[[ 33 ]] Six Bullets. No Gun.

" Never... apologize for Love."

- Tivius, Somebody's Cowboy

Just some ramblings, tonight... 

• ONE: [[ A Samurai Causes the Butterfly Effect ]] 

I am aware that my beliefs affect other people’s reality. I don’t take my choices lightly, nor do I expect them to be without consequence.

My social responsibility toward others allows me to act responsibly, or irresponsibly. Regarding my decision to be in a poly-relationship, I believe I am acting socially responsibly – not because the rationales justify my own needs, but because I believe the rationales could benefit others in ways that emulate my positive experience. 

Even so, I’m not advocating my beliefs over others… merely that this model be considered. 

Just as with politics: the two party system serves a number of people just fine – 

- but many would prefer to have additional, more diverse options. 

A need for tradition is the mantra of people most likely to benefit from the status-quo. There are plenty of people who don't.. and they deserve to be treated with respect and acceptance, too.

I am an advocate of all people having positive, informed and reasonable options.

• TWO: [[ Truth ]] 

Care about the Truth requires a humility (an honesty assessment) which states:

I can be fooled and I can be wrong. There are things that I simply don’t know.

Those things require a fair and reasonable assessment, otherwise my opinion is little more than conjecture.  While I don’t need to be an expert on things that don’t greatly affect my life, those I care about, or my level of interest – I do have some responsibility as a caring person to at least be somewhat informed about those issues which are “important”.

That resolution need not change my opinion, but my opinion should allow for change if it is warranted.

• THREE: [[ Clarity = Iron Sights ]] 

If we’re thinking right, we form our beliefs of even unknowable things based upon where the evidence leads. Not upon the fact that one cannot disprove something that we wish to believe.

What some people do is put the belief out there – because it satisfies their emotional needs, then they look for justifications to validate that belief. That’s backwards.

Go where the evidence leads. 

Any argument for the improbabilities of a situation becomes considerably less viable when that situation is standing right in front of you. Even if you’re dealing with an exception, you should deal with the exception honestly – not the odds and rationales against it, figuratively. 

• FOUR: [[ Reason - Modus Operandi  ]]

Reason is a viable method by which a person may determine the difference between emotional perspectives vs. practical thought.

When we’re talking about rather or not something is moral, reasonable or real, your preference is irrelevant. 
If you care about the Truth at all, the abandonment of any need for it to meet your expectations is essential. 

• FIVE: [[ Outlaws and Heretics. ]] 

One of the things that makes me critical of zealotry in religion is it's willingness to turn people against their own family. As beings, we are inclined to have our own perspectives, complete with nuances in lifestyles and outlook. None of these things makes a person “evil” – just different. 
Even when people have coinciding faiths, the daily expression of that faith can vary greatly. There is no singular observance which all would agree to as being Correct, Right or Completely Good; to behave otherwise is to be dogmatic. 

Yet jingoism expresses religious perspectives as black-and-white fact, then proceeds to initiate conflict – paraded as acts of love, like a cattle-prod aimed in the face of people who need “guidance”.

This aggressive approach is not only conflicting to the core practices of most (peaceful) religions, but also to the values which unite a family: namely that we are all individuals, bound together by something greater than situation. To discard a family member over an ideological perspective is directly in conflict to family values, an affront to faith in the deity (who can handle it on his own, yes?), and general sensibility. A poor choice of technique: no one responds well to bullying! When you exile a family member, that's not God's practice- that's yours.

It is the poorest demonstration of ANY values, inevitably accompanied by a torrent of loss, wasted promise for future joyous occasions, and directly counterproductive to any hope for opportunities to teach an understanding of religious beliefs. 

Zealotry. Patriotism. Racism. Nationalism. Sexism. All enable Group A to claim to know what's best for Group B- while promoting division and derision. This invariably leads to incivility and oppression of the disenfranchised. Tyranny against the meek.

I will not be subjected to criminal abuse.

• SIX: [[   Father. Husband. Guardian. Son. ]] 

A man best proves his loyalty not through great acts of boldness, but through frequent and gentle acts of responsibility.

- C.D.

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[[ Cowboy Quotes ]] 

• When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
• Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.
• Don't interfere with something that ain't botherin' you none.
• Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
• If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
• The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with watches you shave his face in the mirror every morning.
• If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
• Generally, you ain't learnin' nothing when your mouth's a-jawin'.
• Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
• When you give a personal lesson in meanness to a critter or to a person, don't be surprised if they learn their lesson.
• When you're throwin' your weight around, be ready to have it thrown around by somebody else.
• You can't tell how good a man or a watermelon is 'til they get thumped.(Character shows up best when tested.)
• Never miss a good chance to shut up.

                                          

* Django Unchained: Official Website

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Last... I know it doesn't follow the theme above, but this video (watch below) bears relevance to the messages. Not specifically... but in ways subtle and hopeful. 

* Listen carefully and you may hear some ideas which mean something to you!   ^__^ 

Cloud Atlas remains one of my favorite movies of the past decade, and I thought this dedication was sweet, well-executed and gracious. 

Enjoy. Please do.

- Charles

That was where my dream began to take hold, of not havin' to pick cotton and potatoes, and not havin' to be uncomfortable, too hot or too cold. That in itself had driven me to try to find some better way of life. - Buck Owens

Thank you, my l.l.o.