Questions of Duty, Women, God, and Goals

 

"It may get worse before it gets better, but it will get better."

-- Mike Rawlings

How do I understand this? “Duty is not only about doing things right, it is about doing the right thing.“

Think “ethical behavior” and it might make more sense. Is it your duty to do wrong the best you can, or to do right always and however it can be done?

How do you understand “Duties can come as a result of one's character”?

Duties come, whether a result of one’s character or not, they come. Whether you choose to accept your duties, however, reflects greatly on your character.

Everyone in my school is lifeless except me. Why?

Terrorist attack?

“But his dread was the nights when he could not sleep. Then it was awful indeed, when annihilation pressed in on him on every side. Then it was ghastly, to exist without having any life: lifeless, in the night, to exist.”

-- D.H. Lawrence

How can a man judge a woman as marriage material?

If you have to judge her, she isn’t.

What would you do if a woman rejected you?

Find a woman with better taste.

What are some things that look weird up close but are different from a distance?

Women come to mind. Being nearsighted, even with correction, what looks great from a distance… not so much close up, if they’re still a woman. Yeah, my bad.

"You can impress from a distance, but you can only impact up close"

-- Howard G. Hendricks

If you were given 10 seconds to write about your life, how would you write it?

I lived it the best I could, loved everyone I could, enjoyed all of it immensely, the good and the bad, and hope to live for more.

If God had a middle name, what would it be?

“I am”

Why are most people who believe in God cognitively slower?

Why are people that don’t believe in God perpetually offended?

“Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. When we recognize our place in an immensity of light‐years and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty, and subtlety of life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely spiritual. So are our emotions in the presence of great art or music or literature, or acts of exemplary selfless courage such as those of Mohandas Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr. The notion that science and spirituality are somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice to both.”

-- Carl Sagan

What was the last photo that made you happy?

My grandkids.

Why would a guy act like this towards me at work?

Uh… like what?  

How can I slow the physical action/intention of a man when dating without making him feel upset?

Make him feel upset, or he won’t take you seriously.

Diesel sucked air. "You keep fondling me like that, and I might have to marry you."

"I'm not fondling you. I'm looking for the keys!"

"Could you look a little more gently? You're scaring my boys." 

--Janet Evanovich

What advice will you give someone if they caught one of their parents' pants down with someone else?

As with a child, admonish the parent for their actions.

Will someone believe in me and give me a chance to become successful with health, wealth, love, respect, power, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding without trying to keep me down?

You ask a lot from people who don’t know you. Besides, whether we believe in you, or not, should be no reason for you not to attain a goal. Only you can grant yourself the chances you desire. Oh, and don’t ever let anyone keep you down. You have the God-given right to be what you want. Start by striving to be happy always and in all things, regardless of your circumstances. If you can’t do this, then how will you ever be truly happy when you attain your goal? Be “successful” in happiness. Success, like happiness, is a choice, everything else is just a goal. 

Author's comment: What difference does it make to know someone or not? Do you know any black people? You always have a negative to positive opinion on everything. Your opinion is yours. You are not always right and I am tired of people like you claiming to be better than the next. The graveyard is where we all stay with the same hole size.

My reply: I did not know you were black, not that it mattered to me, I know many people of color.  You must be right, though. I do apologize.

Have you ever made a mistake so dumb you can't believe or make sense of it?

The last question I answered reeks of this.

“The 50-50-90 rule: anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.”

-- Andy Rooney

What is the main purpose of gilts?

To cover a surface in a thin layer of gold. 

Why is finding what is wrong and what is right becoming more and more harder today?

Everyone is clouding the “truth” with bullshit. If someone says something long enough and with much vigor, sooner or later people will think it’s the truth. It isn’t.

Half the people trying to rewrite history don’t even know history. If you want the truth, you’re going to have to go back in history and ferret it out for yourself. Find out who really supported equal rights, women’s rights, the Emancipation Proclamation, the KKK, et al, and you might be surprised by what you find.

Read, read, read, and when you’re done, read some more. Question everything and everyone, even those you think are right. If they sound like they’re “blowing smoke up your skirt” look for the fire. Trust no one but yourself.

Do you want to get pleasure by just having sex?

And… this is a problem? 

“To relinquish your typical everyday character for a brief while, in pursuit of uninhibited sexual pleasure can be an incredibly cathartic experience.......Why not try it some time?”

-- Miya Yamanouchi

As a male, what age of girls do you find the most attractive and why?

I find all women attractive to some extent. Being 68, I find older women just as attractive as younger women, although the older women can actually walk in high heels and make it look natural.

What do you call the opinion that doing hard tedious work is stupid rather than admirable?

Ignorant. The person who said it needs to surrender all they own created by someone who put in “hard tedious work” to produce it, even if now it is produced by machines. Hard, tedious, labor was the impetus for almost everything we now have.

Is it better to be unrealistic or realistic with your life goals and desires?

“Realistic” means that most goals will come to fruition. “Unrealistic” means, well, not so much. 

"Sometimes, our expectations of being all-knowing are somewhat unrealistic. At the end of the day, there are people out there who mean harm to us, are thinking about doing harm to us, and motivated to do it, and we don't know what that is."

-- Jack Keane

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