Questioning Keys, Age, Reality, Choices, and Ego

“People try to say suicide is the most cowardly act a man could ever commit. I don't think that's true at all. What's cowardly is treating a man so badly that he wants to commit suicide.”

-- Tommy Tran

Do you dislike mean people’s miseries and insecurities?

I dislike "mean" people, period. I could care less about the miseries and insecurities that drive their meanness. If they would like to talk about it, I’m open to listening. But, chances are, and experience bears this out, they don’t want to listen to anything I have to say. They have been hijacked by the League of the Perpetually Offended. They need to be ready to help themselves before any real progress can occur.

Have mean people felt offended by you for disagreeing with them?

Always.

As an adult, does an older sibling have the authority to force you to do things against your will or make your decisions for you?

If I’m an adult, and they don’t stop when I tell them to, my older sibling is going to get a younger sibling’s boot up their ass.

Why do some leaders embarrass their juniors?

Either the junior needs to broaden their shoulders, or the leader is an egotistical ass which isn’t very good for a leader.

How do you manage a lot of keys in a pocket?

I have to give serious thought to which keys I really need to carry. I have three sets, different uses, and I keep special keys where I can get to them, not on any ring. This works out pretty well for me.

“You probably hold the keys to all the doors that lead to my world. And I fear someday I will not be able to change the lock for every door out there permanently for you when it becomes necessary.”

-- Akshay Vasu

Should I be living under my parents' rules at 25 years old?

If you’re living under their roof and going to college, yeah, you should. If you’re not going to college, what the hell are you doing living with mommy and daddy? At 21 you should be coming into your own. At 25, you should be there.

What is something people need to understand?

Socialism is not your friend.

Who has been truly influenced by the media?

Since the media, in general, isn’t interested in reporting facts, I’d say everybody not interested in the truth has been influenced.

Who can be one of the most famously stupid people in history?

Do you mean, other than “Sleepy Joe”?

I defined manipulation as an act to gain and I reasoned some theories about it but I can’t practice it. How do I do it just once, maybe intentionally? I know we do it unconsciously.

Define “we” for me. I stopped manipulating people when I left the Intelligence field. I make a concerted effort not to manipulate, as it is wrong. If I want something, I ask for it. If the answer is no, I respect that, I don’t go about manipulating them to give me what I want when they don’t want to give it.

“Because to take away a man's freedom of choice, even his freedom to make the wrong choice, is to manipulate him as though he were a puppet and not a person.”

-- Madeline L'Engle

Are people who get upset with reality or require others to affirm something about them that is untrue considered reality-phobic?

That sounds about right.

What do I need to demonstrate such that you will be convinced that my duck identity reflects reality?

I want to hear the quack and see the beak, feathers, and webbed feet. If you’re a woman, I want to witness you laying an egg. Flying would be another attribute, as would duck poop, and being shot out of the sky for dinner. Just saying.

Do you have something relatively small in the grand scheme that you tend to feel guilty about?

All the women I’ve slept with, just for sex.

Would you rather be resilient or ruthless?

Ruthless is all about greed. And, since greed is one of the “Seven Deadly Sins,” I think I’d rather be resilient.

Are rights and privileges things that should only be given to beings with intelligence and emotions?

Every human has rights. The United States sets it forth in our Declaration of Independence (1776): “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness[.]”

According to this, all people have unalienable “Rights” to, at a minimum, “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” This isn’t declared for just those with intelligence and emotions, but for the least of us, as well. It is for those who cannot protect themselves, like babies in the womb who are murdered daily with no respect for their innocence or these rights to life, liberty, or the mere chance to pursue happiness.

Yep, this last was for the League of the Perpetually Offended. I couldn’t help myself.

Author's comment: Why are you assuming I am only talking about humans?

My comment: The author put this question forward and turned off "comments" so I couldn't answer. This is a tactic I see constantly with the League of the Perpetually Offended.  He is right, as I did assume. The question didn't have enough context to drive me away from humans with little, or no, intelligence or emotions.  Had he mentioned other life forms, I would have been happy to address that.  My answer to him, not given, is that the original question had no context leading me to, as I stated, believe it considered any other life form.  Knowing his slam on me was weak, he turned off any reply I may have given.   Does this say more about him than me?  For you to decide.

“'Rights' are 'privileges', and if I am arrogant enough to demand the former without respecting the latter I will lose both.”

-- Craig D. Lounsbrough

Why do people say you can make choices when for me I need to learn to make an impact and life comes differently for everybody?

Isn’t the need “to make an impact” a choice? Life revolves around our freedom to make choices and decisions. Life presents opportunities, and lessons, for us to learn from in order to rise above failure and mistakes by our free choice. We learn to make more good choices, and decisions, than bad. A good choice would be to make a positive “impact” in life.

Life does, in fact, come at everybody differently and, yet, the same. We all have to learn the same basic lessons in order to move forward.

What deeper feeling underlies the feeling of confusion (about choice, the future, life)?

Fear?

Why am I disgusted by insecure people and look down on them? Is this normal?

Very normal, but only because people think they’re so much better. We can all look down on those who are disgusted by the weak and insecure, as well. It might be better if point out weaknesses we notice and mentor the people to rise above them.

Think of it this way, if you die feeling “disgusted by insecure people,” what guarantees do you have that you won't be born again and raised to be insecure? I mean, instead of helping you, people will simply look down on you in disgust, right?

Why do some people give a negative connotation to naivety?

The accusers and the accused would seem to have the same lack of experience, knowledge, wisdom, and good sense.

How do we react or respond when somebody attacks our self-worth saying we are not good enough?

Good enough for whom? For the attacker? Please. Immediately I can claim a step higher than they are. People feel the need to attack because of their own insecurities and questionable ego. I smile at the knowledge that they don’t know me, or my background. Most people have unknown advantages.

“You're not good enough." Gosh, that voice; nails on a chalkboard. Wanna drown that voice in buckets of urine!”

-- Efrat Cybulkiewicz

Are we our own enemy?

Are you constantly fighting with yourself? I’ve declared a truce with myself that has held for about 20 years. I agreed with myself to strive for true happiness always and in all things, regardless of my circumstances. Instead of fighting with myself, I reason out why I’m angry and work to find an amicable solution. This had bled over into my interaction with others, as well. I simply refuse to get angry with myself, or others. I have an agreement, with myself, to disagree. No harm, no foul, just an issue to be worked out.

What does it mean when we say that someone has a "big ego" and is it wrong to say it (if ego means "self/me/the sense of perceiving the world around")?

"If" ego means what you say it does.  But, what if it means the common definition: "A person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance."?  In this case, a "big ego" would probably mean they have an inflated opinion of themselves that may not hold water.

How can I be more realistic? Everyone says I'm stupid, how can I increase my intelligence?

You want to be more “realistic” and, yet, you think you need to increase your intelligence simply because “everyone” judges you to be “stupid.” People who judge others are usually trying to make up for their own inadequacies. If you are concerned about being more realistic, show these judgmental people more of the real you. I would tell them, “You dare to judge me, and you call me stupid? I would tell you to look in the mirror, but you have already proven yourself to be blind.”

If you want to increase your knowledge base, read more varied subjects than that which just interest you. Read everything that concerns the real world and form your own opinion. It is that simple. Open your mind and be willing to listen to the opinions, and ask questions. Reading, listening, and questioning, are the keys to most knowledge. The judgment of others is the key to stagnation.

What causes people who are insecure to try to make others feel bad about themselves?

Jealousy. 

People do not want to be my friends because they envy me what can I do?

Tell them you can’t help being who you are and that you would like them as friends, but the choice has to be theirs, not yours. I envied many people for varied reasons. My envy wasn’t their fault, it was mine. I made a judgment that was wrong of me to make. As it turned out, in almost every case, we became good friends. Honesty goes quite far with confused people. Be the light.

“Envy is the religion of the mediocre. It comforts them, it soothes their worries, and finally, it rots their souls, allowing them to justify their meanness and their greed until they believe these to be virtues. Such people are convinced that the doors of heaven will be opened only to poor wretches like themselves who go through life without leaving any trace but their threadbare attempts to belittle others and to exclude - and destroy if possible - those who, by the simple fact of their existence, show up their own poorness of spirit, mind, and guts. Blessed be the one at whom the fools bark because his soul will never belong to them.”

-- Carlos Ruiz Zafón

 

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