Tragedy and Contentment
By Robert Ringer - Wednesday, December 28, 2011
As I was enjoying the Christmas weekend, I was struck by the onslaught of tragedies that flashed across my television screen.
- A helicopter carrying a heart surgeon and procurement technician crashed in Florida, killing both men and the pilot of the aircraft.
- An Afghanistan war veteran was shot in the neck during a welcome-home party in California after trying to break up an argument over, of all things, football teams, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down — after surviving a suicide bombing attack in Afghanistan!
- Six members of one family in Texas were killed on Christmas day when a relative, dressed up as Santa Claus, suddenly opened fire on them, then killed himself.
- Sixty people were killed in Baghdad by a wave of at least fourteen separate explosions — a somber sign of things to come in Iraq.
- A blaze started by fireplace ashes that had been placed in a bag killed an elderly couple and their three grandchildren in Connecticut on Christmas morning.
After all these years, I still don’t have any convincing answers as to why these nonstop tragedies occur. But of one thing I am certain: I am truly blessed to be alive and healthy and to have wonderful people in my life. What a jolting contrast it is when you watch the nightmare stories that march across your television screen each day.
The list of tragedies goes on and on — 365 days a year — and forces one to wonder what life is all about. And one of the most baffling sub-questions about life’s purpose is the one that virtually every adult has pondered: Why do bad things happen to good people?
Thousands of unsuspecting human beings all over the country — and far more worldwide — will be victims of tragedies between now and the end of the holiday season. And as their stories arrive in our homes via the miracle of electrons, it’s a mentally healthy exercise to focus on the good fortune in our lives rather than the misfortunes that are part of every individual’s life.
In this respect, Socrates demonstrated his remarkable insight into life and human nature when he said, “If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be contented to take their own.”
May 2012 be a year of contentment for you as you focus on the blessings in your life.
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Copyright © 2012 Robert Ringer
ROBERT RINGER is a New York Times #1 bestselling author and host of the highly acclaimed Liberty Education Interview Series, which features interviews with top political, economic, and social leaders. He has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business, The Tonight Show, Today, The Dennis Miller Show, Good Morning America, The Lars Larson Show, ABC Nightline, and The Charlie Rose Show, and has been the subject of feature articles in such major publications as Time, People, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Barron's, and The New York Times.
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29 Responses to “Tragedy and Contentment”
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The onslaught of tragedies include the slanderous lies that are being told about Ron Paul. Of course, we knew that the Neocons and the presstitutes would pull out all of the stops and land on RP with both feet, e.g. Ron Paul is a racist. RP is a bigot. RP hates America. RP hates Israel. RP will destroy the U.S. dollar, the U.S. military and starve 100 million U.S. citizens to death by cutting off federal aid. Ron Paul is the most dangerous man in America. Ron Paul wants Iran to have a nuclear weapon. Newt says that RP is worse than BHO, and that he wouldn’t vote for RP.
I had even read a story yesterday which compared Ron Paul to Kim Jung eun.
Yes, the “onslaught” has begun. The New York Times is even running hits on Lew Rockwell, Ayn Rand and Ludwig von Mises. If you want to read some of the most vile slander about RP, then David Frum, who wrote speeches for Bush, is the hit-man you should watch out for.
Before 2012 is over, there will be people claiming that they saw Ron Paul sacrificing new-born babies, worshiping and having sex with the devil.
For some excellent photographic proof of Ron Paul being a racist, then proceed to the following link: www(dot)5k(dot)com/
Don’t fall for such anti-Ron Paul propaganda, e.g. a vote for RP is a vote for Obama. The presstitutes and the Neocons sucker the ignorant masses everytime with that line.
Stop thinking so short term. Ron Paul will forever change the debate in 2012. And even if he doesn’t become the next President, then Ron Paul will advance the political football far enough down the line so that Rand Paul, Gary Johnson or some other genuine man or woman is positioned close enough to score the Presidency next time around.
Don’t be fooled by cheap imitations, i.e. RINOs who are no better, in the end, than BHO. Every person who supports RP will make a long-term difference. The Ron Paul revolution is planting intellectual and informational time bombs in people’s minds, so when the final socioeconomic collapse occurs they will remember who told them the truth, i.e. Ron Paul.
I want to publicly thank Gary Johnson for withdrawing from the Republican primary and for running as a Libertarian. Gary (aka Governor veto) was the best governor that I ever had, maybe the best governor that America ever had. He’s a team player who encourages people to support Ron Paul. Gary openly does this even on his website.
Please send Gary a contribution and support him in Santa Fe, New Mexico on December 28th – 11:00 AM during his special announcement. I had lived and conducted business in Santa Fe for 6 yrs back when Gary was Governor. It is a wonderfully different city, please visit it and Gary if you can
If you are unable to make it today see meet Gary, the event will be streamed live on his website at 10:PM MST: Google it!
One of the non-stop tragedies at least is easily explained: The ‘Santa’ who killed his whole family was a muslim and his killing dictated by the koran.
I wonder what the Koranic version of Saint Nicholas’s story is.
Tragedies will always abound
For poor humans on the ground.
No peace, no rest,
Put forever to the test;
No answer can be found.
Bad things happen to bad people because the Supreme Being created the best world possible. Not a perfect world. As you yourself have mentioned everything has a price. The price of Free Will is Evil. We could live in a world without women killing undelivered babies, the perpetual animal holocaust, and so on. But we would not have the gift of choice. The gift of choice ofcourse was given to us with the expectation that we would choose to do the right thing. But it would not be a choice if that was our only choice. Would the world have been better without injustice, but also without free will? No, because that would be a dead world. Life is making choices. Hopefully the right choices. As for Socrates, I can dispute his cliche. Certainly if we could quantify misfortunes rationally, we might find a lesser misfortune than our own. Here is a fine example of intimidation through authority.
A Freudian slip. Bad things happen to bad people. Ofcourse those six family members could not have been honest people if the man went through the trouble of killing himself, and did it dressed as Santa Claus toi make a point. He was a usee of his wife’s family, Somebody is too intimidated to talk about the games female victimizers (and their villainous families) play in America.
I remember ypor praise for Socrates and Gandhi, in one of your insightful books. So I am sorry if my words are against the grain. Gandhi was no more brilliant than Socrates. Gandhi thought that he could survive by owning nothing, so that nobody would envy him. He did not understand that what people envy most is virtue. As Leonardo da Vinci said, ///a body would sooner be without a shadow, than virtue without envy.///
” The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it. Jer. 17: 9
so does the cardiologist throw in “moral paragon”, for free, when he sews a jarvik 7 (or whatever the current build number is), into place?
tragedy, and farce, a la shakespeare.
mencken, whose attitude/perspective i find enviable, wrote, “human life is basically a comedy. even its tragedies often seem comic to the spectator, and not infrequently they actually have comic touches to the victim. happiness probably consists largely in the capacity to detect and relish them.”
The Supreme Being thinks like the Gentleman. G = G. The Gentleman has a rough edge. He is slightly detached, making the heroine chase him and do her best to earn him. He opens up when the heroine badly needs to be emotionally reinforcemed to survive. This makes the mushy words as precious as a sip of water to a sea rover who has been on a raft without fresh water for several days, which would have otherwise made him predictable and borring. In John 2:10 we read, ///All ordinary hosts bring out the most impressive wine at fisrt, and when the guests are too drunk to tell the difference, they give them the cheap wine. But you have saved the best for last./// Contentment is the virtue of being pleased with what you have for the time being, while knowing that things will eventually fall into place.
such as hanging from a cliff or being weak prom poison
The Catholic Church tells us that bad things happen (including suffering) to bring a greater good out of it. But, that brings the question to, why doesn’t God just make everyone perfect? That part is a mystery.
that god should be configured as a utilitarian setting things up net-net, rather than doing away entirely with both gross, and net, is no mystery……
“The Catholic Church tells us that bad things happen (including suffering) to bring a greater good out of it. But, that brings the question to, why doesn’t God just make everyone perfect? That part is a mystery.”
The reply is just a couple posts above yours.
[In case you did not find it:] Bad things happen to bad people because the Supreme Being created the best world possible. Not a perfect world. As you yourself [Robert Ringer] have mentioned everything has a price. The price of Free Will is Evil. We could live in a world without women killing undelivered babies, the perpetual animal holocaust, and so on. But we would not have the gift of choice.
[I shall break it up into a few paragraphs to make it more readable.]
The gift of choice ofcourse was given to us with the expectation that we would choose to do the right thing. But it would not be a choice if that was our only choice.
Would the world have been better without injustice, but also without free will? No, because that would be a dead world. Life is making choices. Hopefully the right choices.
As for Socrates, I can dispute his cliche. Certainly if we could quantify misfortunes rationally, we might find a lesser misfortune than our own. Here is a fine example of intimidation through authority.
[Everybody loves to be heard and understood. I mean really understood - as in what place one is coming from. But one has no right to expect others to pay sincere attention, if one only wants to speak and not listen. So please, before replying, do read what was previously said. You might find your answer.]
If further you would like to know why there are no miracles, the facts of reality are implacable so as to be dependable. Implacability is the price of dependability. With the help of dependability men (and the word man encompasses both sexes) can create their own ///miracles./// As Napoleone Bonaparte said, ///If I were to create a religion for the intellectuals, it would be nothing like the religions that the masses follow./// So if you have further questions on an Objectivist faith, do not hesitate to ask.
(AP) INDIANOLA, Iowa – Michele Bachmann’s struggling presidential campaign saw her Iowa chairman defect Wednesday to rival Ron Paul’s side.”
Thank you, Santa. Better late than never.
The football is moving in the right direction!
The meaning of Michelle is She Who Resembles God. All that glitters is not gold. The Feministas love to mirror those whom they compete with. The Devil quotes God when it serves his Agenda.
Speaking of tragedies – it would be a huge tragedy if the Neocons are allowed to commit vote fraud against Ron Paul at the Iowa caucuses (and there are certainly signs of impending vote fraud – for example, the Iowa caucus centralized vote reporting has just been inexplicably moved to an “undisclosed location”).
We need volunteers to watch the vote in every county and every local caucus gathering in Iowa, to ensure an honest vote count (for all candidates) at the Iowa caucuses. More info in this YouTube video:
Please help spread the word!
My reaction excceeds the charachter limit quota. If you would like me to stop posting here please send a message to my e-mail address provided. Do not remove content, that I have spent time posting, without stating your grudge as a matter of courtesy.
I have decided to name my post Will To Charity. After all it is Christmas time. I am weary of Will To Power toting Nitzchephiles. As Alexander Dumas, a contemporary of Victor Hugo, and a fellow romanticist said, ///All generalizations are dangerous, even this one./// Objectivism is a generalization. I seek to dispute views that are not nuanced. As Robert Ringer said, The Devil is in The Details.
Part I
WILL TO CHARITY
///The simplification of anything is always sensational.///
—G. K. Chesterton
Good news from Iowa. Campaign manager Kent defected from a false accusess competitor to Ron Paul. Another Fe ME ista exposed herself as a liar. We have a track record. Clinton claimed to have been dodging bullets in Cosovo, when she was having lunch on a sunny afternoon during her campaign.
Simple. Paul won because he is a winner. Envy hates victory and strength. Hop off the Titanic and hop onto the Arc. The cynics underestimated the power of virtue and self-confidence.
Iowa has a small population. Population is inversely proportional to civility. No wonder China is in the stone age. Longest life span in the world? Andorra. How many have heard of the tiny nation? Andorra has no taxes.
People only need hand outs where there is too much red tape or some occupations are banned. Everybody would be rich when they are allowed to use their natural talents.
I am sorry to say, Israel is a Socialist country. And socialist countries tend to be too poor to support themselves. They should have been more farsighted when establishing their state. What good is afterthought?
No strong military without a strong economy. Scipio defeated Hannibal by striking at Carthagenian economy. The body can not stand without legs.
This is what China is trying to do to us. What they need is a good nuking. P = P. Politics like Piracy requires the use of ruses. I have no doubt that Paul will give China a good nuking, without wasting our boys lives and limbs.
After Paul wins I am sure he will make Newt his secretary of state. Newt can not tell right from wrong, but just like Kent he is a good strategist and tactician. He engineered the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives.
Perry is full of it. He is a staunch supporter of the death penalty. So many people have been executed who have later been aquitted. As Paul said, a Texas Governor is exactly what he should be. They are all a holes.
Serving the nation is the most taxing job of all. What’s his name… Donald trump got cold feet. He let others do the fighting, while he thinks he is above it all? Well let me tell you something, if life is a stage, you are not on it Trump. You promised to tax China’s junk. It is Ironic that the man who wants to free us from taxation is willing to shoulder the greatest tax of all. Ruling an ungrateful nation.
Although John Galt advocated shrugging the various taxes, he himself took upon his shoulders to organize that campaign – no easy task. As Maximillian Robespierre said selfishness is of two kinds. The higher sort mixes itself with the happiness of all. This is the reason producers can not go on strike in reality. Enters the Will To Charity.
Michele… If you think she is hot, maybe you can get a piece of her if you become a divorce lawyer. Because that is her plan B career. Fe ME ism is thicker than the left-right preference. Gender Fems and Equity Fems – same fertilizer. The old girl needed to have her day of fame by lying that Kent boasted that Paul offered him money to defect to Paul. She is not going to be Secretary of State anyway – she is too old for Paul. He has a higher Self-Esteem than the likes of the supporters of Palin and Bachmann. Ron Paul is a Sexy Sir. A sexy senior citizen.
The meaning of Michelle is She Who Resembles God. All that glitters is not gold. The Feministas love to mirror those whom they compete with. The Devil quotes God when it serves his Agenda.
When can Americans enjoy their own lives? Why do we always have to babysit grown nations? Israel can bomb Iran’s nuclear sites. Please if you think our money should be spent babysitting grown nations and helping socialist nations who have destroyed their own economy, or if you never once made a racist comment in your life, whether you are white, black or blue, post below.
double D…i think napoleon would have disliked ayn. and that she would have kicked his low to the ground butt……
you mean socially? she was no grace kelly…
ayn rand was not very well informed about many things. zoology, medievalry, to name a few.
In response to the question: Why do bad things happen to good people? I think I have what may only make a sensible answer to Christians.
1. Nowhere in the Bible are we promised that bad things cannot happen to either good or bad people. The King ordered John the Baptist executed. Some of the Apostles are said to have been boiled in oil.
2. As long as the devil exist in this world there will always be bad things happening.
3. The devil comes to take people’s lives away before they’ve accepted Christ. However, if he takes away the life of one who has accepted Christ, there is no loss as one has gone to be with the Lord.
4. The main assignment of the devil is to steal, kill and destroy. This has been witnessed countless times. All wars, accidents, economic disasters are for this purpose.
5. Whatever that happens in this world, God will protect his people who have not finished his assignments.