Questioning Ideas, Regret, Ideas, Thought, and Ideas

 

“Ideas are easy. It's the execution of ideas that really separates the sheep from the goats.”

-- Sue Grafton

How do I make someone compliant with my ideas?

Convince them. Offer incontrovertible evidence that you are right. Tell them that, if you prove to be wrong, you will resign. Their compliance isn’t as important as your ability to back up bullshit. If your ideas are worthy of their compliance, you need to put your money where your mouth is. Go “all in” and pray that you’re right, or go “all in” knowing that you’re right. But, going “all in” shows people, especially those in charge, that you are serious.

What is the best way to show respect to someone who is much more experienced than you?

Watch, listen, ask intelligent questions, and thank them for their time. There is no better respect you can show than to pay attention to a mentor. They will certainly appreciate it.

How can we lead through turbulent times?

Be calm, be intelligent, be the rock people look to and the light in the darkness. Adding to the violence and confusion does nothing but add to the anarchy of the moment. Appeal to good sense and civility, and combat propaganda with facts. Democrats in the United States are learning a painful lesson about leadership, abridging freedoms, changing history, and inciting racism. They even think free speech and parenting can be abridged. This is not leadership. This is cutting off one’s nose to spite their face. This is tantamount to treason, yet no one is brave enough to use the word until they actually cross the line.  Smart move.

What's the best way to deal with people who say they don't like your personality but love your looks?

Stay away from the shallow end of the gene pool.

Why is politics described as a very dirty game?

Do you not watch the real news? You know, the channels that actually address all the important stories? Try watching all the news channels, occasionally. Then, pick the one that seems to cover what the other channels don’t. You can make it easier by looking at who demolishes the other news networks in the ratings. They have no problem revealing the dirt. But, who the hell am I?  

“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.”

-- Ernest Benn

What do selfish people usually regret when they’re poor?

I would like to think that they wonder if being selfless would have held karma at bay. But, this would require them to have an epiphany, which would require them to learn selflessness. I think they’d be too busy trying to recover lost wealth to think of anything so mundane. Selfish people probably regret not being on top.

"Whichever one you go to you will be sorry you didn't go to the other" Does it mean that both are equally bad or good?

We are a “finicky” people. Both are probably as good, but we have to choose one. We will be forever wondering if we chose well.

How can you say something in a polite way but still get your point across?

“You are very pretty.” She will appreciate it more than, “Damn! Look at who’s the hot babe!” “Want my number? No? Can I have yours?” “The only thing wrong with that little nothing you’re wearing is that …I’m not on your arm.” “…around your neck.” …humping your leg.”

No need to be crass. “You are very pretty, this evening,” is polite, civil, and she’ll get the point.

What does it mean when someone says something along the lines of "You should be grateful I chose you"?

“You may kneel, and kiss my ring.”

Why would someone keep fighting a cause when they know they don't stand a chance?

In WW II if you were partisan and surrendered, you’d be shot. They knew this and would fight to the death. We stood no chance against England in 1776, and yet, we fought. “Give me liberty, or give me death.”

We face the socialists of the day, who think they will be rewarded by their handlers when America falls, but this country will never fall as evidenced by parents rising up, people changing political parties, and people ready to fight and die for the Constitution.

The liberals need to heed the wakeup call:

“The useful idiots, the leftists who are idealistically believing in the beauty of the Soviet socialist or Communist or whatever system, when they get disillusioned, they become the worst enemies. That’s why my KGB instructors specifically made the point: never bother with leftists. Forget about these political prostitutes. Aim higher. They serve a purpose only at the stage of destabilization of a nation. For example, your leftists in the United States: all these professors and all these beautiful civil rights defenders. They are instrumental in the process of subversion only to destabilize a nation. When their job is completed, they are not needed anymore. They know too much. Some of them, when they get disillusioned, when they see that Marxist-Leninists come to power—obviously they get offended—they think that they will come to power. That will never happen, of course. They will be lined up against the wall and shot.”

-- Yuri Bezmenov (1939-1993), former Soviet journalist and KGB informant

Where do you get your good ideas from?

Life. I write from the ideas that come to me from living life. When I retired to Mexico I became bored with paradise and decided to write a novel. I was retired from military intelligence, so I wrote a book about dystopian Mexico and a couple of military guys and their drama. I used ideas from life for the second novel, and I’m looking forward to the third.

Good ideas are all around us, we simply have to separate the wheat from the chaff to find the best pieces.

What do you think about various things?

It depends on what the “various things” are. Beautiful women, precious stones, gold bars, cat poop, and sex, all have differing thoughts. 

Some people don't keep any information to themselves; they call virtually everyone they know to inform them. Is it a good thing or a bad thing to do?

Some people have no sense of propriety… or a filter. Basically, they can’t even keep a secret. This is not a good thing. They are the rumor mongers, the purveyors of drama, among us. The best thing we can all do is inform them they act like immature asses when they do this, and ostracize them.

What is the disturbing problem that Putin faces?

Not looking like Adolf Hitler in the eyes of the world. Too late. Even most border countries to Russia realize this stark reality.

What are some of the most stunning yet most terrifying images?

Any photo during the liberation of Auschwitz in 1945.  Decorum prohibits me from sharing, however:

“Red Army soldiers from the 322 Rifle Division arrived at Auschwitz on 27 January 1945 at 15:00. 231 Red Army soldiers died in the fighting around Monowitz concentration camp, Birkenau, and Auschwitz I, as well as the towns of Oświęcim and Brzezinka. For most of the survivors, there was no definite moment of liberation. After the death march away from the camp, the SS-TV guards had left.

About 7,000 prisoners had been left behind, most of whom were seriously ill due to the effects of their imprisonment. The majority of those left behind were middle-aged adults or children younger than 15. Red Army soldiers also found 600 corpses, 370,000 men's suits, 837,000 articles of women's clothing, and seven tonnes (7.7 tons) of human hair. At Monowitz camp, there were about 800 survivors, and the camp was also liberated on 27 January by the Soviet 60th Army, part of the 1st Ukrainian Front.

Battle-hardened soldiers who were used to death were shocked by the Nazis' treatment of prisoners. Red Army general Vasily Petrenko (Soviet General), commander of the 107th Infantry Division, remarked, "I who saw people dying every day was shocked by the Nazis' indescribable hatred toward the inmates who had turned into living skeletons. I read about the Nazis' treatment of Jews in various leaflets, but there was nothing about the Nazis' treatment of women, children, and old men. It was in Auschwitz that I found out about the fate of the Jews." In a few articles in Soviet newspapers, such as Pravda, following Soviet propaganda, the writers failed to mention Jews in their articles on the liberation.

As soon as they arrived, the liberating forces (assisted by the Polish Red Cross) tried to help survivors by organizing medical care and food; Red Army hospitals cared for 4,500 survivors. There were also efforts to document the camp. As late as June 1945, there were still 300 survivors at the camp who were too weak to be moved.” 

-- Liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp - Wikipedia

Everyone that I see is unhappy, and they refuse to look at or talk to anyone no matter how nice they are. Despite the pandemic, financial instability, and lack of trust, why can't people forget about the past and be nice enough to make friends?

Shock, drama, an inability to cope, poor planning, loss of friends and loved ones, yadda, yadda, yadda. These are trying times we are trying to get past. For those of us who understood that striving for true happiness always and in all things, regardless of our circumstances, we have come out the other end of this, virtually, unscathed. For others, life became a bitch more than a hiccough. For us, we pick up where we left off and move forward. Others are stuck. Whether they listened to media bullshit, bought into governmental basis, gave up a job and took the free money, lost loved ones, or something else, they are stuck in a rut hard to get out of. Until they get a grip on reality and truth, until they understand true happiness, they will struggle.

Is our compassion limited?

Only by our environment, our upbringing, our sense of selflessness, and by choice. Our compassion is boundless.

Why is thinking difficult for most people before judging other people?

It has to do with trying to hide their own inequities and a lack of good sense. If you’re trying to hide your own shortcomings, you don’t put the spotlight on yourself by judging someone else. This is simply more bad judgment by someone who thinks judging others is appropriate, more than it is a serious shortcoming begging to be judged.

What is the best way to tell someone something new and interesting?

“I heard something new and interesting, today.”   Is it supposed to be more difficult?

What do you have to say about youthful exuberance?

It is meant for the young. As you get older you will experience mature exuberance. It is the difference between a night of wild, exotic sex, and making sweet love till the cow’s come home. You get to the same destination, but the difference is the epilogue, “Call you next week?” or, “What would you like me to make for breakfast?” 

"I'm busy doing my job, and being a loudmouth doesn't appeal to me as much as when I was younger and had the youthful delusion that I was smarter than everybody else."

-- Steve Albini

Are people just big ideas?

For who? If there aren’t people, who had the idea? God? If God, then the universe was a big idea, and people were kind of an afterthought.

Why do people say "I'm so happy for you" but don't really seem to be?

They wallow in their own world of misery, their narcissistic, jealous, or all three.

What is your experience with ineffective communication?

I briefed aircrews and commanders for, roughly, 20 years. Ineffective communication was usually caused by an inability to project, Inability to hold the audience's attention, overusing notes, limited or no visual aids, turning one’s back to the audience while speaking, inadequate preparation, ignorance of the subject, and an inability to field questions.

Is money a big idea?

Not really. BIG money, however, is a big idea. Any time you discuss lots of cash, it’s usually a big idea.

Is it beneficial to learn how to fix things myself?

Yes. It saves you lots of money if you had to hire someone else to do it. Electrical, plumbing, drywall, painting, and most things around the house are pretty simple to learn. You can find them on the internet or ask someone in the know. The internet will give you any “building code” concerns you need to cover.

“I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, 'Where's the self-help section?' She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.”

-- George Carlin

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