Medieval Christian theology used this phrase, as modern theologians know — "why some, not others" for the so-called "mystery of salvation."
So, why do some people go to hell despite the "loving arms" of a dual-omni, omnipotent and omnibenevolent, deity? Catholics noted god's acting first in grace, but cite "prevenient grace," that is, god foreseeing receptivity in some humans. Orthodox are broadly similar. The Protestant Reformers rejected that. Calvin ultimately took the logical road of double predestination, later rejected by Jacob Arminius in the Netherlands, whose teachings seeped into Methodism, and basically, most modern American evangelical Protestantism, which tries to avoid the issue of "election" by god or not in general. Luther went with the illogical single predestination, not wanting to blame god for sending some people to hell, but refused to accept the truth that not to choose is itself a choice.
(If you're a believer in Eastern religions, re getting through karma, it's no mystery at all; you simply didn't do enough. If you're an Orthodox Jew, it's basically a mix of not doing enough and not professing the Shema and understanding Yahweh correctly. If you're a traditional Muslim? Oops; kismet is just kicking the ball down the road like Christian doctrine.)
"Cur alii, non alii" can be applied to things both serious and frivolous outside of Christian election and salvation.
For example, why does some of the white working class allegedly (I said ALLEGEDLY) vote its interest by voting Democrat (ALLEGEDLY supporting workers, but more and more, nationally helmed by neoliberals who ignore things like unionization when not actively helping oppose union drives) rather than voting Republican, as many now do? (Actually, with the second ALLEGEDLY parenthesis, this one isn't a total mystery.)
For me, there's something else.
"Cur alii, non alii" on addiction and sobriety.
Why do some people who have long-term addiction problems, whether to illicit drugs, scrips, or alcohol (I'm setting nicotine aside due to the power of its physical/chemical addiction), who know, and admit to others, that they have such problems, who know that moderation of their chemical use isn't working for them, who have had social or even legal problems due to this, and who are seeking help from sobriety programs and/or counselors, "not get it"?
Why don't they stay sober after a certain amount of time, especially if they get past the first weeks and physical cravings are gone? (Most drugs both licit and illicit do not have that high of a physical addiction threshold. Psychological addiction is another story.)
Have they not totally self-elected, that is, have they, whether consciously or subconsciously (and I believe it's a choice even when subconscious) not "locked in" this decision?
Yes, there are "reasons" that sobriety gets challenged. But? Some people stay sober even through these challenges, including sheer boredom. Others do not.
In the world of addiction, some people have extra challenges, such as mental health issues such as depression or bipolar disorder; others have backgrounds of abusive childhoods. Yet, within the same backgrounds, some people attain, achieve and hold onto sobriety, and others do not. Cur alii, non alii?
Back to the political world. Hardcore conservatives can, reportedly, learn new thinking tricks. Just get them to stop watching Fox for a month. That said, does the effect stick? Both the effect of being better critical thinkers, and what caused it — not watching Fox. There are plenty of "90 day wonders" in the sobriety world, after all. And, on the Fox watchers, people were paid to watch CNN, which means it's nowhere near a double-blinded study, and therefore, of little value. Whether paid or not for saying they were better at critical thinking, the participants who watched CNN might have said that for the researchers' benefit. Cur alii, non alii?
At some point, per any great matter of human psychology, per Yeshua bar Yusuf, one has to preach to the lost, and "catechize" them afterward. Those who still leave themselves an out, an escape hatch, know where to return to.
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