On feeling sorry for people

It is your theory Clyde, support it as best you can.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

My moral code is laid out in thousands of posts here at EvC. It can hardly be called a secret. On the otherhand, you presented a Theory. It is as of now totally unsupported. The ball is in your court Bubba. It is your theory that needs support.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

I don't put robin down because robin made yet another of his weak attempts to define what others think but because he made the truly ludacrous statement that I put him down because he did not follow MY Moral Code. No one in the world can follow my moral code but me. It is the path that I am on, not you, not robin, no one other than me. For me to dislike someone they must have some significance to my life. Robin is of no significance, I don't know robin, never met robin, will likely never meet robin, but his posts here at EvC are of significance. Now pudding or green peas, they would be different. I do dislike them, enough so that I avoid pudding and only eat green peas if the effort to separate them out is greater than my dislike.This is however a discussion board. When robin presents a story such as his tale of the VA hospital, it gives me the opportunity to present a different picture. In that sense it is essential to have someone like robin, or like you in this particular case, who provides us the opportunity to present contrasting points of view. Posters like you and robin are not just valuable but essential. Whether we are discussing science or theology, humor or politics, it is the chance to see those contrasting points of view that help all of us, particularly me, grow, learn and temper our own beliefs and knowledge base.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Your summary of my belief system is pretty accurate, nothing I'd get too upset about other than I would stick to trying to do what is right. In some situations that might be helping someone, in others it might be an intentional act of not helping.

But that was not what I was laughing so hard about.

Robin, that is my moral code™, something I have to live with. I do not and TTBOMK have not said, that anyone else should live by my moral code™. They can't. They are not me. You can no more be me than I could be you.If you have read my posts here at EvC, one other recurring theme is that a person should try to be themselves. A member here once said "when I grow up I want to be jar". My response was to just be himself.That is all any of us can do. I can tell folk what I believe, what I have done, experiences I might have had, but I cannot live their lives and they certainly cannot (and wouldn't want to I hope) live mine. I do not tell folk what is right. I do say that IMHO we should try to do what is right, but that will depend on the unique circumstances of the moment, the incident, the individuals knowledge and the individuals moral code. I don't quite see where you could get any of that from anything I have said. What I said was "You missed a great opportunity". That says nothing about whether what you did was moral, immoral, right or wrong. All I did here and in the other thread is present a similar experience and what I learned from it. You might well say, "jar, try some pudding". I might respond, "sorry, don't like pudding". That pretty much sums up the conversation.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Yes and no. Everyone has their own moral code. Likely some are better than others. That will of course vary and some may be detectable differences while others may be neutral when compared or beyond our ability to rate.I personally believe that a moral code such as that held by many Christians, that allows them to deny basic human rights to homosexuals is wrong. That is my opinion, no more, no less.In the exaample you gave of your trip to the VA hospital, morality was not an issue. I never said or implied that what you did was moral or immoral, only that you missed a great opportunity. It is far more on the level of my personal dislike of green peas. You may well disagree with me and think green peas are tasty. That's fine. You might even be right and I may well be missing out on a great opportunity by avoiding green peas, but it is certainly not an issue of morality.Moral codes do carry consequences and it is something the individual should consider. Whether it is the sanctioning of someone by society when an individuals personal moral code conflicts with the generally accepted societal moral code, or as many of us believe some ultimate judgement by GOD, there will be consequeces to whatever moral code one chooses.

Well, there will be a general societal moral code. It too will change over time. For a long time it was moral to own slaves, and immoral to harbor runaway slaves. That was part of both the societal moral code and in turn, part of many personal moral codes. I doubt it unless you want something as vague as "It is usually better not to harm another." There are some though that I would say were BAD. For example the old saying "Do unto others before they do unto you" would, IMHO be a bad moral code. Often it comes down to looking at two or more possible moral positions and choosing the less bad choice.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Well I can't really respond since I have no idea what that means. Strongly but Tentatively. Personally I feel strongly about it but who knows, someone may show me I am wrong.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

jar said regarding how he holds a particular moral position:

quote:

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Strongly but Tentatively. Personally I feel strongly about it but who knows, someone may show me I am wrong.

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to which robin replied: Well then that is your limitation. As I said, I am not you. I have no control over your limitations. In my reply, the part you neglected to quote, I explained how I do it.Edited by jar, : appalin spallinEdited by jar, : add requisite spalling arrors

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Although you replied to robin, I am assuming you wanted me to answer this post.

quote:

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But to get back to the main question, is what I have written below part of your moral code?

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Part of trying is being interactive with others, not just close friends or relatives, but people in general. If one is not sufficently interactive with people, one has not tried.
Also, one ought to volunteer sometimes for beneficial projects.

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I don't see what much of that has to do with morals. Sorry.AbE:If you mean generally doing little things when you can to help folk, then sure, that is a good way to live. Is it moral, I guess so, never thought about assigning a value to it. It is not the kind of think you do because it is moral while not getting the box down is immoral, it is just the right thing to do.If I have a moral code, and I don't spend much time worrying about whether I do or not since I don't think it is really all that important, it is just to try to do what is right in a given situation.It really is as simple as that.Edited by jar, : expand section on moral codes.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Well, I will try again.I think that GOD gave all of us, including you, the ability to determine what is right or wrong.I think that also comes with a gottcha though, you are also expected to try to do what is right and to try not to do what is wrong. The point that I try to make, is that you don't have to set out to DO GOOD WORKS.Life is not big things, rather it is the sum of little things. My point is not that the little things are "trying" or moral, it is that they are easy, and should be normal. You don't try to be moral, you just try to do what is right.It really is as simple as that. Just remember I never said it was easy.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Hell, robin, only you can read a morality tale into that.You just plain missed a golden opportunity. That's all, You blew a chance. Whether it is moral or not has nothing to do with it just as my not eating pudding is neither moral or immoral.If there is any connection to morality it is the one YOU introduced. You claimed that your heart went out to them. Oh yeah. BFD. Your heart went out to them. Okay.Robin, you have to live with yourself, I don't have to live with you, work with you, be around you. Your morality is your own and as long as it has no negative impact on me, I really don't care what it is.I think what you did is sad. Not immoral, that will be decided by you and whoever judges you, but rather a great opportunity missed. So once again, let me ask. These folk were sitting out in a courtyard. Some had lost limbs. You say that some were poorly dressed. You were waiting for your wife to finish up whatever she was doing, so you may have had some free time. You claim your heart went out to them. Did you ask one of the staff if any of them would enjoy a conversation or visit?Maybe you feel my not eating pudding is sad. That's fine. Maybe you like pudding. If I were around you I'd likely bring you a pudding if I knew you liked it. Not as the moral thing to do, just the right thing.If you are happy with your behavior, if your behavior doesn't negatively impact someone else, I really don't care what it is. When you bring something up in a discussion though, it is then open for discussion.You introduced the story of your VA trip as an example. IIRC I responded by recounting a personal trip I made to a nursing home. That was it robin. No one said that you were not moral. Simply a counter example was posted.No one has turned all this stuff into a (five threads now? I lose track) continuing solo of "I'm a poor little petunia in an onion patch" except you. You want to keep bringing it up, likely it will keep repeating exactly the same things over and over and over and over and over again.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Robin, I cannot be responsible for how you interpret things. Nor can I be responsible for how you mix things up. Them's your problem.Let me give you an example. In that quote from you you pull the same stunt. What did my "pictures of birds and flowers" have to do with morality? Yet here you try to mingle the two. It's possible that your mind really does work that way, but it does seem unlikely.If other posters challenged you on the moral issue, then talk to them. I said, and I now repeat it, you missed a great opportunity. It is your loss.You also still can't see to understand what I say, so I will try yet again.I said: to which you replied:

quote:

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This characterization is very unfair. I used my personal experience as an example of a general idea. To do so is legitimate in argument.

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While I don't doubt that you feel what I said was unfair, your response has absolutely NOTHING to do with what I said. I never said you should not use personal experience in an argument. I never said what you did at the VA Hospital was immoral. I said you missed an opportunity. I said your constant stream of "Poor Little Petunia in an Onion Patch" threads is silly and that you can expect pretty much the same response every time.You do know "Poor Little Petunia" don't you? It, like "In San Francisco Bay there Lived a Whale" are great ones to sing to kids.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

You still seem to be playing games robin. You provide a quote, do not tell us who said it and provide no link back to the original so that we can see it is context and relation to earlier posts. You don't even bother to tell us which thread it was from or the message number.Makes it pretty hard to take you seriously.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

'scuse me?I've been saying all along that robins example was not a morality tale.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

If you like I will also sing "In San Francisco Bay" for you too.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion