Questioning Values, Life, Growing, Idiots, Stupid, and Society

 

“There are some values that you should never compromise on to stay true to yourself; you should be brave to stand up for what you truly believe in even if you stand alone.”

-- Roy T. Bennett

What are your core values in life? What principles or beliefs guide your decision-making?

This is easy. Always do good. People may disagree with you but they know you are operating on what is right, not what is expected. In this way, you build a good character that people can rely on.

Why do people seek validation?

It is always good to know you’re on the right track. 

What are some red flags in inauthentic people?

Their mouth gets ahead of their abilities. Some people say they have done so much in their lives and, in reality, they are creating the legend they want you to see them as. It is pretty easy to tell bullshit from reality. If they really did something they wouldn’t have a problem remembering it.

Why am I not good at anything, and I'm dumb?

Well, you aren’t dumb at everything. You have skills in operating the computer, which is a bonus. If you can do this, I’m sure there are more things you are good at, as well.

What is the root cause of crime?

Greed.

Why are so many people angry over what are really pretty minor things? Is being angry the new lifestyle trend to be stylish? Hippies, then Yuppies, and eventually, now, Vexies? Has it become fashionable to be easily provoked?

If people get angry over minor things, they don’t have enough major things to pay attention to. You have to be too busy to consider the minor bullshit that people want you to react over. Once you understand minor bullshit, you will find it much easier to ignore.

Author's comment: It’s been surprising to me how many answers to questions like this end up with people defending their right to be pissy over the small things they value. Good answer, Tony.

“Never respond to an angry person with a fiery comeback, even if he deserves it...Don't allow his anger to become your anger.”

-- Bohdi Sanders

What does the phrase “don't take life too seriously” mean? Does it imply one shouldn't take personal goals and aspirations seriously?

No. It means you should separate the wheat from the chaff. You should pay attention to the serious things in life and learn to ignore the bullshit that whines for your attention. It is a choice, to be always serious or to let some things roll off your back.

How do you pretend to be ashamed?

You should be familiar with "shame" to pretend. I would have a problem pretending.

Why do people act like they know me when in reality they have no clue what I’m capable of, what events have led me to become who I am, and the wealth of experience I have to offer?

People make suppositions when they don’t get enough information. If their suppositions bother you, maybe you should tell them that they suck, and let them know the real you.

In your own experience, what's your own price of karma?

Karma has no “price.” You can be good or bad and karma will deal with you accordingly. 

Why do so many people think everyone else is dumb? If this was true, shouldn't there be more dumb people that think everyone is smart?

That supposes that dumb people would recognize a smart person. They are “dumb” so, for them to "recognize" a smart person, it would require them to be “smarter” than they are dumb. Just saying.

Isn’t [this site] just where stupid people come to feel smart?

That depends. Why are you here?

“Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.”

-- George Carlin

Can it be true that sometimes you must eat your words, chew your ego, swallow your pride, and accept your mistakes? It’s not giving up, it is called growing up.

Growing up you learn to think before you speak. You know you are not any better than those around you, and your “pride” is how you treat the least of society. If you think before you act, there are potentially no mistakes you might make that you will have to accept. Wisdom, in one’s life, is part of growing up.

Author's comment: Beautifully written, thank you. 

Why do people replace you when you are totally into them?

Learn who you can be “totally into.” People are strange when it comes to letting people get too close. We tend to guard our personal lives.

I always see myself as a bad person with many flaws that I have never been able to fix, which drives me to self-loathing. Why is this? What is the solution?

Everyone has flaws, but having flaws doesn’t mean you have to be a bad person, so stop. If you can’t fix the flaws, you haven’t tried very hard. I can see why your lack of effort might drive you to self-loathing. The solution is to try harder to change into the good person you want to be. Why? Because a good person is better than a bad person. Life is funny this way.

Isn't it true, that educated people actually suffer more from the Dunning-Kruger effect than uneducated people, but that educated people conduct biased studies of the Dunning-Kruger effect claiming to prove otherwise?

God forbid “educated people” recognize the truth of things they don’t want to admit.

Why can't scientists understand, that the fact that people disagree with them, doesn't mean they're stupid? It probably means that scientists are stupid!

Scientists are not all stupid, they just haven’t come across the truth yet. The stupid ones say that something is fact, instead of stating that, as far as they know, it makes sense until they find out whether it, what they know, holds any fact. Scientists need to be less “concrete” about what they think they know.

Would there be any losers if life was always fair? If yes, then why?

Whether life is fair has no bearing on an individual’s opinion if life is being fair. “Fair” is an opinion of the person being screwed.

“Fairness does not mean everyone gets the same. Fairness means everyone gets what they need.”

-- Rick Riordan

Have you ever been in court representing yourself pro-se and realized your client was an idiot?

Nope. Dad was a wise man. He always said that a man representing himself in a court of law had an idiot for a client.

Why am I superior to everyone else?

You are a legend in your own mind.

Are humans dumb? It’s a bit pretentious and obnoxious for people to call themselves smart and destroy the planet for money. Sounds kinda dumb to me.

Not every human is “dumb.” Not everyone destroys the planet for money, and not everyone destroys the planet. You are putting every human in the same group, which is not fair to the innocent.

How can I perceive myself more accurately?

Stand in front of a mirror for several hours. It will tell volumes.

Why is hating = insecure?

Because if you are incapable of hating you are a step closer to being emotionally secure. People who are doing something bad are insecure. To hate them for what they do puts you in the same basket they are in. They are doing something to aggravate you, and you hate them in return. In this way, both parties are suffering from insecurity. 

How do you hold patience for others?

I don’t. It is up to each of us to hold our patience. Why would you want to hold onto someone else’s patience? Just saying.

“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”

-- Aristotle

What if I am smart but refuse to do stupid things, like mathematics?

You need to understand that you are smart, not very intelligent. There is a difference. If you are both, however, you are an anomaly.

Why does it take a few days and so many posts for me to normalize a new fact? Why can’t people with average IQ think like me and just accept the fact when it is introduced? Enlightening people is meaningful but you are so obtuse.

Reader comment: Uh, because most of your posts contain your misunderstandings of facts — or outright misrepresentations — to advance a racist agenda. And that’s when they’re not incomprehensible word salad. That’s why.

My comment:  I really like this reader's comment! Besides, the first question needs a comma. If you can't shake this out in a few days, it puts any "new fact" she tries to "normalize" in question. I would leave "enlightening" people to those who can.

What is a brief conclusion of managing challenging behaviors?

Unless you’re a professional, you will probably fail.

Are we living in an age where greed knows no bounds?

Only if you are young enough to be greedy, but, for senior citizens, life delivered what they worked for… or not. Greed only delivers dividends if you can afford it and for the majority of us, we live the life that is dealt us.

What is mankind's greatest weakness?

The ability to give from the heart, selflessly and anomalously.

Is self-respect important or your relationship with your partner? Which is important, and why?

Unless you are a submissive, self-respect is why they are with you. If you’re a submissive, any self-respect is what your partner allows you to have.

“We are all alone, born alone, die alone, and - in spite of True Romance magazines - we shall all someday look back on our lives and see that - in spite of our company, we were alone the whole way. I do not say lonely - at least, not all the time - but essentially, and finally, alone. This is what makes your self-respect so important, and I don't see how you can respect yourself if you must look in the hearts and minds of others for your happiness.”

-- Hunter S. Thompson 

Why is Society so obsessed with Phones, TikTok, YouTube, being a content creator, making pointless videos and selfies, being repetitive, and much more? How did we get to this point in life? Will it ever change? Will society exit out of the comfort zone?

Society has lost the ability to engage in “interpersonal communication” with anybody. It will change when everyone takes the greater majority of their “personal” time to share with another human being, face-to-face, with no concern for the yearning for technology. My son and his girlfriend, of many years, sit at either end of the couch… and text each other. It boggles the mind, but this is where the majority exist.

What do you do if you just weren't aware your thinking was stupid?

Don’t talk, and pay more attention to what you think. 

What treatment do I need for being too smart for my own good?

You have recognized the issue, which is a good first step. Now you need to keep your mouth shut and try listening to others, instead of being understood as a know-it-all.

I look at my own ego and I see nothing. I may just overthink when my kind is silent, but nothing would make me conscious even after much sadness and happiness. Why is that? What can you do?

How can you look at your ego, if nothing is there? You are in denial of what is there. Nobody can do anything for you. It is up to you to see what is there. If people do this for you, you are left at the starting line having accomplished nothing for yourself.

How hard is it to not be stupid?

Keep your mouth shut. Nobody will be the wiser.

Does watching dozens, if not hundreds, of shorts, stories, and reels on social media platforms really cause distraction and weaken memory, and is life without social media really better and psychologically healthier? If so, then how do you do that?

Yes, and yes. Understand what “social media” can do to mental health. Try going out into the world and leaving any connection to the “worldwide web” at home. As for your phone, I use my phone for what the phone was meant for - calling other people.

“Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”

-- Umberto Eco

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 view any more right or wrong than the other. Opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form their own opinions, 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 while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning those opinions offered. After twenty-three years of military intelligence, I believe that engaging each other in this manner, and in this arena, is a 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 United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. Following his service career, he spent 17 years working with the premier and world-renowned Western Institutional Review Board, helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. He also served 8 years on the Board of Directors for the Angela J. Bowen Foundation.

Ordained in 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As a weapon for his war on intolerance, he chose the pen. He 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 personal, spiritual path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteered as the lead chaplain at a regional medical center.

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