Short Answers to Easy Questions

The short answer is, "NO."  

The long answer is, "Oh, HELL no!"

-- Unknown

SHORT ANSWERS

What is a perfect solitaire score?

A win.

How do you say “more than happy”?

Happier?

Why do some people want everything but have nothing to offer?

Selfish greed.

Selfishness and greed, individual or national, cause most of our troubles.

-- Harry S. Truman (1884-1972), 33rd President of the United States

What are some universally uncontested truths?

Change is the only universal constant.

At the turn of the year, exactly 12:00 am January first, 2021, a global voice is heard saying “stage one complete.” What's your next move?

Change my underwear.

What is something that pretty much everybody disagrees with?

Who should be President of the United States.

What do you feel is the ultimate good that a human being can strive for?

Happiness is the ultimate good to strive for.

"When you find out there is no ultimate good and evil in which you can place your faith, the world does not fall apart at the seams. It simply means that every decision is more difficult, more critical, because you are creating the good and evil yourself and they are very real."

--Anne Rice, author

 

MEDIUM ANSWERS 

What movie is best at promoting a "never give up" attitude?

The biopic, Hacksaw Ridge. It shows how even a religious conscientious objector, wanting to serve his country, can save a multitude of lives, including the enemy, during the heat of battle, get wounded, and go back up the ridge to do it all again.

What is it called when we don't have any choices in life?

Dead.  (This could have been a "short" answer, but...)

Life is all about choices, and life is also what you make of it. If you have no choices, you aren’t trying. Make your first choice a good one by changing your situation so you're free to have choices.

What are the things that change?

Everything changes. Change is the hardest thing for humans to cope with and, yet, it is the only true constant in the universe.  We tend to fight change and then find that the change was not all that bad, or was pretty darned good and necessary.  It is what it is until it isn't, and then it is what it is... again.

“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

-- Rob Siltanen, creative marketer, advertising CEO, writer

Would it be better to find your joy or find happiness in life?

There’s a difference? When I found joy I also found happiness, and being very happy makes me overjoyed. I find it's always good to be happy always!  I think Joy would agree with this.

What should I think about on my last day at school?

“HOLY CRAP! I did it!”
And now, the rest of your life begins.

How do I love the people I hate on the outside but love on the inside?

Uh… you already do. Your problem is hating them. Hate is an ugly thing and will soon feed off of you. Better to be honest with those you love but dislike and let everything else go. Strive to be happy always.

Comment: They hate me too. So I guess that means they're afraid of me. Even though their's was imagined, mine wasn't. They gave me every reason to fear them, and in that pain, grew reasons to hate them.  Fear is the opposite chemically in the body to love.

Reply:  And, yet, you love them on the inside.  Pick a chemical and stick with it.  I would choose love, even if it means letting them go. 

“I hate and love. And why, perhaps you’ll ask.
I don’t know: but I feel, and I’m tormented.”

-- Catullus (84 BC-54 BC), poet

LONG ANSWERS 

Do you think your life deserves one more shot? Or just let it be.

Let it be. It is what it is. If you failed, learn from it and move forward. Life is all about learning and, most importantly, learning to be happy always, even in the face of failure, which is simply the best way there is to learn the lessons we are here to learn. It is what it is until it isn’t, and then it is what it is… again.

How do you make a girl love herself?

You don’t. She must find this love herself, or it is just your desires, or those of others, being forced on her. She needs to approve of herself and understand that any failure is just a lesson to be learned so she can grow and move on. She needs to be happy always. These are things we can mentor, but we can’t force. The recipient of the knowledge must want to learn. 

What is one thing we can ALL be?

Achievable! We can all achieve something, but the choice to do so is up to each of us to do so. We only limit ourselves by our physical and learning abilities. But, everyone is capable to achieve something worthwhile for themselves or others. What is so very important is to stop the constant complaining and do something, anything, to change your circumstance and that of those around you. Strive to be happy always and stay away from the League of the Perpetually Offended.

Should I be twelve and have my life planned out step by step?

Yes, to keep you safe, at least until you’re sixteen. At sixteen all hell breaks loose and things will change in you, mentally and physically, whether you want them to or not. The problem with long-term plans? Change is the only constant in the universe. The most we can strive for is to be happy always, everything else is gravy and drama.

“The true definition of mental illness is when the majority of your time is spent in the past or future, but rarely living in the realism of NOW.”

-- Shannon L. Alder, author

REALLY LONG ANSWERS 

Why are there always pros and cons to every situation? Why can't it just be all good?

The universe is all about balance. If all was good, how would you know bad, and vice versa? Evil and righteousness, good and bad, light and dark, all give us our sense of opposites. What we can do, is stop looking at things in a negative light. Failure, for instance, is the best way we learn a lesson. Don’t dwell on the failure; learn from it, figure out where you went wrong, and then try again until you succeed. Dark is simply the absence of light, bad is simply the absence of good, failure is simply the absence of success. So, understanding the simplicity of life, turn on a light, strive for good, and learn to succeed.

What is "philosophical misanthropy"?

Philosophy Now has a good handle on Philosophical Misanthropy:

“The condemnation of humankind is very topical these days. Given the global environmental crisis, the rise of far-right ideologies, destabilising social and economic equality, and other moral evils, many people issue denunciations of the state of humanity. Sometimes, the talk is just that – talk: expressions of frustration at our collective moral failings. Sometimes, though, there is a more practical spirit. At the more extreme end are those people who urge the end of our species, such as anti-natalists, including the Voluntary Human Extinction movement, who say humanity should stop reproducing. More moderate positions include those calling for a radical transformation of humanity, perhaps in the direction of smaller, simpler ways of life. The collapse of our industrial, consumerist form of life may be succeeded by life with a different, hopefully better, character – a hope offered for example by philosopher and Green activist Rupert Read in his recent book, Civilization is Finished (2019).

An appropriate term for these exercises in the moral condemnation of humanity is misanthropy.

In its everyday sense, a misanthrope is someone who hates, dislikes, or feels disgust at human beings and tries to avoid them. The title character of Molière’s 1666 play, The Misanthrope, Alceste, declares that he ‘hate[s] all men’, some ‘villainous’ and others complicit in their ‘evil’. By the end of the play, the misanthrope declares his desire to flee his corrupt and corrupting society.”  -- Ian James Kidd

How do we move on without forgetting someone who changed our lives in a way?

Why would you want to? Change is part of our personal history. If we forget history we might have to repeat it, and if the history is bad so will be the repeat performance of it. My ex-wife changed my life in a few bad ways, but these bad ways also changed my life for the better. I proved to myself I can rise above her and move on, striving to be happy always. Why would I want to forget this? No. We learn from our mistakes and our failures. These are lessons we must take with us so we can survive How do we move on without forgetting? One foot in front of the other, smiling in the knowledge we will always be okay because happiness is a conscious choice each of us must make for ourselves. 

A good muse

gives you calm seas

and storms

to make you kiss the shore.

-- Atticus, poet

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.