Questioning Ethics, Rules, Ability, Phobias, and Terror

“True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.”

-- Kurt Vonnegut

What percentage of people in the USA lack imagination?

Everyone has an imagination. The real question should be, what percentage of the population will act on that imagination, and try to bring what they imagine to fruition?

How do I find ambitious people and have a positive perspective in life in high school as a student, like people who actually take action on their goals instead of complaining and waiting?

Start a “Positivity Club” in the school.

What is it like to have no brother or sister?

You don’t have to share… anything. You also can’t shift the blame for anything. You can't declare you’re loved more, because you are it.

Sibling rivalry is between you and the cat or the dog. The winner of that rivalry was always in question. If there was a fear of mom and dad putting one of us down, we were always left hanging. If I told them that mom loved me best, I always made sure to close the door to my bedroom so they couldn’t get into mischief at my expense. The dog was the worst. The cats just waited for me to go to sleep. I closed my door at night.

What is the difference between legal business environment, business ethics, and international laws?

There should be no difference. International laws may differ to some point, but all should be concerned with good moral ethics.

Why does having more stuff and more adventures never seem like enough?

Greed. You will never be satisfied, and you will never be truly happy until you are. Choosing true happiness, regardless of your circumstances is probably going to be beyond your reach.

“Thanks to our artists, we pretend well, living under canopies of painted clouds and painted gods, in halls of marble floors across which the sung Masses paint hope in deep impatsi of echo. We make of the hollow world a fuller, messier, prettier place, but all our inventions can't create the one thing we require: to deserve any fond attention we might accidentally receive, to receive any fond attention we don't in the course of things deserve. We are never enough to ourselves because we can never be enough to another. Any one of us walks into any room and reminds its occupant that we are not the one they most want to see. We are never the one. We are never enough.”

-- Gregory Maguire

What kind of people should I avoid in life?

Unsupportive people. Mean people. “Fake” people, or people pretending to be something they are so very not. People who don’t have your best interests at heart. Oh, and members of the League of the Perpetually Offended. They aren’t good for anyone.

Is it stupid to tell someone they are allergic to something like a game, a teacher, or something random even though they obviously aren’t?

Yes, but, if they believe you, who is really stupid is a toss-up. 

Do most people follow the rules, or are most trying to game the system?

Most people follow the rules. Those that try to “game the system” usually aren’t that good at it and, even those that are, usually get caught sooner or later.

Do you agree that everyone deserves respect, no matter what they have done?

No. Everyone deserves respect until they don’t. It is a choice they make.

Which actually boosts one's confidence when one wants to deliver a speech to a large audience, "walking up to the stage while assuming every one of them likes you" or "walking up to the stage never minding if anyone likes you or not"?

It matters little. You are there to deliver information. They are there to hear the information you are there to give, therefore, you are in charge of your dissemination of the information. Be polite, professional, and knowledgeable, and ask if people in the back can hear you.

If they were told to attend, they will be getting very little from your speech, because they really don’t want to be there. The trick for any public speaker is to find the disinterested party in the audience. If you are any good at what you do, they will be riveted before you're done and they might be the only ones with a cogent question.

“Students of public speaking continually ask, "How can I overcome self-consciousness and the fear that paralyzes me before an audience?"

Did you ever notice in looking from a train window that some horses feed near the track and never even pause to look up at the thundering cars, while just ahead at the next railroad crossing a farmer's wife will be nervously trying to quiet her scared horse as the train goes by? How would you cure a horse that is afraid of cars—graze him in a back-woods lot where he would never see steam engines or automobiles, or drive or pasture him where he would frequently see the machines?

Apply horse-sense to ridding yourself of self-consciousness and fear: face an audience as frequently as you can, and you will soon stop shying. You can never attain freedom from stage-fright by reading a treatise. A book may give you excellent suggestions on how best to conduct yourself in the water, but sooner or later you must get wet, perhaps even strangle and be "half scared to death." There are a great many "wetless" bathing suits worn at the seashore, but no one ever learns to swim in them. To plunge is the only way.”

-- Dale Breckenridge Carnegie

How do you know the trustworthiness of a person from a job interview?

You don’t, not really. You can make an educated assumption, but it is still a 50/50 proposition. Trust is something that always has to be earned, whether in business or private life.

What is “ability”? Does it require free will?

It should, but you can be forced into learning an ability. An ability is simply something you can do. Any gulag or concentration camp can evidence people learning new abilities against their will. You learn or die sooner.

Which picture deserves upvotes?

That depends on the taste of the person upvoting. 

When you were a child, where was the special place where you could go and free your imagination?

We lived in Monterey, California. The beach and the rocky coast were a short bike ride. The sound of the gulls and the waves were soothing and would allow my mind to wander.

Have negative people disregarded your own opinions, beliefs, choices, and/or ways?

Oh, all the time. These are, usually, members of the League of the Perpetually Offended, and, no matter what I do or say, they will find some offense in it. I have found there is nothing to do but ignore them and pay attention to those who really look for help or mentoring.

“When someone tells me "no," it doesn't mean I can't do it, it simply means I can't do it with them.”

-- Karen E. Quinones Miller

Do people really think we are better or above all other animals because we simply have more intellect on average?

They haven’t come face to face with a large carnivore in an open space where they have nowhere to run. People are really that egotistically ignorant, and I’m being kind.

Do you agree that “there are no conspiracies but there are also no coincidences”?

As long as there is greed, there will be conspiracies. My belief in “coincidence” is situational, however. When you are in the Intelligence field, “coincidence” can take on a life of its own. It can also be nothing more than what it is - coincidence.

Why do I get a thrill-like adrenaline rush when I see people upset/sad?

You might need to seek help.

Does every person have some kind of phobia? Are there people without phobias?

I think so, but I haven’t met a person without one. If they say they don’t have one, I think they just haven’t had the experience… yet.

What are some of your views that you think are based on your own opinion instead of knowledge?

Opinions should be informed. My “uninformed” opinions, not based on knowledge, are more like assumptions. Assumptions are a guess, usually based on experience or bullshit. If I’m going to act per a view that is based on an assumption, I close my eyes, grit my teeth, and hope that everything works out and I don’t die, or destroy something or someone.

“You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.”

-- Harlan Ellison

How do you see yourself related to others?

I don’t even try. If I compare myself to others, I’ll get a swollen head or I’ll feel like I need to step it up. Better I just accept myself for who I am, and others for who they are. In this way, I don’t have to judge others and open myself up to someone else’s judgment. All is right in my world.

Where did I go today?

Not a clue.

How do I deal with someone who constantly brings the past to start arguments? They bring their own twisted version of the story and shout in an intimidating way.

I divorced my version of this. You don’t deal with them, because there is something terribly wrong. The best you can hope for is to separate yourself from them. Put as much distance between you as you can, and then choose true happiness for yourself.

Why do you think some people inflict terror in the pursuit of superiority?

Yes. Adolf Hitler. Joseph Stalin. Pol Pot. And others, too numerous to name.

Is it wrong if you're still feeling optimistic about the future when people around you say that life is getting harder and harder day by day? And they mentioned that this is the cause of why people get mental issues.

They are the cause of people getting mental issues. If you listen to all the naysayers in the world you’ll follow them into their pit of misery until you can fashion one for yourself. Life is as hard as your make it. Some love the challenge, while others might get rid of baggage to make life a bit easier. The choice for your life is on you. Sit down and give up, or step up and move forward. It is really that easy.

 Whatever you choose, though, start by striving to be truly happy always and in all things, regardless of any other circumstances. If nothing else, this just pisses everyone else off. How great is that? 

“Never surrender your hopes and dreams to the fateful limitations others have placed on their own lives. The vision of your true destiny does not reside within the blinkered outlook of the naysayers and the doom prophets. Judge not by their words, but accept advice based on the evidence of actual results. Do not be surprised should you find a complete absence of anything mystical or miraculous in the manifested reality of those who are so eager to advise you. Friends and family who suffer the lack of abundance, joy, love, fulfillment, and prosperity in their own lives really have no business imposing their self-limiting beliefs on your reality experience.”

-- Anthon St. Maarten

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, finally, a senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world-renowned, Western 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 the lead chaplain at a regional medical center.

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