Questioning Goals, Values, and Ideas

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.”

-- Plutarch

Why do people who talk less have better ideas?

The most important part of communication is listening. They have better ideas because they shut their pie hole and actually listen to the crap and then come up with better. It isn’t always necessary to speak. It is always necessary to listen.

Which becomes your driving force to continue life and pursue your dreams?

Life would be the driving force for me. The alternative seems to really suck. Listening to the atheists, I’m not sure if you can pursue your dreams when you’re dead.

As a positive person, how do you tackle negative people?

Tackle them? I’d prefer not to even touch them. I give them a wide berth.

“You cannot expect to live a positive life if you hang with negative people.”

-- Joel Osteen

Is it right to express our ideas freely without examining the situation and the people involved? Why?

The chances of sounding like an idiot seem to be a good possibility. There is nothing wrong with freely expressing an informed opinion or idea.

What's some non-commercial item, benefit, or situation you have and enjoy that sounds too good to be true, but it is true, and when you try to tell others about it, because it sounds too good to be true, they don't believe you?

Constant happiness!

Do you think success is about intelligence or hard work? Don't you dare say both.

Hard work… and street smarts. Hah! Not the same as intelligence, but oh so much more important.

"What matters is hard work, and emotional intelligence."

-- Millard Drexler

If you will be given a chance to do everything within 24 hours (Everything is possible, everything is free, you can turn back the time, go back to your past, and everything will be yours for 24hours) What will you do?

I would go back and invest money in IBM, ATT, Mircosoft, Apple, etc., but my ex-wife would just take half of it. I go back and not marry her, but I have terrific kids and grandchildren. So, I guess I’ll just let the past be. Besides, everything I change would have a ripple effect on other people, so it’s probably best not to screw with time, lest someone die or not be born.  However, going into the future will tell you what to invest in, as well, when you get back.

What do you value the most as a person?

Family.

Is prosperity the goal of humanity?

Probably, but only because humanity misses the point. The goal of humanity should be happiness always.

“Our country is the best country in the world. We are swimming in prosperity and our President is the best president in the world. We have larger apples and better cotton and faster and more beautiful machines. This makes us the greatest country in the world. Unemployment is a myth. Dissatisfaction is a fable. In preparatory school America is beautiful. It is the gem of the ocean and it is too bad. It is bad because people believe it all. Because they become indifferent. Because they marry and reproduce and vote and they know nothing.”

-- John Cheever

How can you be a driver of change in these uncertain times?

Make so much more good sense than the idiots around you who think that good sense is common.

What are the risks when someone goes to a university when they are 40 years old?

From 30 on, they risk truly learning something. If they aren’t indoctrinated by 30, then chances are they won’t be. At 30, or older, the risk of them being so weak-minded as to be “indoctrinated” is less the older you get. This means, at 30 or older, they’ve actually gone to university for an education. It’s a concept, but it does occasionally happen. Finding a university that teaches truth, on the other hand, might be more difficult.

How can you set a goal you will always achieve?

Set the bar so low that just breathing will achieve it.

“You never know what's around the corner. It could be everything. Or it could be nothing. You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you've climbed a mountain.”

-- Tom Hiddleston

What is bothering you right now? Or what question is bothering you?

What makes you think anything is bothering me?

What do we call those individuals who see difficulties as an opportunity?

Tenacious.

What can you contribute to society for $5000?

Food. Soup kitchens and food banks will make great use of it.

“You may possibly become rich by just caring about yourself and what you want to gain from life but you cannot possibly enrich the lives of everyone you meet that way. The pathway to enlightenment and transformation and liberation is the heart, not the mind.”

-- Rasheed Ogunlaru

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