate ones) happen to certain people for certain reasons, but not to me for a variety of others. What is it that allows us to think like that? Perhaps nothing more than the evolutionary drive of self-preservation. But life's daily experiences, and a few large punctuating events, have taught me that there is no such thing. Luck of birth, cosmic whim, whatever you want to call it - much of what we get in life, good or bad, is chance.
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