Questioning Problems, Integrity, Truth, Opinions, and Patterns

“Questions that pertain to the foundations of mathematics, although treated by many in recent times, still lack a satisfactory solution. Ambiguity of language is philosophy's main source of problems. That is why it is of the utmost importance to examine attentively the very words we use.”

-- Giuseppe Peano

What embarrassing thing happened to you in your neighbor’s home?

I visited for an hour as the new neighbor, not realizing my fly was down until his wife pointed it out by asking if I was hot, trolling, or just absent-minded. We became friends after that. Nothing like humor to nurture cordiality.

When you meet someone who becomes your "favorite person" and you feel "matched" by them, the feeling of happiness for you is great, overwhelming, and ineffable, as if nothing can shake you, this is in stark contrast to "normal", do you feel like this?

Only when I’m around them. 

If Maoist could convince Nepalese to go for a war, why is it so hard to convince them to vote for a better person?

Brainwashing. Voting is not really that important to a Maoist, since leadership is not really about ethics as it is about indoctrination, control, and ethnic purity. Ballots are pretty flexible, depending on who leadership wants in office. The United States is on this road, so pay close attention and you might learn something about brainwashing, indoctrination, and control. I’d stay apprised of ideal socialist “purity” so you don’t end up in some desert gulag, making gloves for forced laborers.

What does the foundation of a problem contain?

Causality. The who, what, where, why, and how of it. 

What would you consider to be a micro-accomplishment? How is it different from an accomplishment?

Any normal function you do during the day, like washing dishes, doing laundry, yard work, and the like, I consider "micro" is the greater scheme. An "accomplishment" would be securing a huge contract, taking a hill in battle, basically, attaining any major goal you worked your ass off to get. A serious bowel movement just doesn’t rise to the occasion.

“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's a day you've had everything to do and you've done it.”

-- Margaret Thatcher

What are the benefits of having integrity?

You have fewer worries because you, for the most part, live life by doing everything right. You don’t have to remember the lies you’ve told, what you’ve stolen, who you’ve stabbed in the back or when you weren’t tolerant or understanding, what laws you’ve skirted, or when the police or the IRS will show up at your door. Why? Because you haven’t done any of it, so no one will be looking out for you. Having integrity and a good personal “code of ethics” will allow you to find true happiness always and in everything you do, regardless of your circumstances.

How do you make an opinion statement?

You start by stating your opinion. 

Are people who bully horrible people?

Yes, but I think the majority are products of upbringing or their environment. Others might just have a screw loose, or one can… not realizing there’s supposed to be a six-pack. I think most can be shown a better path, probably by a victim with skills that’s had enough.

Whose head are you living rent-free in? Does it bother you at all?

I stopped playing those games when I left Intelligence. And, yes, it bothered me.

Why do people bash and belittle me for telling/speaking on what is the truth?

If you are honestly speaking the truth, they say more about themselves than you. I would find a more open-minded crowd to hang around with. I’m not certain what people who deny the truth are capable of, but I’ll bet it isn’t good.

“Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world...would do this, it would change the earth.”

-- William Faulkner

What can you do to improve the situations that make you feel nervous?

Since I left the military, I choose to stay away from them. If I find myself getting pulled into one, I confront the issue head-on. It is your life and you get to choose to play the game or not. If it has to do with your job, you get paid to be nervous, so make the most of it. Being nervous can make you very careful, and being careful can keep you alive.

What do you do when speaking to get your point across?

Repeat it, slowly, and offer a logical progression or proof if available.

I’m too scared and shy to ask teachers questions in class when I don’t understand something. So, does anyone have tips to get my courage up and just ask them?

Chances are, you’re not the only one in class that doesn’t understand the content. You are raising your hand for everyone. If someone gives you a hard time, turn to them and tell them to explain it. Chances are, they can’t. Tell them to shut their pie hole and turn back to the teacher, apologize for the idiot, and ask if they would explain it. 

Are people more concerned with seeing their neighbors get ahead, even if ever so slightly, or missing out on something that they didn't get but their neighbors did?

If I didn’t get it, I wasn’t paying attention, so sucks being me. Personally, I’m too busy with my own life to pay much attention to what my neighbors did or didn’t do right. If they got ahead, good for them! If they fell on their sword, haven’t we all? 

Is a wrong answer a sign of stupidity?

No, it’s a sign that you have the wrong answer. You made a mistake, and you might have failed, but this is simply life giving you an opportunity to learn, and mistakes and failures are the best way we learn. Go back and see why you went wrong. Find the correct answer, learn from your mistake to mitigate making it again, and move forward having learned something.

One day a teacher wrote on the board the following:

9x1=7, 9x2=18, 9x3=27, 9x4=36, 9x5=45, 9x6=54, 9x7=63, 9x8=72. 9x9=81, 9x10=90

When he was done, he looked to the students and they were all laughing at him, because of the first equation which was wrong, and then the teacher said the following:  

"I wrote the first one wrong on purpose because I wanted you to learn something important.  This was for you to know how the world out there will treat you.  You can see that I wrote RIGHT 9 times, but none of you congratulated me for it; you all laughed and criticized me because of the one wrong thing I did.  So this is the lesson:

The world will never appreciate the good you do a million times but will criticize the one wrong thing you do... but, don't get discouraged.  Always rise above all the laughter and criticism.  Stay strong."

-- Unknown

How can one be terrifying while looking jovial and not doing anything illegal?

Do you mean, like, Santa Clause? Sit on a fat man’s lap while he’s dressed in a red suit and wearing a disguise, while he hugs me. I didn’t like it when I was a kid, and I doubt if anything has changed.

What is the opposite of in-depth coverage of an event in Deutsch?

Little to no coverage of an event in America by major U.S. news agencies. Happens all the time.

What is your opinion on things that are frowned upon?

It depends on what things are being frowned upon. There are many things, sexually exotic, that are frowned upon that I see as a person’s personal preference. Sushi and sashimi are frowned upon, but I happen to enjoy them. Gambling is frowned upon, yet the Catholics have “standing room only” for bingo nights. Cussing is frowned upon, yet, there are times when cussing is the only way someone understands how upset you really are or the only way you can rapidly let off steam before you explode. Again, it depends.

Whenever people tell me to do something that they want me to do I tend to do the opposite of what they tell me to do unless it is something really important like following the laws that the government put in place. Is something wrong with me or not?

Not a great way to stay employed.

Why am I getting this weird gut-type feeling that she's talking with another fella? Never had a reason to doubt her before can't shake the feeling at all but lately, I'm feeling now there is something she's hiding.

Confront her. Tell her of your feeling and listen to what she says. If she dances around the subject of you wanting to break up, she’s probably looking for a way she can pin that on you, so she doesn’t have to take the blame. You’ll know by her voice and manner if she’s been caught and looking for a way out. Men do the same things.

“When the trust is completely gone, it's completely gone. There are no words or deeds can refill that deep hole of mistrust. It will always become this massive canvas that appears on your mind time to time.”

-- Euginia Herlihy

What is the toughest question you have ever been asked?

“Why?” There’s no context. I answer, “Because.” They usually come back with, “Because what?” I answer, “Because of why.” They wrinkle their brow asking, “Because of why what?” I end it by stating, “Hell, I don’t know. You started this stupid conversation.”

Does discipline have a pattern?

Repetition. 

Why do some people, when they encounter tough questions, attack the questioner rather than make an attempt to answer the questions?

League of the Perpetually Offended. They just love to attack, not just the people posing questions, but those people trying to answer questions they, themselves are asking. They love to bait.

Reader comment:  "LPO."  I like that.

My reply:  I’m happy to hear that. I seem to be mentioning them more often of late. 

Why is modern youth so careless and sarcastic? Have we lost touch with kindness and personal awareness?

The “woke” culture. Maybe we need to revisit kindness and personal responsibility, as much as awareness.

Is anti-gravity impossible in the same sense that exceeding the speed of light is impossible?

In the sense that neither of them is possible at this time, yes. However, in the future, who knows? Sound defies gravity and rises instead of falls. We have used sound to make a ping-pong ball defy gravity. Perhaps, in time, science fiction will, once again, become science fact.

“Never say that you can't do something, or that something seems impossible, or that something can't be done, no matter how discouraging or harrowing it may be; human beings are limited only by what we allow ourselves to be limited by: our own minds. We are each the masters of our own reality; when we become self-aware of this: absolutely anything in the world is possible.

Master yourself, and become king of the world around you. Let no odds, chastisement, exile, doubt, fear, or ANY mental virii prevent you from accomplishing your dreams. Never be a victim of life; be its conqueror.”

-- Mike Norton

 

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