A Question of Offense?

It's now rather common to hear people say "I'm rather offended by that."  As if that gives them certain rights. It's actually nothing more... than a whine.  "I find that offensive."  It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase.  "I am offended by that."  Well, so fucking what?

-- Stephen Fry, British actor, comedian, writer

What is one thing that you wish was different?

I wish the League of the Perpetually Offended would stop being perpetually offended at every little thing. It would be nice to get along, again. It’s been 50 years since I saw relative peace between political parties. Now that the socialists/communists have invaded our political system in force, I fear this will not happen soon.  I weep for my country.

How often should a person go off script in their lives?

There’s a script? My ignorance of the grand play is evidence my entire life has probably been “off script” most of the time. Everybody is our cause and effect, so a script is useless. All we can hope for is not feeling like we’re flying by the seat of our pants. We should live each moment as it presents, which means a lot of ad-lib lines in whatever script there is. We were given a basic set of rules to follow, no script. Follow the rules, develop a sense of moral ethics, learn what has to be learned through trial and error, and, hopefully, we’ll move forward into our next life. If you fail, try again, and again, until you get it right. Most importantly, be happy always.

Do you compare yourself with others?

No, and what would be the point? I’m approaching 67 years of age. Even if I gave a damn about how I compare to others, I’m not going to change. I am who I am, who I have always been - me. I can think of no one I’d rather be.

“When we are children or teenagers, most of us experience something which has devastating effects on our growth and own identity. It happens when we are compared to others. "you are like your father, you're like your mother, you are like your friends... it always has a negative meaning. It's not too late to stop comparing yourself to others, it's a challenging lesson to learn, and to carry on a daily basis, it's painful and it takes time for results to be seen, so start today. Start now.”

-- Marino Baccarini, Consultant in Communication, Web Marketing, Social Media

What is something that you've always wanted?

A Bond girl. So beautiful, and they always had such great names.

 Which are some of the photos that bring a smile to your face?

Any photographs of children with a look of wonder or discovery on their faces. Children can teach us much about being happy. We tend to forget.

I don't want to go through the traditional path of college-job-retire, but none of my hobbies can be monetized. What do I do?

So, you just want to go through the traditional path of job-retire, without the college? I say this because when a hobby becomes your income, it is defined as a job. Oh, and it risks no longer being a “fun” hobby.  

What is more important to you, money and work, or sport?

As a retired person, I suppose money would be important since the income is fixed. However, happiness is more important than either of these. I could not enjoy the other three without happiness.

“For a few minutes I tried to empty my mind entirely, to concentrate solely on breathing: sometimes it’s useful to rediscover simpler pleasures of life.”

-- Romain Gary, novelist, diplomat, film director

I really blanked for a second when someone asked me this. What are the things that you know but they don’t know?

How to be truly happy. People say they are, then the whining begins. It is evidence of how little they know themselves.

Why is it that those who try hard, have nothing but those who don’t have everything?

We need to define “everything” and “nothing” before we can really answer this. Philosophically, are those that have nothing happy? Is being happy everything to them? Are those who work hard expecting too much from their labors? Maybe those who try hard should learn from those who do nothing and yet have happiness since their happiness might be making them feel rich.

Life is a classroom full of lessons we must learn. It is about making good choices and decisions. Monetarily, if you do nothing and have everything, what have you really learned about labor, trying, failing, and succeeding? If you work hard and have nothing, what is this teaching you about struggling, a desire to be more than you are, and to rise above your consequence. Which one of the two will truly be more in the end?

Will we be able to cure aging or achieve longevity escape velocity in the near future?

If the inept Chinese government bio-warfare programs don’t kill everyone on the planet first, I hope so.

This was my original answer to the gentleman who asked the question.  I went back and edited it to include the following:  

Spiritually speaking, though, the answer is a bit more simplistic, in my humble opinion.  You must live this life.  We may, at some point, extend our lives to some degree but, sooner or later, by design, we must move on to our next life and from that to the next, and so on.  In this way we do live forever, just not in one life.  And, if we did live forever in one life, how boring would that become?

“The idea of living forever makes me uncomfortable, and at this point I've lived long enough and seen enough Twilight Zone episodes to know that there's always a catch.”

-- Mara Wilson, actress, writer

Why does the wealth gap grow bigger, despite the try-hards working so hard?

Note:  Someone's going to spank me for this answer...

There will probably be some League of the Perpetually Offended spin on an answer to this, but, basically, it has to do more with population growth and capability. Not everybody is capable enough, allowed or not, to work hard enough to get rich. The percentages just don’t bear out any other scenario.

Now let’s throw in politics. Socialists promise free this and free that in an “every four-year promise” never kept. The only function of this promise for “free stuff” is just to get votes from those who buy into it.

Socialists prefer the poor to stay poor, in debt, or on welfare, and where the socialist state can control what they learn and how far they can progress as needed. Those that can, do, and have. Those that can’t, don’t have and dote on those that do.  But, regardless of wealth, everybody will wait in the very long line for toilet paper unless you "have" or you’re a politician.

In this scenario, the gap will grow beyond imagination, but the number of wealthy will shrink to only those chosen few “party members” who can, do, and will soon have.

I have taken over my new role as a team leader during the COVID lockdown. Remotely and as there is no blueprint for this I'm feeling my way through this. What is your best advice for leading remotely?

Stay in contact. Communication is paramount. Be available, and let everyone know when you aren’t. Delegate as needed and ask for short, daily reports on activity, and any issues. May God be with you!

"There are three essentials to leadership: humility, clarity and courage."

-- Fuchan Yuan, Chan Master

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 a chaplain at the regional medical center.