Why do humans often feel guilty for having killed another human in self defense?
My outlook is this. Killing is not "wrong" in self defense. For you "Christian" sorts of there, I figure I should point out that "thou shalt not kill" is actually a PROVEN and documented mistranslation. the correct translation is "Do not murder." *A side note. "Thou shalt" was a creation of king Jame. The original text is much simpler and translates actually to "do not". Anyway, that's some useless trivia for you.
But,
But,
with that said; how do you feel when you argue with someone you love...and totally trample them? Oh you won, but you left them in the dust. It doesn't feel very good. Well, love is a connection to another human being. on a deeper, more basic level, we are wired to have a connection with all human life. When we take a life, it defies our very inssticts and goes against our programing. Some may argue this. yes, we as a race fight, have fought, will continue to fight, until the end of human time, but, we as individuals are damaged by this. I think it is, in that situation, not grief for the life that was lost, I mean, obviously there wasn't much good there if the guy was trying to kill or harm you, but there is a sadness that you had to go that far, that you had to take it there and a question of solutions that could have been taken as an alternative.

There is an understanding that, by killing this man, you ended his pain but you began the pain for his family, friends, and acquaintances, who loved him in spite of who he was or what he did, and self defense or not that makes you a monster in their eyes. You may have been right to kill him, but if you feel no guilt or remorse for having had to do it, then something inside you is very broken, something important. The something that makes you human.

Is suicide wrong?
Interesting answers to this one I've seen, not all I agree with. In my opinion, wrong and right are not the right question to ask here. Suicide is more of a personal failure than a right or wrong choice. I'm not saying failure meaning it as a disrespect, either. I mean that that person has failed to see their life as the gift it is. It's hard to see it sometimes, when things are down, and everything is bad and you feel unloved or beat down. But life, is still, a precious gift. Now, where the "Wrong" is found is, like my last answer spoke of, when we get to the subject of the ones left behind. the incredible emotional wounds and scars that it leaves on others are terrible.

So when we look at it as "it's my life," well yea it is and so I guess if you reeeeaaally wanna do it then it's your choice. wrong and right don't enter into that. But what it does say is that you are cowardly. I mean, how dare you run from this when the rest of us stay and fight through our lives and problems, and it says you are selfish, because you have only seen your pain and not the pain your death brings to others.

With that said, there are reasons where suicide is more acceptable. If you have someone that has a terminal illness that is painful and they have no quality of life left and they want to die, then I think that is their right. In some cultures, like ancient Japan for instance, choosing to die, could mean a better life for the ones you love if you commited an offense of some kind. I don't really know my stance on that one. But I don't think it falls under the same umbrella as personally motivated suicide does. Motives are different and it almost becomes selfless instead of selfish.


Why do people give to charity? Is it just self gratification, or something more?
Self gratification. Ok, that makes me think that giving to charity is like masturbation or something to some folks. LOL to be completely crude, but seriously? Self Gratification? Oh....oh...OH YEEEAAAAAAAA!! I just gave away money and it felt deviiiiine. >.>......

LOL Joking aside. Ok, there are people out there who give so that they can brag and get props. that's horrible in my opinion. But my family always gave to charity, even though we are somewhat of humble bearing ourselves, we gave and we never bragged. never. We just felt like it was important to give back some of what we got. and I think that's what a lot of people feel. It's remembering where you are and that it could be worse and that it is for some people. So no, I don't think the majority of charity givers and "self gratifying" slime balls.

What would your first action be as president of the united states?
I would declare an official Garfield day, to be celebrated by sending cute cats in boxes to Abudabi and kicking small dogs off tables. also, lasagna would be consumed in mass quantities by the general populace XDDDDD

Let’s assume there is a heaven and a hell, not with levels like in dante’s inferno, but a more mainstream version where you’re punished with fire or rewarded with the kingdom of heaven. Where does the virtuous pagan go?
Heaven. I believe that god is way to big and unfathomable to be contained by one doctrine or religion. I think that what ever you are, you are loved and if you are atheist, well, I guess I just think you'll find out that there really is something out there a little later than the rest of us, that's all. no harm done. Listen, if god is loving and to be compared to a parent figure, then what parent would damn their child to eternal torment? Seriously. (I do not want a philosophical debate on this! if you disagree, fine, don't agree with what I said about atheists essentially being wrong? fine, but this is MY journal and these are MY opinions, so please, spare me, I will simply laugh at you if you try it. I'm sorry but I feel like that little disclaimer is needed there because some people are just way to impassioned about things they can't prove or disprove for their own good and thus there's inevitably going to be "someone" that does, even after I've said this I'll bet too, but let's just call this fair warning. And also, no disrespect to anyone, my Grampa was an Atheist and he is still to this day one of the most influential people to ever have been in my life.) XD



Is there such a thing as good and evil?
yes. but I think that all evil has a root. no one was just born thinking "when I grow up, I wanna kill millions of people for no reason accept that it's evil!" no. Evil is rooted in a belief system that may have been good or benign until taken to it's Nth degree. Or, it is a twist or perversion of something that was once good. Sometimes it's hard to find that root, but it's always there, and it's important to see that. Everything is balance. evil cannot be without good, nor hate without love, etc. This is why it's important to try to understand other people. learning about people makes you more understanding and less fearful of them. That could bridge a lot of gaps. Now, granted. There are some people that are sooo far gone, take, Hitler for example, that appealing to his better nature and understanding his position and working from there was not an option. That, is when true evil is found. when a person believes that they are so right that it does not matter the cost in lives to achieve a selfish purpose, then they have lost their humanity and become evil.

Most things, most people, though, are not either. they are just people, and a little understanding, respect, and patience go a long way toward avoiding putting people at odds, which can make people appear "evil" to the person they are at odds with.

Do animals have souls? Absolutely. I see it in all the pets I've ever had. there is a self there. an individual. a spark that is unique to each one. It is a terrible mistake to think that we are the greatest creatures on this planet and a mistake to think that we are the only one with a soul. I think people who think that way are just missing something fundamental about life. But again, that's just me.

What do you think of hammurabi’s code? Should our justice system be ‘eye for an eye’?
I think more so then it is, yes, not to an extreme, but yes. Ok, I am from Wyoming. I grew up with western values and the thing I think is, people don't respect each other anymore! now what if, your disrespect could get you challenged to a pistol duel? So it's your honor if you turn tale, or the possibility of your life if you don't. I can tell you that that would make people want to treat each other, in general, a lot better. Basically, no, I don't think we should go back to pistols at dawn and such, but I do think that there needs to be a concept of honor reintroduced into modern American culture. I think there needs to be a real concept of loosing your honor if you act dishonorably. in the U.S. today I meet too many people who think they have the right to just be rude, get into other people's business, mistreat staff and help, and disrupt other people around them. there should be a social consequence for behaving like that. Not a judicial one because frankly, our justice system does not need to micromanages lives! But on a social front? yea. People should face social consequences for behaving socially unacceptably.

If I could let you live for another 2000 years, would you take it? Your body is like wolverine’s. You can’t grow old, get permanently injured, or die at all until 4009 A.D.
No. I don't want that. Can you imagine? everyone you love would age and die. then it would repeat and repeat every generation. you would be alone and deal with 20 times the grief of one life. on top of that, we all are born into a time. The elderly talk of being unable to understand the internet age and so forth. If you lived for that long, your time were you shined, and you were meant to exist in, would be a blurb in a history book at best. You would be soooo far left playing catch-up for most of your life.

Aliens abduct every human being on planet earth except for you. What do you do with the rest of your life?
Become good friends with the aliens. it's the new regime now and as i'm the last human, I could make quite a profit just for being me. XD

If you lived in a classic Dungeons and Dragons type of world, would you be a Fighter, Cleric, Rogue, Sorcerer, Druid, or a normal villager? What alignment would you be? Chaotic evil, lawful evil, neutral, chaotic good, or lawful good?
Sorcerer, chaotic good.

I PWN Mwahahahahahahahahaaaaaaa aaaand anyone one else that was board enough to actually read this massive thing!!!! LOL