Questioning Child Rearing, Happiness, and Ethics

“We begin with the child when he is three years old. As soon as he begins to think, he gets a little flag put into his hand. Then he follows the school, the Hitler Youth, the SA and military training. We don’t let him go. And then when adolescence is passed, then comes the Arbeitsfront, which takes him again and does not let him go until he dies, whether he likes it or not.”

-- Robert Ley, Nazi labor chief, 1938

 

Is life without freedom bad?

Yes, but why believe me? As a Military intelligence analyst, I’d advise you to ask a Cuban, or someone who lived under the Soviet regime in Russia or the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, or ask a Nicaraguan why they’re pouring into our country in droves. And, if you can find one still alive, ask a Holocaust survivor if freedom is bad.

Do you witness the successful application of the ideas of Malthus nowadays?

Certainly not in countries with a vibrant and overused welfare system or abortion rights. We feed people who refuse to work, and abstinence before marriage is a thing of the past, as marriage itself is in danger of becoming.

Why do parents often end up bullying their children and pretend it is discipline?

Parents have careers, and child care centers have become surrogate parents. A good thing? Parents, for the most part, were not parented correctly, themselves. We tend to repeat what we go through, thinking it’s correct when it isn’t. Their children will, more than likely, repeat this cycle with their own children and so on. Perhaps we’d be better served to leave Critical Race Theory in the “better to have never considered it” category, you know, the toilet, and teach children how to be tolerant and supportive parents and how to be happy always, along with the basic education we pay the teachers to teach. The children will be better adjusted for the time we put into it.

“Are You a Parent or a Bully? Mentally and physically abusing your children is NOT okay. Real parenting does NOT consist of bullying your children, belittling your children, manipulating your children, beating your children, or cursing at your children. Children are a blessing! Many women can’t get pregnant and/or carry to term. Think about that! Parenting should be taken seriously. Children need LOVE, support, and guidance, NOT a bully! Children shouldn’t fear their parents. It’s important to create healthy relationships with your children, seriously.”

-- Stephanie Lahart

Which is more useful in life, logic or wisdom?

Shouldn’t logic beget wisdom? We learn, through trial and error, to make good logical choices. This good and logical knowledge we pass on to students, people looking for answers, and others. This logical knowledge is the wisdom we pass down through the ages. It may not always be right, but with failure, we learn more knowledge and our wisdom changes. Change, as we should all know, is the only true constant in the universe.

What will you do for your happiness today?

I woke up! Any day you spend on this side of the dirt is a great day! I have the gift of another opportunity to excel in life. How great is that?

What helps you adapt to rapid or difficult changes?

Acceptance. Change happens. Why worry about those things over which we have little or no control? Better to pay attention to those things you can exert control over, like debt, choices, decisions, laws, morality, and righteousness. It is a concept most of us should get on board with.

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”

-- Albert Einstein

What can you relate to, young or old, in your life that you identified as a striving toward something?

Choices. I came to the realization that life is all about the choices we make. If you let someone else run your life, that is your choice. If you are constantly miserable, that is your choice. When I realized this, I started asking myself the most important question any of us can ask, “Why?” What I found out was that everything in my life was the result of a choice I’d made. So, I decided to make another choice. I made the conscious choice to strive to be happy always, and this meant putting a great distance between me and misery.

I stopped incurring debt and hanging with people who were not supportive. I took the jobs I wanted to do and dated the women who wanted to date me. Life not only became easier, but it became so much happier.

It is rare for anybody to teach us how to be constantly happy in life, but this is one of the most important aspects of living life. If we do nothing else, we should strive to be happy always.

What are your top 2 things the world would be better with more of?

Understanding and tolerance.

How much discipline is necessary to succeed?

As much as is necessary.

“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”

-- Plato

Without mentioning badness nor giving examples, how do you define “goodness”?

Ethical morality. I’d explain it, but you said not to give examples.

What are some circumstances in which something is necessary, or that required some course of action?

Saving Afghanistan, or, at the very least, all of the Americans and our allies before we turned tail and ran away from the terrorist rabble that took it from us.

How are rules important?

Rules are important for organized structure and clear understanding. Rules help to create laws and govern civilized society. Rules help to ensure safety and save lives. Without rules you have anarchy.

“We started off trying to set up a small anarchist community, but people wouldn't obey the rules.”

-- Alan Bennett

In a society today or in your own life, what sorts of things shackle the mind? Why?

Socialist ideology and the inevitable mass indoctrination.

What unusual ritual brought you profound joy recently?

It was a beautiful day in Pass Christian, yesterday, so I told my mother I’d clean up her large enclosed patio which had become overgrown with weeds, especially growing between the bricks. It was rote, physical labor that I don’t have the chance to do that often. Helping my mom with this brought me great joy. Although, this morning, not so much. I have all-body hurt.

What are the important qualities of a good son or daughter? Have these qualities changed or remained the same over time in your culture? Give reasons for your answer.

That they are a good son or daughter. This isn’t common anymore, being good, having good ethical and moral standards. I blame it on the insidious indoctrination they go through in school. We thought we had a handle on bullies, but bullies are back in full force if you don’t conform to the new indoctrination. Young people confront and attack people eating in restaurants and on the street. It is too bad.

I think we will either, see history repeat itself as people are segregated and put into gulags for political reasons, or we will be part of a necessary revolution in order to save our freedoms. The people who will really suffer in this are our sons and daughters.

“Your children are not your children, they come through you, but they are life itself, wanting to express itself.”

-- Wayne Dyer

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