A Few Questions Concerning Concern

“The fact is, there is no foundation, no secure ground, upon which people may stand today if it isn’t the family. If you don’t have the support and love and caring and concern that you get from a family, you don’t have much at all. Love is so supremely important. As our great poet Auden said, ‘Love each other or perish’.”

-- Mitch Albom

Should employees shine the spotlight on black coworkers? Would this make the corporation appear more diverse?

It might make the "appear" to be more diverse, but is this the way they truly feel?  Why proliferate racism? This is what generates “systemic” racism. A worker is a worker. Your ability and your desire to succeed will set you apart, not your race. We need to work on equality, not keep pushing that “only black lives matter.” Everyone matters, and we won’t get there by spotlighting one over another due to race.

Can I consider people friends who I only hung out with a few times and hardly keep in touch? I try to communicate with them once in a while to see how they're doing, but they never text first or reach out unless I call or text them.

So, are you gauging the depth of your friendship by what friendship they give in return, or are you a selfless friend? What you do or feel should have no bearing on them. Be you.

Could someone explain to me the differences in these sentences: “The media will have you thinking politicians are good people” and “The media will have you think politicians are good people”?

They’re basically the same thing. Nowadays, the media cows to a single political party and reports what that party wants to hear, so whether you think short term or are thinking long term, you’re are going to believe what they want you to believe… unless you are thinking for yourself, and, if you are, there are gulags in planning for people like you.

“It may well be that we will have to repent in this generation. Not merely for the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence and indifference of the good people who sit around and say, "Wait on time.”

-- Martin Luther King Jr.

What does it mean to be labeled "honorary white"?

Whatever it means, it is a racist comment, like Black Lives Matter. Let us understand that all of us matter and get past this "honorary" bullshit.  The racist that said this rides in the same lowbrow car as the racists who believe it.  This is how we proliferate racist attitudes, like "systemic" racism, which there are laws against, but nobody makes use of them.  All these fedeal courts full of liberal judges and nobody uses the law to their benfit?  It makes a person's head hurt.

What does it mean when someone is "having a paddy"?

I’m gonna take a wild stab at this and say they’re throwing a fit.

What do you say about someone whose philosophy is "everything can be bent if it means achieving my goals" and his goals are for the greater good of humanity?

Nothing to be proud of here.  If "everything" includes morality, ethics, and the law, it doesn’t say much about them as a person except that they’re selfishly immoral, unethical, and probably criminal in their approach to life.  What have they truly achieved to cement their happiness?

“Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.”

-- C.S. Lewis

Do teachers really mean it when they say that you are a lucky child and that you have a bright future ahead when you don't think so?

If the teacher is a member of a union that says it’s okay for them not to teach you while they collect your parent’s hard-earned tax dollars and sit on their ass, I’d be suspect of anything they say. Besides, no one has a bright future in a socialist world without freedom.

Could you describe with an example “direct purpose” and “indirect purpose”?

1.  Direct Purcpose:  The garbage needs to be taken out.  I tell my young son he will get a stipend, an allowance if he takes the trash out nightly.

Indirect Purpose:  This will also help to teach him responsibility for the future.

2.  Direct Purpose:  I will take him to the store so he can spend his hard-earned money oncrap.

Indirect Purpose:  We pass by the bicycles, and he looks. The bikes might teach him the value of saving that money for something he really wants, instead of crap.

What is the difference between saying one thing and doing another?

Another trick question. The difference is, you’re saying one thing and doing another. This is the quintessential description of hypocrisy.  Example:  This is the difference between a President making promises and keeping them, or a President making promises and then doing something else.  Just saying.

“We are all hypocrites. We cannot see ourselves or judge ourselves the way we see and judge others.”

-- José Emilio Pacheco

Repeating what professionals say without question doesn't make you intelligent. Does it mean you are simply a parrot?

Yes. Repeating what most professional politicians say would define, at least, two idiots in the world.

What exactly is "it" referring to in the phrase "move it or lose it"?

“It” refers to whatever “it” is they want you to move. Usually, it refers to your ass being in the wrong spot.

I am scared to truly open up to my friend because I have this fear that I will be judged and they will see it as attention-seeking. I think it's basically a fear of rejection. How do I break this feeling?

They’re your friend. Open up to them and you break the feeling, or not, but you’ll never know what will happen until you do. Remember, they’re your friend. How they react will evidence what kind of friend they are.

“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.”

-- Elbert Hubbard

Can you make a sentence with the word “floor”?

"Nice floor."  And the purpose of this exercise was...?

Can you make a sentence with the word “wrong”?

“You’re wrong.” You’re killing me here. These are too tough.

How do I impress a girl when we first meet?

Be respectful and polite. Open doors for her and be considerate. You know, like most other people aren’t. It might blow her mind, but you’ll look good.

I am 16. Is it right for my parents to go through my phone?

You 16. You’re not an adult. They are responsible for you until you are. The real concern here? Well, is there any reason they shouldn't be going through your phone?

“Through the blur, I wondered if I was alone or if other parents felt the same way I did - that everything involving our children was painful in some way. The emotions, whether they were joy, sorrow, love or pride, were so deep and sharp that in the end they left you raw, exposed and yes, in pain. The human heart was not designed to beat outside the human body and yet, each child represented just that - a parent's heart bared, beating forever outside its chest.”

-- Debra Ginsberg

 

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 volunteered as a chaplain at the regional medical center.