Questioning Ourselves Further

"For the wise have always known that no one can make much of his life until self-searching has become a regular habit, until he is able to admit and accept what he finds, and until he patiently and persistently tries to correct what is wrong."

-- Bill W.

What is ‘your’ definition of being the bigger person in an argument?

Control your emotions and you control the argument. They aren’t actually stupid. They might be ignorant of the facts - poorly informed, or believing what they're being told, as in believing reporters or journalists, both of whom are a sorry lot these days. Name-calling is what the League of the Perpetually Offended is all about, and you can be the “bigger person” by not swimming into that shallow end of the gene pool.

Why can't I be funny?

Not everybody is destined to find humor. The universe needs balance. If we were all funny, who would sit in the audience and laugh? 

How vital is it to know how to appropriately mock others?

How vital is it to “tease or laugh at someone in a scornful or contemptuous manner”? It would say more about you than it would say about them, but, then, it would depend on who you were mocking. The government insists on treating the people who pay them in a scornful and contemptuous manner, and they laugh about it. I see no problem going after them in the same scornful and contemptuous manner. Actually, we pay for the right, and they’re supposed to serve at our pleasure.

As a general rule, however, other than elected officials who obviously deserve it, mocking others is bad form and we should rise above the majority of government officials who act like bad acting spoiled children. Just saying.

“We mock that which we don't understand, and then we get to experience it ourselves.”

-- Sarah Gerdes

Why don't people understand looting?

It’s a criminal enterprise that, more times than not, hurts innocent shopkeepers and the community. You aren’t seriously going to try and justify it?

Have you ever “carried your chair" and what do other people say about you when you are carrying your own chair?

“To carry one’s own chair is not a good thing according to the Filipinos I met. It connotes a person who is a braggart, a self-absorbed, snob. I see the cultural value of that. My degree is in Intercultural Communication... oops, picked up the chair. In a society that works together and family and social relationships are key, being self-involved is not so good.”

-- Marilyn Maya Mendoza

Considering I’m not a braggart or a self-absorbed snob, I have no context from which I can draw an answer. But, if I were all of these, my friends would probably shun me, and I would not blame them.

What are the most highly irrational fears?

My house will be hit by a meteor.

“I have only the vaguest memory of a life before fear. Every morning when I wake up there is one blissful second before I took around the room and remember my daily terrors.”

-- Lena Dunham

How many words can you change in an argument until it's not the same argument anymore?

If the argument has gotten to this point, it has become a pointless exercise. Walk away from it.

If all people in the world suddenly have the same face, what would you do to get recognized by other people?

Get a visible one-of-a-kind tattoo on my sexy butt cheek. Not everyone’s butt will be showing their ass and, if they are, I have this tattoo.

How do I explain myself as I am and as I was?

Who you were is no longer an issue. Let it go. Who you are, on the other hand, should require no explanation, unless there is some underlying reason you feel you need to explain yourself to others. You are who you are until you aren’t, and then you are who you are. Let’s not muddy the waters with something that no longer has meaning unless someone who knew you before specifically wants to know why you’re no longer a great person or a great asshole.

“Don't bother explaining—I've heard all the excuses and the trouble is most of them are true.”

-- John Brunner

Just as giving someone power shows their true character, does making them powerless also show what they are really made of?

It stands to reason.

What is “social pressure” and can you give an example of it?

Anytime you feel pressure from those around you to go along with the crowd mentality, especially if you don’t agree with what they’re thinking, this is “social pressure.” Good people doing bad things is usually an example of this, like rioting and looting, and burning cities to the ground. I’m sure many of these people would not normally get involved in this, but if you have a weak mind you can find it hard not to follow the crowd. 

Why, in the past, could someone be something, make a name for oneself? In today's world, you can't be a great gangster nor have an amazing adventure like in the movies, all that we can do now is work like all society does - like robots; no more emotion.

You’ve bought into the socialist philosophy. Become a republican and fight it. Rise above it and become something more.

“You must make a decision that you are going to move on. It wont happen automatically. You will have to rise up and say, ‘I don’t care how hard this is, I don’t care how disappointed I am, I’m not going to let this get the best of me. I’m moving on with my life.”

-- Joel Osteen

"Suppose that a friend when in his right mind has deposited arms with me and he asks them when he is not in his right mind, ought I to give them back?" How would you respond to this?

I would sit down and have a long talk with them about having the arms in the first place. They seem to realize, already, that they are not stable enough to have them around at times. This is a recipe for trouble that can cost lives.

How does seeing the upside to your problems assist you in solving them?

Problems are just lessons we need to learn and move past. If we see them as such, we can see the fruit of knowledge solving them will bring us. Finding a solution, therefore, becomes the impetus for itself.

How do I think like an adventurer?

Become one. My girlfriend says you first have to put on your “Indiana Jones” fedora. Explore, discover, do things people around you probably wouldn’t do. I became a true adventurer by joining the military. Not for everyone, but it worked for me.

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”

-- Hunter S. Thompson

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.