A Dinner with Friends

Hi all. Just got back from a dinner with some friends. Two couples and myself. I was the youngest in the room. LOL. Don't get to say that often anymore. The dinner was arranged by my friend because his wife wanted to meet me. Why anyone would wish to meet me is beyond; but, some do. So there.

We went to a great restaurant, had a nice meel and talked. We did not talk about football, celebrities, the latest tragedy, our injuries or personal relationships. We talked about the world. It is nice to have an old fashioned intelligent conversation with adults. I would have preferred to have a date myself; but, that was not to be.

The gentleman whose wife wanted to meet me is a businessman. He has sat on many boards for many companies and organizations. Even sits on the Board of a University. I know some interesting people. I tend to be differant than most of the people they know.

Anyways, I had accurately predicted when certain things would happen in the economy in advance and I was time specific. I did not tell many people; but, I had told this gentleman. He was surprised by my accuracy. He continued to be surprised as I continued to be accurate.

Well, his wife wanted to know some things that were going on in the economy and what my thoughts were on the matter. We talked about the economy, politics and religion for three hours. Now the two of them know a lot of "important" and "influential" people. I asked them if they spoke to their friends about such things and they said that their friends were not interested in such things only chasing the next cookie.

The people that used to rule are no longer ruling. The people that ran business and influenced local events are no longer in charge and are quite confused. One third of this countries millionaires are no longer millionaires. They are quite confused. They are trying to figure out how to keep what they had. That is what these two saw in thier friends.

Many wealthy people see what is going and consider leaving the country. Can't take the money with you. Not an option. If they did leave, it would not matter. Things are the same all over. At present nobody knows who is next to get it. GM did not think they would ever get it, Goldman Sachs never thought their power and influence would be insufficient. LOL. Kiddies, this is not the past, there is a new set of rules and the old alliances no longer serve a purpose.

Those who have nothing to lose are not as concerned as those who do by the changed nature of our world. This is a time for courage and commitment to morals. That is the only thing that will allow one to go through this time and remain them.

The United States government has convinced the Swiss banks to give up information on people who are hiding money there. This is money that will be turned over to the Federal government. You are only allowed to take a certain amount of money out of the country. Most countries have such limits. Sophia Loren and her husband went to jail for trying to take their money out of Italy a number of years ago.

Well we talked about economics and business and where the country is headed. All of us are Christians. Towards the end of the night, the man's wife asked me about God and my thoughts on the matter. She asked how God could be all powerful and good at the same time.

The question is a variation on something many people ask. How can bad things happen if there is a good God. My answer always begins the same way, "Where does it say that life on earth is club Med? If one believes in God, one must ask why we suffer. I will simplify, why are we here at all, why don't we just appear in heaven?

This is a place of learning in my opinion, eternity is long and stagnation is boring. If we look around us we can see what things lead to growth, friction, water, manure, challenge. A good parent disciplines their child when they hit their sister. They show them why it is wrong. This is not Club Med. A good parent does not feed their child only candy, the child may not like vegtables; but, needs them.

Most people do not like my answer, they just want eternal vacation. They want to blackmail God into giving them a life of liesure and luxury. "I won't believe in you unless I get cookies". Just like a kid. We are kids till we decide to become teenagers.

Children need to learn to be responsible. They need to learn to respect one another. Only then can they be trusted outdoors by themselves. Learning is work, it is not playtime. We are accountable for our jobs. If we are to do our jobs well, if we are to refuse to lie, cheat or steal then we must define ourselves by something greater, the things we believe in, our morals. Candy does not lead to morals.

Whatever gets us the cookie is what we want to believe in. This is a mistake, we then give up our free will and will do what it takes to chase the cookie. We want to justify it by saying we didn't grow up, we didn't understand; but, we choose to not grow up or understand so we deceive ourselves.

I studied abnormal psych and took a class on Serial Killers with one of the foremost experts in college. My fascination was not with their activities, it was with how they justified their actions. That is fascinating. How does one become so self centered that other people's pain and anguish is an amusement?

There are two types of serial killers, psychopaths and sociopaths. They are not the same. Psychopaths lack conscience and empathy. They simply only care about themselves. They do not deceive themselves about what they are. They want what they want and will manipulate people to get it.

Sociopaths, in my opinion, are differant. They justify what they do to themselves. These may not be clinical definitions; but, they work as moral ones. Two sides of the same coin. One does not bother justifying, the other does. Sociopaths are around us all, they justify their action as being for a greater or more important good, usually theirs. They will say that everyone does it or that they are entitled. A psychopath just doesn't care.

Some will say these conditions are medical, chemical, biological or just that some people are asses. I disagree, they are conscious decisions. If you were to interview them you would find they are aware of what they are doing. Insane people are delusional, they do not view the world as it is, they cannot handle living in this world so they go delusional into a world that they can accept.

Psychopaths, using my definition, are fairly rare. Both are difficult to deal with; however, sociopaths are easier. They have some humanity left in them. Psychopaths just don't care. Oh, by the way, I am eating some candy tonight. There is nothing wrong with candy, failure to control our urge to eat it is the problem.

If we consider the movie "Wall Street", the Michael Douglas charachter was a sociopath. His statement "Greed is good" demonstrated a justification system. If he had said, "Do as thou will" he would have been a psychopath. If he had said that you are all that matters, he would have been a psychopath. What message do you hear in commercials and movies?

In my opinion, this life is about defining ourselves. It is about growing up and learning to control ourselves around the cookies. You don't need to spank teenagers, you should be able to talk to them. Still, even teenagers are a pain. Eventually, hopefully, children grow up enough to manage themselves. To be in public without having to worry that they will pick their nose at the table.

In order for our children to grow they have to be allowed to play with other children. When they do, they get into fights; but, they also learn to make friendships. I knew a woman once, a long time ago. She was a friend and kept an eye out for me; but, I didn't know it. I found out one day when she tried to protect me. She was just a kid and so was I; but, we liked each other.

You see we can learn to protect one another and grow up or we can find more ways to take advantage of each other and remain children. Children will do whatever they have to in order to avoid a spanking or get a cookie. They will make promises that they will never keep just for the cost benefit approach. If we allow this then our children do not learn, they do not grow up into anyone you would want to be around.

That is my answer as to why God can be good and all powerful. He chooses not to use his power so that we have the choice of growing up and dealing with him as adults. Children and bad parents don't like my answer. They don't live it either until they have to. Be well.

Dead Mans Switch

There is a thing that used to be on trains. It was called a deadman's switch. It meant that if the engineer, driver of the train died, it would automatically stop. It is an intriguing thought. What if Armageddon was a dead man's switch, how many other things could be set in such a manner.

If you have watched "Lost" then you have a modern equivalent. Be well