Questioning Sympathy, Love, Anger, and... Peeing?

 

“You’re the reason I get up in the morning.

That, and I need to pee.”

-- Darynda Jones

Does mean people having no sympathy or empathy bother you?

Yes, but only in the sense that I feel sorry for them. What does it take for a person to be so mean as to have no empathy or sympathy for anyone? What happened in their life that caused them to be so miserable toward others? Was it their parents? Heartbreak? Perhaps their schooling or bullies? My fear for them is that karma will set in, sooner or later, and they will find no sympathy in their own click. I think many might empathize, however. 

What can help shorten the time it takes to realize something? What can help enhance putting two and two together much more quickly?

A good sense of awareness, and the ability to add two plus two, immediately, in your head. 

What would be the final straw in your relationship and would you try to work on it to fix it or just let it go?

Infidelity. I blamed my own shortcomings on this for years. It turns out, the real problem wasn't me. Oh, I bought into the years of bullshit, but our marriage was doomed from the onset. My ego found the much-needed boost, after the divorce, from several varied partners. Nope, wasn’t my prowess, my ability, or any talent, it was the partner. There was no fixing what was always going to be broken, so I let it go, and, in my own humble way, have been making people happy ever since.

Why do I only want sex when I’m drunk?

Alcohol lowers your inhibitions. This is why tequila, even approaching 70, makes my pants fall off.

Can braveness be measured by one's ability to recognize the base of paradigms?

I’m pretty certain that “brave” people take their ability to recognize the base of paradigms into full consideration before running into a fire to rescue children. Courage might be driven by this, but not bravery. Just look at the definitions: 

“…bravery is more like a trait, or an instinct. A brave person is a person who sees a dangerous situation and immediately reacts bravely without thinking. Courage, on the other hand, is seeing a situation or a dangerous or scary experience and acting, even though you're scared.” 

--What is the difference between Bravery and Courage?

Do you believe that businesses and the people conducting business activities should be morally responsible for their actions? Why?

Yes. Business should be done in an ethical manner. The “why” is pretty clear. Not being ethical will be something others will see or experience in those not being ethical. Pretty soon, no one will want to do business with them. This bad karma will bite them first, but much more bad karma may follow, depending on how long their ethics have been corrupted. My dad was always one to arm-wrestle a contractor down to what my dad was willing to pay, but if the contractor did good work, he paid them a bonus and hired them again. He was always fair, he just liked winning. Contractors liked working for him.

Why does hate become hatred and not "hation"?

If you say. “I feel hation toward you,” people might think you’re slamming the island nation.

I just got my first phone. What are some unspoken rules about having/using a phone which I should know?

It isn’t a replacement for face-to-face communication. It isn’t attached to your head. The games it might have are not your excuse for not paying attention to the world around you. Feel free to forget it at home, you have existed without it so far. You have the God-given right to turn it off, so utilize it. It is a way people can access you 24/7, so, just say no. And, finally, when you’re with someone, be with them, not on the damned phone! 

When a woman says to a man that she wants to make love with him all night, what does she mean?

It means she’s in for a night of raucous sex she’ll, hopefully, never forget. 

What should you do when a driver calls you offensive names before driving off?

If they’re driving off, and not knowing if they’ve brought a gun to a fistfight, they become someone else’s problem. Better to let it go and let the next person handle it since you’ll never reach your 9mm in time.

“The workman cut to the left, still laying on his horn, and roared around the drunkenly weaving limousine. He invited the driver of the limo to perform an illegal sex act on himself. To engage in oral congress with various rodents and birds... He expressed his sincere belief in the position the limo driver's soul would occupy in the afterlife. He finished by saying that he believed he had met the limo driver's mother in a New Orleans house of prostitution.”

-- Stephen King, The Shining

How can I take a friend out to a casino?

I recommend a taxi or a car.

Why do I feel like I need people in my life that actually listen to what I want to say and share my problems?

Because it’s what just about everybody would like. I like to call her my “significant other” while many might just call them good friends. If you have friends that don’t do this for you, make better friends. You have to reciprocate, however.

How did you fix your broken heart?

I found someone so much better.

What do you believe it means to be college and career ready?

You’re a legend in your own mind, as most “intelligent” young people are. You become “smart” when you realize college and career are tougher than you realized. Being “ready” to go can be so much different than actually being ready for the experience.

I equate this to someone young telling me they are “ready” for the military.

Uh-huh.  Sure you are.

What is the worst way you have lost respect for a close friend?

He had sex with the person I loved.  Lost respect for both of them.

"Sorry I gave a damn about you. Won't happen again."

-- Unknown

Would you tie down and blindfold your wife and let guys take turns on her?

Even after everything she did to me, not without her energetic consent.

Is a schmuck a foreskin?

“Shmok” is Yiddish for “penis,” not foreskin. “Schmuck” means someone foolish, which is how we usually associate the word.

How do you overcome challenges as a leader?

Resign. Or, you can come to terms with the fact that there will always be challenges as a leader.  Overcoming challenges is, supposedly, how you earned the position as a leader. If not, choosing a leader was a challenge that management didn’t handle very well.

Why does getting good at being rejected happen to everyone?

Like most things, the more you do it the easier it gets. So, if you get rejected a lot it stands to reason you’ll get to be an expert at it in short order.

How do you use positive words to describe your life?

Carefully.

“It makes a big difference in your life when you stay positive.”

-- Ellen DeGeneres

What stops a wife from cheating?

It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks. It is much easier to give the dog away to who she seems to like and let them try to train her. Just saying.

What is a person seeking revenge called?

“Revenger” seems to work.

Have you ever peed on someone in public?

No, but, oh, I have so wanted to! It is so much a man thing, just because it’s easier for us to whip it out and squirt. There are people who have confronted me over senseless bullshit that I would have loved to peed on. It’s just too bad it washes out.  However, you risk being arrested for illegally depositng biological waste in public.

What do you do when nothing's worth living for anymore?

Try harder.

How do you accept since things are very rarely "all good" or "all bad"?

Acceptance of things that are rarely all bad is easy. Acceptance of those things that are rarely all good, is a bit harder. I am in charge of my life. This means that I must be doing something, a choice or decision, that makes things rarely turn out good. I accept these “failures” as lessons I have created and that I must learn from. I have to critique why I made the choice or decision that made it go wrong, correct it, if I can, and move forward with new knowledge. 

“Maturity, one discovers, has everything to do with the acceptance of ‘not knowing.”

-- Mark Z. Danielewski

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