Questioning Fact, Fiction, and Life

 

“The truth will set you free, but first,

it will piss you off.”

-- Joe Klaas

How does anyone know what they know is the truth?

The “truth” is a greased hog in many instances. Basic math tells us that 1+1=2, yet when we enter the realm of physics, math is malleable, subjective. How we look at facts depends on who is doing the looking.

For the most part, it is easy to separate fact, from opinion, but as with today's lackluster journalism we find doing your own due diligence, to ferret out fact from bullshit, is a study worth the effort since what we’re told is less based on fact and more someone’s personal opinion. With socialism breathing down our collective neck, lies and propaganda are going to become the norm.

What we finally think is truth, is probably based on our faith in what we understand. Faith, however, is a belief in something for which there is little or no proof. How does anyone know what the truth is? Research, and faith.

Comment: Agree … one thing … what crap is this socialism down out necks thing.

My reply: “The useful idiots, the leftists who are idealistically believing in the beauty of the Soviet socialist or Communist or whatever system, when they get disillusioned, they become the worst enemies. That’s why my KGB instructors specifically made the point: never bother with leftists. Forget about these political prostitutes. Aim higher. They serve a purpose only at the stage of destabilization of a nation. For example, your leftists in the United States: all these professors and all these beautiful civil rights defenders. They are instrumental in the process of the subversion only to destabilize a nation. When their job is completed, they are not needed anymore. They know too much. Some of them, when they get disillusioned, when they see that Marxist-Leninists come to power—obviously they get offended—they think that they will come to power. That will never happen, of course. They will be lined up against the wall and shot.” -- Yuri Bezmenov (1939-1993), former Soviet journalist and KGB informant

Comment to my reply:  Hope your KKK club or the Proud boys give you a kiss and the usual big boy welcome.

Note to my readers:  Once again, the League of the Perpetually Offended has offered their usual "intelligent" response to a cogent thought.  How do I know they're a member of the League?  I'm called a fascist or racist because I call facists and  racists to task for calling non-facists or racists facists or racists.  This is why I try not to get into it with them. Not to mention, this is the person who asked my opinion, about truth, in the first place.  This "gentleman" never learned history, but setting people up so they can be offended is what they do, ignorant or not.  They make my head hurt.

What choices in life should I make if I want to become a doer instead of a dreamer?

Easy question with an easier answer: First, stop dreaming. Second, get involved in what you’re dreaming about. Third, embrace the little accepted fact that life really isn’t this hard.

How do I have faith that never fails?

Develop and hold true to a moral set of ethics. Always hope for the best, but always plan for the worst, in this way you will usually win. Think before speaking, and when do speak ask an intelligent question or make a cogent point, don’t just exercise your pie hole. And, finally, embrace the fact that faith is simply a belief in something for which there is little or no proof. Even the strongest faith fails when the truth is out. This is why it is incumbent on atheists, to prove God does not exist. Until the proof is presented, deists will always have faith in God’s existence. The atheist’s problem, however, is they can’t, any more than the deist can. But, there is always faith that never fails.

“I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?”

-- John Lennon

Is sighing necessary?

For non-verbal communication, yes. It’s body language, like smiling, laughing, frowning, eye contact or lack of it, and such.  Sighing is as necessary as laughing.  Is laughing necessary?  

How do you want to accomplish your life?

I’ll give you a hint. I’ll answer that on my 100th birthday.

If you could have a one-on-one masterclass with any person (alive or not), who would you chose and why?

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama. If anyone can impart how to mentor happiness, it would be him.

“Stupid conversations always make sense when you are talking to someone special.”

-- Unknown

I think I have depression. Is it because of my evil stepdad?

What’s not to be depressed about? He’s your stepdad, and he’s evil. The best thing you can do is strive to be happy always. If he’s truly evil, constant happiness will just drive him up the wall.

What is Ho'oponopono?

It is a Hawaiian prayer for forgiveness. “I'm sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you, I love you.” 

What kind of questions/topics will awaken my desire to know about myself and help me to know about myself better?

Read Zen and Taoist philosophy. Worked for me.

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”

-- Lao Tzu

What do you think it means to love yourself?

Develop a moral sense of ethics and then think of yourself, above all else. In this way you know you will selflessly be there for others. You will work hard, be honest and fair, and always do the right thing. If you violate your moral sense of ethics, what would that say about how much you love yourself? Your code of ethics defines who you are. You must, first, always think of yourself, your code of ethics, in all things you do. 

You were thinking platonically, right?  If not, this answer really sucks.

Is striving for happiness really in everyone's best interest?

Yes, but, more importantly, it is in your best interest. You have to fix yourself first before you can truly worry about what is in everybody else’s best interest. 

Do you agree or disagree with famous psychologist Victor Frankl who said that “happiness can’t be pursued; it must ensue"?

Happiness is a choice. You can pursue it but, eventually, you have to make the conscious choice to be happy always. Whether rich or poor, being constantly happy is something we should all strive for. Money can’t buy true happiness, it comes from inside. It comes from what we selflessly do for others. It comes from taking time to smell the roses, and enjoying watching a child’s innocence, and smile. It comes from taking time to talk to old folks feeding the pigeons in the park and laughing with them. It comes from walking barefoot on a sandy beach or a grassy knoll and listening to the nature around you. These are things money can’t buy.

“A man wants to earn money in order to be happy, and his whole effort and the best of a life are devoted to the earning of that money. Happiness is forgotten; the means are taken for the end.”

-- Albert Camus

Is an appeal to ignorance an excuse?

Admitting to your ignorance is never an excuse. It is sad, but not an excuse.

After a disagreement with a coworker or neighbor, does narrating your side to everyone you meet help? If it does, how?

It might heal a bruised ego, but it's pretty immature. 

Can philosophy be a hobby?

Is it, for most philosophers nowadays. I myself wax philosophical most days as I spout Quasi-Wisdom From the Semi-Ancient Pie Hole. Nobody pays any attention, however.

Reality is what it is, and what it ain't, it ain't.
Sometimes, what it is it ain't, and what it ain't, well... it is.
Other times it is nothing, and then it ain't nothing.
But, if it is nothing, it ain't, and if it ain't nothing, it is.
Acknowledging nothing gives nothing existence;
Therefore, whether it is or it ain't, it must be,
Because even nothing that ain't, already is.

-- Yep!  It's just me!

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.