Questioning Ethics, Ethics, and More Ethics

“There has to be a cut-off somewhere between the freedom of expression and a graphically explicit free-for-all.”

-- E.A. Bucchianeri

If a person lacks ‘common sense”, is there anything that person can do to acquire it (at least occasionally)?

Common sense isn’t common anymore. That ship sailed long ago. Good sense can be acquired by exercising a sense of good, moral, ethics. Good sense is knowing not to skydive out of a perfectly good aircraft with the bimbo you met at the club last night and using a parachute her estranged husband has packed. Did he get enough sleep, or did the new baby keep him up because mommy was out with you? She rubs up against you so there’s definitely trouble in paradise, maybe enough for him to drink to forget. Are they drinking to forget? Is he hungover? Yea, let’s use the chute he packed, shall we? Good sense would say visit the airport bar and cheer everyone on as they takeoff. Make certain you sit with your back to the wall, though. Her husband’s done packing chutes for the day.

What can't you get if you are bad?

Parole. Oh, okay, maybe in New York. Okay, and San Francisco. Alright, but Seattle is it, no more.

Are there any life lessons you can tell me?

Get a job and stay out of debt. If you don’t want the responsibility of children, keep your pants zipped or take precautions. Don’t date people who smell bad. If you do, double up on the precautions. Don’t drink to excess. If you do, stay out of debt, keep your pants zipped, more precautions, especially if your nose still works. If your job seriously sucks, reread this paragraph and look for a better job. The best life lesson I can impart is to strive to be happy always. Oh, and keep reading this until the “cluebird” lands.

“Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.”

-- Roy T. Bennett

What is something that was taught wrong in books?

History, for the most part. The winners always write the history as they see it. The losers always seem to have a different take on things. Somewhere in the middle, we find the truth. But, it makes you wonder, why we blindly believe the winner?

What can't you get if you are not good?

Positive reinforcement.

Why is knowing who you are and what you stand for so important?

What you stand for defines who you are, and knowing who you really are is very important especially to yourself. It is also important that others know what they can expect of your personal code of moral ethics, that you will never compromise them tells everyone the kind of person they can count on.

“Heroes are not made. They are born out of circumstances and rise to the occasion when their spirit can no longer coexist with the hypocrisy of injustice to others.”

-- Shannon L. Alder

How do you clearly define your identity and true self? Also, are there any factors to consider?

We are all clearly defined by our moral code of personal moral ethics. If we compromise what we believe, what kind of person does this say we are? Your “true self” will be evidenced by how you hold to your ethics. Make them good.

What might someone make a stand for?

Anything that threatens a person’s moral ethics. Freedom would be a big one because without freedom you wouldn’t be able to have moral ethics. Your ethics will be what the state says they will be, moral or not. You would not be able to freely exercise your spiritual beliefs, your religion, or your freedom to think for yourself. More and more people in the United States are standing up for the “rule of law,” the Constitution, and patriotism, all in the face of a failing socialist coup.

If anybody thinks anything is wrong, do you accept their own decisions?

Yes. It isn’t a law that we have to agree on everything, this would be socialism, not freedom. If their sense of personal moral ethics determines something is wrong for them, I have to respect their feelings and press on without them. If they’re giving a speech about what they believe, and someone is trying to shout them down, I would have to stand up for their right under the law for free speech, regardless of how radical, treasonous, moronic, or hypocritical their speech is to the very idea of the freedoms they expect.

"A thug is someone who stands on his own. He lives by the decisions he makes and accepts the consequences. A thug is comfortable in his own skin. I wear mine like a glove"

-- Trick Daddy

Why are some people given more dignity than others?

There are those who don’t even give themselves the dignity they expect from others. There are others who feel if these people don’t want dignity they don’t deserve it. And there are those who simply feel that they are better than everybody else, which immediately puts them at the bottom of everyone else’s list for deserved respect. There should never be one segment of society that thinks they are som much more deserved than others. All lives matter! Even the lives of those who don’t think they deserve dignity, matter. Regardless of skin color, sexual, political, or spiritual orientation, they all matter. We have laws on the books in the United States that protect the dignity of people. The biggest problem we face is the people who would rather be perpetually offended than making use of the laws that protect them.

Author comment:  I spent six weeks in jail once. Whilst in there I asked all of my fellow inmates what sort of childhood’s did they have, they all answered the same, they were all abused/criminally treated by their fathers, as was I, they were groomed to become criminals, uncared for and about, society frowns upon them, society judges their respective books by their covers, they were the ones that divine intervention failed to save. All of their lives matter yes?

My reply:  Do they have a conscious choice to do better? Yes. Will they? It is a choice that is totally up to them, not their fathers, society, their history, it is totally up to them to stop placing blame for who and what they are and start making the right choices. Society frowns upon them because they frown upon society. You get what you give. Change the storyline of the book and you have to change the cover. But, their lives matter even if they show a sociopathic denial to ever change. This is why they have to answer to the “rule of law” for their crimes and are sentenced accordingly. Sometimes the story is what it is. What we choose is always at hand. 

What are your thoughts about Femtochemistru?

Spelling before science.  Femtochemistry is one of those branches of science beyond the comprehension of my feeble brain, but I do know how to spell it. I barely comprehend quantum physics. However, when we start studying reactions of the infinitesimal, we always learn something new, I simply don’t understand the process.

For Aristotle, is it right to do only what gives us pleasure?

He doesn’t say this. As a matter of fact, he equates this thought to what animals do. “Pleasure alone cannot constitute human happiness.” Check out this short explanation:

“What is it that makes human beings different from the rest of the animal kingdom? Aristotle answers: Reason. Only humans are capable of acting according to principles, and in so doing taking responsibility for their choices. We can blame Johnny for stealing the candy since he knows it is wrong, but we wouldn't blame an animal since it doesn't know any better.

It seems that our unique function is to reason: by reasoning things out we attain our ends, solve our problems, and hence live a life that is qualitatively different in kind from plants or animals. The good for a human is different from the good for an animal because we have different capacities or potentialities. We have a rational capacity and the exercising of this capacity is thus the perfecting of our natures as human beings. For this reason, pleasure alone cannot constitute human happiness, for pleasure is what animals seek and human beings have higher capacities than animals. The goal is not to annihilate our physical urges, however, but rather to channel them in ways that are appropriate to our natures as rational animals.”

-- pursuit-of-happiness.org

How is philosophy a life skill tool?

I can’t think of anything that isn’t based on philosophy, which is probably why we have titles from institutes of higher education celebrating a Ph.D., or “Doctorate of Philosophy,” for so many fields. If everything is based in some way on a philosophy, it makes perfect sense that philosophy would be a “life skill tool.”

What is a weakness you have that you'd rather not share on this site?

If I’d rather not share it on this sitea, what’s the point? It used to be spanking older women, and then I got older. I suppose, then, it’s spanking women my own age, or maybe younger.

Should you conform to what society expects of you or be yourself?

In the United States, we’re being asked to conform to what socialism expects of us. Be yourself. Always be yourself. The minute you show weakness and conform, your freedoms are gone and all is lost.

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

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.

Feel free to contact Pastor Tony:  tolerantpastor@gmail.com