Four ounces of water in an eight-ounce glass.
If you're an opimist, the glass is half full.
If you're a pessimist, the glass is half empty.
Stop trying to limit my choices.
I'm a realist. The glass is simply twice as big as it needs to be.
Random Thoughts
If astronauts discovered a new color and brought it back to Earth, what would it look like?
How do you clean dirt?
If people in the military are supposed to be in shape, how come the Army, Navy, and Air Force football teams all have big, fat linemen?
How do you clean dirt?
If people in the military are supposed to be in shape, how come the Army, Navy, and Air Force football teams all have big, fat linemen?
TIGER WOODS
Okay, I didn't want to talk about Tiger Woods and his personal problems. After all, everyone else already is. And that's the problem. Isn't this a matter between him and his wife? Is it any of our business? I don't think so.
So instead I'll just comment on what I see as the real question, the one thing that nobody else is talking about.
Why are we so fascinated with the personal life of a guy just because he can hit a little, white ball into a hole? Does the fact that he's good at it raise him to a place where his personal life affects us? No! But off we go, filling our news programs with hourly updates about who claims what was done and who did what and to who, etc. This is time and effort that could be better spent on important matters like international events that might affect our nation, or at least give us insight into the rest of the world.
We should really ask ourselves why we have become a society that prefers tabloid news over real journalism, why an athlete's sex life is more interesting to us than the things that actually affect us.
Come on, people. Learn to think.
So instead I'll just comment on what I see as the real question, the one thing that nobody else is talking about.
Why are we so fascinated with the personal life of a guy just because he can hit a little, white ball into a hole? Does the fact that he's good at it raise him to a place where his personal life affects us? No! But off we go, filling our news programs with hourly updates about who claims what was done and who did what and to who, etc. This is time and effort that could be better spent on important matters like international events that might affect our nation, or at least give us insight into the rest of the world.
We should really ask ourselves why we have become a society that prefers tabloid news over real journalism, why an athlete's sex life is more interesting to us than the things that actually affect us.
Come on, people. Learn to think.
Why Can't Americans Think?
Back in the late 60's - early 70's a great debate was waged over whether or not women should be drafted into the military. Basically, the two sides of the argument were these:
Yes. If men are drafted, then women should be, too.
No. Women should not be stuck in a foxhole with men.
Evidentally, it never occured to these shortsighted people that other options might exist.
For example: Draft women into the military but put them in non-combat positions. Most military personnel never get anywhere near a combat area. They are all the people who provide the supplies, paperwork, maintenance, etc.
The point of all this is that Americans seem to have lost the ability to think through a problem. Whether it be gun control, gay marriage, legalizing drugs, health care, or any other major (or minor) issue, Americans have let others do their thinking for them. Unfortunately, those others are usually extremists on both sides who have a personal agenda.
Come on, America. Learn to think!
Yes. If men are drafted, then women should be, too.
No. Women should not be stuck in a foxhole with men.
Evidentally, it never occured to these shortsighted people that other options might exist.
For example: Draft women into the military but put them in non-combat positions. Most military personnel never get anywhere near a combat area. They are all the people who provide the supplies, paperwork, maintenance, etc.
The point of all this is that Americans seem to have lost the ability to think through a problem. Whether it be gun control, gay marriage, legalizing drugs, health care, or any other major (or minor) issue, Americans have let others do their thinking for them. Unfortunately, those others are usually extremists on both sides who have a personal agenda.
Come on, America. Learn to think!
...and now a love poem
I wish I had a nickle for every dime you stole from me
Then I'd be about half as rich as I used to be
I wish I had the brains I used to have before we met
'Cause if I did I'd take back everything that I could get
You carved your name in the lines of my face
and left it for all to see
If I had some soap I'd scrub away your filthy name
I'd scrub so hard my face would crack just to be clean again
Your name is like an epitaph engraved upon my head
And if we ever meet again I hope to God you're dead
You're still hanging in the back of my mind
but you should be hanging from a tree
Then I'd be about half as rich as I used to be
I wish I had the brains I used to have before we met
'Cause if I did I'd take back everything that I could get
You carved your name in the lines of my face
and left it for all to see
If I had some soap I'd scrub away your filthy name
I'd scrub so hard my face would crack just to be clean again
Your name is like an epitaph engraved upon my head
And if we ever meet again I hope to God you're dead
You're still hanging in the back of my mind
but you should be hanging from a tree
Look For The Menu
Imagine that a friend takes you to Baskin & Robbins, the home of 31 flavors of ice cream. Suppose you'd never been there before, and you know nothing about it. Your friend says that you can have any flavor of ice cream that the want, either chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla. You choose chocolate, then you leave, feeling very satisfied that you got to make the choice all by yourself.
But you don't realize that your friend never told you about the other 28 flavors. Had you known, you might have tried a different flavor, one that you may have liked even better than chocolate.
And he never even told you that there was a menu you could have looked at to help you make a more informed decision.
But not knowing all this, you walk happily away.
Americans need to learn to look for the menu. Americans shouldn't be content just because they made a decision. They need to make sure that the choices they make are from all the choices available, not just from the choices they are given.
At the very least, see if the person giving you the choices is really your friend.
But you don't realize that your friend never told you about the other 28 flavors. Had you known, you might have tried a different flavor, one that you may have liked even better than chocolate.
And he never even told you that there was a menu you could have looked at to help you make a more informed decision.
But not knowing all this, you walk happily away.
Americans need to learn to look for the menu. Americans shouldn't be content just because they made a decision. They need to make sure that the choices they make are from all the choices available, not just from the choices they are given.
At the very least, see if the person giving you the choices is really your friend.
Truth Is Truth
It is a plain and simple fact that truth is truth no matter where it comes from.
We humans have a weird quirk - we tend to believe people we like and/or respect, and disbelieve people we don't. We also tend to grant validity to a person's opinions based on their position in the world. This is idiocy.
I've often wondered why the people in the pews nod their heads in acceptance at every word the preacher says. Does his position at the front of the church grant him certain abilities denied to the rest of us? Has God given him special insights into the Bible that the rest of cannot possess? If we have a brain and the ability to read, aren't our interpretations as valid as his? Perhaps we think that he must know more than we because he has studied longer. Well, that is just not true. He has not really "studied" at all. He has just been taught by someone who was taught by someone else who - and on and on. And bear this in mind: every new sect of a religion was started when someone didn't agree with his teacher. Martin Luther comes to mind.
And isn't it curious how we believe someone just because they wrote a book? We see an author on a talk show expounding his theories as fact, and say, " I did not know that. But it must be true. After all, he wrote a book."
Of course, the opposite is also true. We often deny validity to a person's opinion based on their profession. For example, an actor takes a stand on something, and we say, "What does he know? He's just an actor." As if being an actor prohibits him from rational thought.
Now don't misunderstand me. Sometimes the preacher and the author are right, and sometimes the actor is an idiot. But it's not automatic. A wise man can be foolish, and a moron can get it right once in a while.
Remember, even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Do your own research, make your own analysis, and learn to think for yourself.
We humans have a weird quirk - we tend to believe people we like and/or respect, and disbelieve people we don't. We also tend to grant validity to a person's opinions based on their position in the world. This is idiocy.
I've often wondered why the people in the pews nod their heads in acceptance at every word the preacher says. Does his position at the front of the church grant him certain abilities denied to the rest of us? Has God given him special insights into the Bible that the rest of cannot possess? If we have a brain and the ability to read, aren't our interpretations as valid as his? Perhaps we think that he must know more than we because he has studied longer. Well, that is just not true. He has not really "studied" at all. He has just been taught by someone who was taught by someone else who - and on and on. And bear this in mind: every new sect of a religion was started when someone didn't agree with his teacher. Martin Luther comes to mind.
And isn't it curious how we believe someone just because they wrote a book? We see an author on a talk show expounding his theories as fact, and say, " I did not know that. But it must be true. After all, he wrote a book."
Of course, the opposite is also true. We often deny validity to a person's opinion based on their profession. For example, an actor takes a stand on something, and we say, "What does he know? He's just an actor." As if being an actor prohibits him from rational thought.
Now don't misunderstand me. Sometimes the preacher and the author are right, and sometimes the actor is an idiot. But it's not automatic. A wise man can be foolish, and a moron can get it right once in a while.
Remember, even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Do your own research, make your own analysis, and learn to think for yourself.
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