Questioning Wisdom, Wishing, Questions, Memory, and Decisions

“I'm trying to think, don't confuse me with facts.”

-- Plato 

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”

-- Socrates

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

-- Aristotle

Why do people accuse me of claiming to be wise, whereas I see myself as someone who knows nothing?

One would think, that if people say you are “claiming” to be wise, you must have said something to make them think so. You seem to lean on the Socratic philosophy of wisdom: “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”

True wisdom also leans on the philosophy of being humble in all things, including being wise. I would look to why people say you claim wisdom when you say you don’t. I would put the question to an accuser. Sometimes we don’t realize we tout our own attributes. It is human nature.

Can humans be rational about everything?

No, but we give it the old college try. If we were rational about everything always this would be “perfection.” But, since there is no such thing as perfection, we can’t.

What's the word for that single little flaw in an otherwise perfect person or thing?

I’ve always called it the “single little flaw.” It’s the flaw that prevents anything from being perfect. The most we can ever strive for is excellence. The “single little flaw” in most of us is an inability to control flapping our pie hole. The League of the Perpetually Offended fails at this… perpetually. 

What is the most important philosophical question at this moment in your idea?

“Why?”  And, for smartasses like me, out there, "because" is not an answer.

Is there any value in intentionally asking stupid questions?

There is no such thing as a stupid question unless you ask it more than once. But, even then, the question isn’t stupid. We ask “stupid” questions to get understandable answers. The value of any question is in the knowledge we obtain.

“If you ask a stupid question, you may feel stupid; if you don't ask a stupid question, you remain stupid.”

-- Tony Rothman

To what extent is the human psyche related to their worldview?

Considering the psyche “refers to all of the elements of the human mind, both conscious and unconscious” I’d say we wouldn’t be able to have a “worldview” without it. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure we’d be able to do much without it, except act like a cabbage.

How do I come to terms with knowing capitilsm is evil and that humanity is doomed because we worship money and greed is glorified whilst being good is seen as a weakness? I feel hopeless the world will change what can I do to help?

Move to China, and learn how to spell capitalism

What are the biggest misconceptions people have about your profession?

Considering my “profession” is, now, retirement, I’d have to say it really isn’t all that people conceive it to be. I would love to run barefoot through the beach sand, drink piña coladas, and party with the babes all day. Unfortunately, yard work, house chores, taking care of my aging mother, and yadda, yadda, yadda, keep me otherwise occupied. A “nine-to-five” job was so much easier. At least I could afford to pay someone else to deal with this shit. 

When wishing on a shooting star, do you have to make your wish before it disappears, or can you still make it after it disappears?

My experience with shooting stars says you can make it immediately after you see it. Nobody thinks that fast, even if I already have my hand on her knee.

What is more useful in real life, bouldering or parkour?

Parkour. With all the crime that is rampant on city streets, “moving rapidly through an area, typically in an urban environment, negotiating obstacles by running, jumping, and climbing” would seem, to me, more useful in real life.

"Our nation was built and civilized by men and women who used guns in self-defense and in pursuit of peace. One wonders indeed, if the rising crime rate, isn't due as much as anything to the criminal's instinctive knowledge that the average victim no longer has means of self-protection."

-- Ronald Reagan

If America wasn't the land of opportunity anymore, would it be worth living here? Why?

Of course! You make your own opportunity. Considering the freedoms we would still enjoy, if socialism hasn’t taken a solid foothold, you still have the freedom to pursue any opportunity you’d like. As long as we still have the freedom to be, anything is possible (the League of the Perpetually Offended notwithstanding). 

What is the most important question about questions?

Are they clear and understandable? Experience says that most people think you know what’s in their brain. I’m the first to admit, I am not very good with yogurt. 

Who are your biggest inspirations?

God forbid I should admit leaning on anyone as an inspiration. I get enough grief from people with nothing else to do without treating those that inspire me to the members of the League of the Perpetually Offended.

Can a 30-year-old look like a 20-year-old?

Oh, hell yes. If a woman knows what she’s doing, she can look even younger. On the flip side, younger girls can also look like women. I love government I.D. cards.

Reader's comment:  Can a 40-year-old look like a 20-year-old? I have seen it in Hollywood stars, and with one woman, who was in her 40s and looked like she was in her 20s.

My reply:  Indeed!

Reader's reply: For my generation, it may be possible to look 20 at 40 maybe even 50 60, and 70, There is an app called face app that allows you to do that, to turn a 40-year-old into a 20-year-old nothing turn a 100-year-old, and a 110-year-old into a 20-year-old. I have seen a photoshop video, and it didn’t come out very well. They looked like 50 on an Irishman. They tried to make Robert Deniro look like a first-time soldier in his 20s, more like a first-time soldier in his 50s.

What are the best ways to maintain a positive attitude and stay optimistic?

Make the free choice to strive for true happiness always and in all things, regardless of your circumstances. It is your life and you have the right to choose how you live it. If you surrender that right, that is a free choice you have made to let someone else screw up your life for you. Learn to ignore assholes that dampen your attitude and optimism. They live for the shit they do, but you don’t have to. 

“Don't let the expectations and opinions of other people affect your decisions. It's your life, not theirs. Do what matters most to you; do what makes you feel alive and happy. Don't let the expectations and ideas of others limit who you are. If you let others tell you who you are, you are living their reality — not yours. There is more to life than pleasing people. There is much more to life than following others' prescribed path. There is so much more to life than what you experience right now. You need to decide who you are for yourself.”

-- Roy T. Bennett

Why do we value fairness so much and is it that important?

Nobody likes someone who feels they always have to be an asshole. Being fair and understanding is always the best tact. Being a self-proclaimed hypocrite can make this a challenge, however. The “do as I say, not as I do” rule is a bit hard to put forth. I can manage it. It can taste like vinegar, but, being Sicilian, I can handle it.

No one is perfect, because perfect doesn’t exist. The most we can hope for is fairness and understanding. This is so very important and, yet, even I have times when it seems much easier to toss fairness to the wayside and confront those folks just like me, or worse. Patience is a hard taskmaster.

Do people forget more in winter than in summer?

Probably. Many people suffer from the effects of low light or “seasonal affective disorder” (SAD) which is more prominent during the fall and winter seasons. Some of the many symptoms are feeling listlessness, sluggishness, and difficulty concentrating. 

Where does the idea of "right and wrong" come from? Is it objective or subjective? Does it come from an individual’s morality or environmental influences?

I think “environmental” influences would tell us it is what it is. Great for nature, but not so good for us. Personally, I think our greed, our feeling of intense selfishness, has much to do with it. We do what is wrong because we want to, or feel we can.

Sometime, long ago, someone took something that someone else made, The “owner” probably took it back and informed the greedy little snot, “I don’t take your shit, you don’t take mine.” He probably punched him, to drive the point home. And it followed with, my woman, not yours; you must tell truths; don’t invade my personal space; and, so on.

Ask if you want to borrow, don’t just take it, and bring it back in the same condition you got it, and don’t lie and say you didn’t take it. They probably saw you take it, saw you break it, saw you with their woman. Rules for what is right and wrong have been with us ever since.

Regarding creativity, do you want to achieve any artistic goals?

When I feel the urge to be creative, I have an artistic goal… of attainment. 

What is creativity to you, and how do you use it in your day-to-day life?

Creativity in cooking. I take a recipe that makes no sense and I try to fix it. People tend to advise too much of this, too little of that, a temperature for making jerky or burning toast, or leaving an entire step or ingredient to your imagination. My take on their recipes is always an adventure.

“There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into a sun”

-- Pablo Picasso

Does God decide how long we live?

One would like to blame God for short life spans, but, unfortunately, it has much to do with our lineage, choices and decisions, and stupidity. God gifts us with an existence that spans untold lifetimes, some longer than others, and a buttload of lessons we’re supposed to learn. How to handle not learning, bad decisions and choices, and short lives and death, are among the lessons.

Do you have patience?

Not with stupid people, especially drivers with cell phones, and especially when they’re at stop signs… texting.

How do you teach a kid that selflessness doesn't mean giving into other people's needs/desires 100% of the time? I can't stand the idea of seeing kids being taken advantage of, because they are afraid of being seen as 'selfish'?

Your question contains the answer. Explain to them the selfishness of people who use other people because other people allow it. Explaining being “taken advantage of” and how it is selfish. They need to pick and choose those who are truly in need of their selfless giving, and know who is just looking for a handout, not a hand up. Even Jesus understood that you can’t save people from themselves. Give a man a fish and he eats a meal; teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.

If you were never exposed to bad ideas, would you still have a point of reference to nothing or addiction?

So, I never grabbed anything hot, or dropped something precious and broke it, or inadvertently hurt someone’s feelings? That kind of reference? This would be hard to believe, interacting among people. I must be in a coma.

Okay, I am almost competent. I can read information and there are just areas of my brain that can't figure out complex info. It hurts, and information is not understandable when I'm free thinking. Am I really incompetent to make decisions?

The first question that comes to mind is, how old are you? I made incompetent choices and decisions until I joined the military, at 20, and they reprogrammed me. Many of us are spared making our own choices and decisions by parents that assume they’re doing us a favor. Failures and mistakes, unfortunately, are the best ways we can learn, and learning is all about making better choices and decisions by figuring out complex information with the help of the “been there and done that” of life.

“If you obsess over whether you are making the right decision, you are basically assuming that the universe will reward you for one thing and punish you for another.

The universe has no fixed agenda. Once you make any decision, it works around that decision. There is no right or wrong, only a series of possibilities that shift with each thought, feeling, and action that you experience.

If this sounds too mystical, refer again to the body. Every significant vital sign- body temperature, heart rate, oxygen consumption, hormone level, brain activity, and so on- alters the moment you decide to do anything… decisions are signals telling your body, mind, and environment to move in a certain direction.”

-- Deepak Chopra

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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. 

I fervently 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