Deep Thought
1. I’m not sure. There’s only so much you can do; the friend has to meet you half way.
2. Criminals had a choice, they chose to break the law. Aborted babies were not given a choice.
3. Religion, definitely. Remember, religions are man-made. God doesn’t care what denomination you are.
4. People don’t know what real peace is, and they won’t until they have passed away.
5. If so, it didn’t last very long. That much power tends to corrupt people. It’s our nature.
6. We need lawyers because people are always looking for loopholes in order to get around the rules. Plus lawyers keep the judges on their toes so they don’t get too powerful.1. No price is too dear for a valued friendship.
2. What Denise said.
3. Man. He used religion as the excuse more often.
4. Oxymoron.
5. Because the law is not black and white. And the law is sometimes too detailed for the common citizen. And to represent the citizen in an arena they are not versed in.
That does NOT mean we should not shoot all the bastards now and get new crop of ‘em ... the new crop would be more likely to tend to our business a little better if we did that.
Posted by Steel Turman
04/24/2005 at 12:34 AM
1. If the anger was justified, almost any price. If not, I would walk away.
2. One has sinned; the other hasn’t. One sinner was given his chance to plead for justice; the other wasn’t. Perhaps another aspect would be to ask what are the similarities. Both acts leave victims behind. - The living and the dead.
3. Religion.
4. Because all cultures are not the same.
5. I believe there have been attempts at honest government. Power eventually corrupts even the most well meant efforts. Yes, I believe there are honest politicians.
6. We need lawyers to help people who do not understand the judicial process. And we need lawyers to keep those who understand the process too well to keep from getting away with crime.
Posted by Phoenix
04/24/2005 at 12:40 AM
Darn another round of having to get the mind ticking over....tick tick oops big hard rock…
#1. The price I would personally pay, is to ensure that the friend involved knew implicitly that the lines of communications would always be open, other than that there is nothing that could be done without resentment building within myself.
#2. Simple, one has lived albeit wrongfully and the other has never been given the opportunity.
#3. Man with Religion named as the excuse.
#4. The sheer desire to obtain more, wealth, land, power.
#5. Honest Government, like Phoenix says, they attempt, then $$$$’s come into play, or the good of the country, people, resulting in unethical/unlawful decisions to be made. I believe most, no not all, politicians begin with honesty and then like Governments they too are influenced with wealth and power.
#6. We need lawyers, all of they above, with the added bonus that the Lawyers themselves have changed the structure of the laws, by introducing/setting precidents, which allows the original law to be corrupted, twisted and bent totally out of whack.
1. Honestly, I would pay most any price to get back some of the friends I’ve lost
2. Criminals given the death penalty are guilty of taking a life, aborted babies are guilty only of gaining life
3. Women, most definately
4. Someone’s always looking to rule over someone else
5. Yes, until the 2nd politician realized he could take advantage of the 1st politician’s honesty
6. Lawyers exist solely to exist (in the case of strict guidelines that put in writing every possible scenerio at least.) In the real world, lawyers exist to exploit loopholes or establish a bit of doubt; several actually devote their lives to proving innocence where it exist.
1. Depends on the friend and why they’re angry with me - methods of making amends and fixing wrongs differ from person to person. While one might react best to being allowed to sulk for a while, another might need immediate reconcilation, or risk losing them for good.
2. Simple - one is sentenced to death by the righteous and noble law, and the other is just a poor criminal. Oh wait… it’s the criminal who’s supposed to be sentenced to death, and the baby is the victim… Pretty screwed up system, ain’t it?
3. Greed, with any number of excuses given. Misunderstandings/giant accidental screw-ups come second, and self-defense third.
4. Because it takes one side to win a war, but both sides to win the peace. And we all know that ain’t ever gonna happen anyplace there’s recently been a war - either the losers are too bitter, or the victors too brutal, or both. Or misunderstandings occur (see Item 3).
5. Honest politician… no. Honest person in a political office… yes.
Totally honest goverment… no. Mostly honest government… yes.6. Target practice.
I would like to change my answer for #6, I like JSThane’s answer better.
I agree with Denise, but would expand on #1:
The price one pays to keep a friend that is extremely angry with you is pride. Pride is cold comfort when you miss someone you cared for deeply. The question you must ask yourself is “Why is my pride worth more than this friendship?” Usually - it isn’t. So bend the knee and grant to your good friend that you might have been out of line, and that you are sorry. It really costs so very little.
1.If I’m wrong, apologize. If the other person is wrong and won’t see reason or accept my apology for being wrong, buh bye. Come back when you grow up.
2. One means a safer society and one means that society is going to Hell (guess which one is which!!).
3. People.
4. That is not always true. The only way it works is if you utterly destroy your enemy and then you rebuild them your way. Look at Japan. The Japanese are probably the best friend we have, because we kept total control during the rebuilding. Germany would be better if we had kept the other Europeans out. Especially the French. Their is no society or people on earth more capable of messing up the works than the French. We should have nuked Paris a long time ago. France is one of the greatest enemies that we have on earth, maybe greater than bin Laden and their genetic stupidity has infected the good work we made in Germany and is now starting to ruin England. Sorry, I got off subject.
5. Scum always crawls its way to the top.
6. We all want to get ahead by cheating and we create lawyers to figure out how.
One more thing on number 6. Somehow I think all lawyers are genetically French.
One caveat to my answer for #1. If I am wrong and make a sincere apology (the only kind I would make) and it was rebuffed, that would be the end of it. If I suffer my pride to hide itself and am cast off, then the ‘friend’ wasn’t a friend to begin with. Or at least not one that I would want.
Posted by Phoenix
04/24/2005 at 01:31 PM
#1. If the fault was mine, I would do what I could to put matters right, but if he would not listen, so be it. If the fault was his, then it would be his move and not mine.
#2. The difference between punishing the guilty and punishing the innocent.
#3. More than anything else, men crave power, and any excuse to get it (including religion) will serve, and has served. On small scales, we call it crime. On large scales, we call it war.
#4. At bottom, a lack of foresight, and an unwillingness to believe that such a traumatic experience as the last war could ever be repeated. But just let a generation who did not endure that war come along, and then....
#5. For all practical purposes, these are contradictions in terms. A damned shame, of course, but a reality.
#6. Call me cynical if you like. The law is one thing. The legal system is something else again. Justice (and injustice) are, whether we like it or not, too often commodities to be haggled over, bartered, bought, and sold, in the courtroom and out of it. The nauseating fact is that we are forced to rely on those who are professionals at such transactions.
Tannenberg:
Yes, it is nauseating that we are forced to rely on lawyers. I have had dealings with several over various matters. Looking back at each encounter, I believe I was more traumatized by the lawyer than the situation. In fact, I don’t believe it; I know it. Like politicians, the modicum of power they gain over those of us who do not understand the caprice of the law, turns them into self-aggrandizing assholes.
Posted by Phoenix
04/24/2005 at 05:45 PM
It is amazing how much everyone agrees on these 6 questions. Number one was the subject of the sermon at Church this morning. How serendipitous.
http://www.riverinthehills.com/
The sermon boiled down to:
o Try to avoid conflict whenever possible.
o Don’t take offense easily; let perceived slights roll off you like water off a duck’s back.
o If conflict is inevitable, go vertical first, ask God what to do. Go horizontal second, reach out to the offended party.
o Even if you believe that the problem is 1% yours and 99% the other guy’s. Take 100% responsibility for your 1%. Don’t be afraid to say that you were wrong or apologize.
o Be transparent and pure of spirit. Let the other party see inside of you. It makes you venerable, but it makes you real.
o Don’t preach or be “Holier than thou.” That was strange, coming from a preacher, but that is what he said.I think all the subjects have been covered quite well, so I’ll just throw in my (long winded) 2 cents worth on the “friends” issue.
For many years I’ve had 3 close and true friends. You who have them know what I mean - they are always true, you talk about all manner of things, share deep thoughts and secrets.
Two of these friends I will call Jim and Chuck. Both steadfast friends. Jim and I were in business together, hunted and fished together, our families went to Mexico together, most of all we camped together, Jim and I. A remote place where we’d go and sit around a little campfire and ‘get small’, drink a lot, discuss life and death, the best reload powders, and other ‘important’ things, walk, fish etc., sometimes with other like-minded friends too.
One day Jim took took offence at some stupid little thing. We weren’t on speaking terms for a couple of months. Our wives kept the pressure on to make up, but we were both too damn stubborn. That pride bullshit was in the way. Both of us were hurting and finally one day I’d had enough and called Jim - and it was “Hey, how are you......” - just like old times. We talked about the “problem” and made amends and plans for the camp and hunting that fall.
A few days later, Jim had a heart attack. “Not too serious” was the word. I talked to him briefly by phone a couple of times while he was in intensive care, and his wife got permission for me to go see him (not easy for non-family) and he was to be moved to a regular room in a day or two. The morning I was to visit him, his wife called and said “Jim’s gone”. “Huh? Gone where?” was my first response. He’d died suddenly early that morning. I was asked to do the eulogy, but one of the kids decided to read it instead. No problem. Doubt I could have done it anyway.
A year later, almost to the day, Chuck had a heart attack. Same hospital, similar circumstances, the call in the morning I was allowed to visit him - only his wife said it outright: “Chuck died early this morning.”
Once again I was asked to give the eulogy. I did. But don’t remember much about that, or the following days - since I’d somehow contracted pneumonia and almost joined my two best friends.
I mentioned three friends; the third is my wife of 36 years. My MOST-OF-ALL BEST FRIEND. Still here. Still my best friend.
So my advice to anyone is: swallow your silly, stupid, useless pride. Eat crow or shit or whatever it takes. It takes two to tango, so there’s likely fault on both sides. SO WHAT? It’s a hard life, and then you die.
The memory of dead, close, best friends, hurts so bad - and it lasts forever.
--30--
-Dan D,
Canuckistan
04/24/2005 at 01:40 AM
04/24/2005 at 07:38 PM
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