Freedom has always been the number one thing for me. Not that I don’t agree that i have responsibilities to society, but rather, as you say, to choose which sacrifices and not have them dictated by another person.

I don’t see this as a cultural thing in itself. Yes, I’m in the west, but there is still a lot of pressure to conform. Pushing back against that pressure is hard because people don’t recognize it exists – they will deny there’s pressure to conform, while at the same time demanding that you agree with them.