More and More Questions

“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.”

-- Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), author, journalist

What can be your biggest dream in life?

To be truly happy always. True happiness escapes most people. They think they’re happy, but they move in and out of the emotion; this is not true happiness. We need to learn how to be happy always.

What ethics best suit you?

Good ethics. What is the point of having bad ethics, unless, of course, you’re a bad person? By definition, ethics are “moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity” and the “branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles.” Bad ethics are usually evidenced by a person’s selfish attitude. So, for most selfless people of good character, good ethics are a must. Of course, I'm a self-proclaimed hypocrite who would advise doing what I say, not as I do. So, don't go by me.

Does one always deserve what they get?

I suppose it depends on if you believe we are in charge of our own lives. Life is all about the choices and decisions we make. If this is taken as truth, then whether the choice is good or bad we will deserve the consequences of our choice. Since it was our choice, who else are we to blame?

“When you choose an action, you choose the consequences of that action. When you desire a consequence you had damned well better take the action that would create it.”

-- Lois McMaster Bujold, author

Is it better to be a failure as a good person than being a successful bad person?

Why would you want to be a bad person? If you find success, what did it cost you? What part of your soul did you relinquish for success? If I’m a failure as a good person, I still have my pride. I can still hold my head high because I did not sacrifice my ethics for success. Did I fail? Yes, and in failure there is learning. I must learn why good did not triumph and then try again to succeed. Then again, perhaps the path is not one I should be following and my failure was a message to look elsewhere for “righteous” success. 

How is all you really are, waiting for you to catch up?

When I went into the military, I really didn’t know if I was going to make it. I weighed in at a buck forty-five and was still trying to gain height. I was one of the smallest kids in high school. A lot of people wash out of basic training because they just don’t have what it takes. They don’t have the will to succeed, or physical ability. I didn’t know if I could measure up and become all I could be, and this was important to me because all I could be is who I really was.

All I could be was waiting for me at the end of basic training. It was waiting again for me at the end of tech school, the NCO Academy, the Senior NCO Academy, and, yet again, at my retirement after 23 years. Somewhere in all that testosterone, I became a man, developed a sense of ethics, loyalty, and honor.

In the next moment, and every moment after that, who I really am will always be waiting there for me to catch up. When I die and am reborn, who I really am will be with me again, and always.  It is what it is until it isn't, and then it is what it is... again.

If one is born into a family in an apartment w/no land to grow food, no streams to get water, no family business networks/upward opportunities; isn’t that serfdom 2.0? Since you’re almost entirely dependent on others to provide basic things for you?

Yes! Now, here is the test. How does this person pull themselves up from this well of misery to make their own opportunities and not be dependent on others? Or, they can accept their lot in life, the cards they've been dealt, go on welfare and continue to vote people into office who pay their way through life as long as they vote them into office. How about they do what no one expects? How about they work your ass off to make a better life for themselves and their family, so their children don’t find themselves voting for the same masters. It is a concept.

“Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value.”

-- Albert Einstein (1879-1955), theoretical physicist

How do we live a good life without money?

Be happy always. Poor or rich, life is about the choices we make. Make the choice and learn to be happy always, regardless of wealth.

What are thoughts?  

Uh… I’ll have to think about that.  (Again, I tried hard to not be a smartass)

How will you make your tomorrow better than your past?

The past is lessons we must learn from so we can make today, this moment, better than before. The choices and decisions we make at this moment will have great bearing on the next moment. Therefore, we must always pay great attention to the moment. If there is a tomorrow, we will deal with it when, and if, it arrives, but our best decision making at this moment will, hopefully, assist in making the next moment brighter. 

“Choices made, whether bad or good, follow you forever and affect everyone in their path one way or another.”

-- J.E.B. Spredemann, author

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with the United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world-renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead Chaplain and Chaplain Program Liaison, at the regional medical center.