MERIT vs MOTIVE (Conspiracy Theories are Moot)

[Anonymous]

I was disappointed in my first post with regards to conspiracy theories and their irrelevance. I did an exceptionally horrible job making my point, so I’m going to try again with yet another barrage of words. So saddle up, sunshine!

Let me reiterate that conspiracy theories are not necessarily wrong, they’re just irrelevant. When you evaluate the actions of government, individuals, businesses, and so on, based solely on the merits of those actions, you render talk of any conspiracies moot. These actions can be debated on the basis of logic, without the need for conjecture with regard to motive.

For example, the government rejected help from the Dutch a few days after the oil spill. Was the help rejected because of some conspiracy to magnify the oil crisis to push an ulterior agenda?

It doesn’t matter why. When we evaluate the logic of rejecting help from the Dutch, we can say that this was a stupid thing to do. It was the wrong course of action. How this action fits into a conspiracy theory is irrelevant. The logic of it alone condemns it and reflects very poorly on Obama.

I did a uniquely horrible job of articulating my point in the thread I initially started. Wow, did I meander all over the damn place on my way to a point.

My point is/was that by evaluating the actions of a given entity based solely on the merits of those actions, that this evaluation renders conjecture with regard to motive and conspiracy moot.

A given action is either smart or stupid. It’s either right or wrong. Maybe it’s partially right. *These* things we can debate because we have a quantifiable action to dissect. We can’t logically debate hypotheticals because there is no quantifiable set of data; there is no end to conspiracy theories.

Conspiracy theories are like symbolism. I used to do this exercise on the blog I used to have that I found pretty entertaining. I’d take current events, and I’d break down the symbolism of them, from the names of the people involved and their meanings, to the numbers involved and their numerological significance, and any other crap I could pull out of my ass.

I mean, I could really come up with some very sophisticated and richly elaborated meanings in everyday current events. It actually was kind of fun, and the point of the symbolism was to convey some kind of inspirational message of hope through the symbols perceived in everyday events.

Doing this entertained, inspired, and also demonstrated the ease with which you can extrapolate anything from anything. Conspiracy theories are no different.

There is no doubt that men in power conspire together. Why? Because you and I conspire together. But all “conspirators” share one thing in common:

At some point they take quantifiable actions. And these actions can be evaluated on their own merits based on logic or ideo-logic. I can intelligently debate this with a person.

I can’t intelligently debate motive. Women are notorious for this in their relationships. They can’t seem to stick to the facts, but are always obsessing over the motives of others. This is why they’re nervous wrecks.

Stick to the facts. Stick to quantifiable actions and debate them on their own merits. If a guy is conspiring with a dark agenda, he is going to have to take an action at some point that is not consistent with the logic dictated by the situation and, thus, the merits of the action will condemn him and talk of his agenda will be rendered moot.

I want to make this point clear: Conspiracy theories are not necessarily wrong, they are just irrelevant.

Maybe guys like Michael Moore and Alex Jones are all right.

It. Doesn’t. Matter.

We can evaluate the quantifiable actions of, say, George W Bush and Barack Obama and decide if these actions were smart. And if a guy seems to be making a lot of stupid decisions, then that guy has demonstrated that he is unfit for his position. Why he’s been taking those actions is irrelevant. What his agenda is doesn’t matter. Who he’s conspiring with doesn’t matter.

My family members – a lot of em – had this bad habit of lying to me. Mostly little lies. But I pay attention to the little lies, especially when there’s no reason to lie. I used to get obsessed with trying to discern why they were lying to me and what their agendas were.

Then I had an epiphany: Their agendas and motives didn’t matter, because lying could be evaluated on it’s own merits to disqualify them from a relationship with me.

I could evaluate the quantifiable action of them lying to me and decide that they didn’t belong in my life. The *reasons* for their lying were *irrelevent.*

I find that life is so simplified when you simply stick to the facts and discriminate your associations based on quantifiable actions and history, rather than conjecture and trying to psychoanalyze everyone.

If you lie to me, you’re out. I don’t give two craps why you’re lying. That action quantifies my distrust of you.

Barack Obama tells a lot of lies. I mean, it is breathtaking the ease with which this man lies. Like telling us he’s been on this oil spill from day one, in his speech the other night from the Oval Office. Or telling us that the healthcare debates would all be on C-Span.

When a guy tells so many easily quantifiable lies with such frequency, why waste time with conspiracy theories? THEY DON’T MATTER. You can safely say that you don’t want a President who lies to you with such impunity.

Who. Cares. Why.

It. Doesn’t. Matter.

I hope I’m making this point. Conspiracy theories don’t matter. They are completely and utterly irrelevant. Motives and agendas of people are irrelevant.

The thing you and I, and all “conspirators,” all have in common is the fact that we must *act* in quantifiable ways. Our motives don’t just stay in our heads. They manifest in our actions.

Stick to evaluating actions based on their *own* merits. Actions are right or wrong, they make sense or they don’t. They’re wise or they’re foolish.

Leave the whys and what-ifs out of it.

I grew up with a very religious *and* deceitful family. Don’t ask. Thank God – literally – I was able to separate God from religion, because most people are too intellectually dishonest to do this and they conveniently throw God out with religion. I believe in the Bible, though not necessarily in some guy’s read on it. I can read it for my damn self.

Anyhow, growing up with a bunch of liars, and having operated surrounded by liars, one can develop a severe sense of paranoia. I’d always be trying to discern motives and intent and agendas. It drove me nuts.

But I discovered that if I completely abandoned any attempt to discern the motives of others and, instead, just evaluated the actions and words of people based on the merits of those words and actions that my life was simplified like you wouldn’t believe, decisions became clearer, and my anxiety disappeared.

Here’s another really astounding thing that happened: By not caring about motive, I suddenly became quite aware of motives. Life is so damn counterintuitive. You give what you want to receive. Let go of what you want to hold. It’s like opposite day played by children.

The benefit of not caring is that you can trust your intuition more because you *know* it’s not a product of your paranoia – since you *don’t care.*

But I want people to get my main point:

MERIT, not MOTIVE. MERIT, not MOTIVE. MERIT, not MOTIVE.

Evaluate actions based on the MERIT of the action, *not* the MOTIVE of the person acting.

If you stick to merit, you will find that the motive becomes clear; your intuition is heightened.

My theory on this paradox of sorts is that intuition is really God whispering in your ear. When you are paranoid and obsessed with figuring people out, you’re basically shouting Him down in your own mind. But when you *let it go* and stop caring, suddenly your mind is empty and His voice becomes clear.

That may sound weird. It is damn weird. Just a theory. But I think we’ve all had moments of clarity – moments of knowing, if you will, that couldn’t be attributed to logic. This is basically what intuition is. Intuition is pretty weird if you think about it.

But intuition doesn’t work for the paranoid.

Stick to MERIT. The MOTIVE will eventually reveal itself. Don’t worry about it. Forget about it. Just focus on MERIT of quantifiable actions.

A wise man said that “patience reveals deception.” I have a saying that “patience is perfect.” I modified his saying to “patience reveals intent.”

If you can master patience in your own mind, things will become clear in their proper time.

You’re in a negotiation, and you’re not sure about what’s going on. Simple solution: wait.

I have found that schemers and manipulators do not respond well to patience. When I’m not sure what a guy is up to, I’ll just wait longer. Sometimes you can’t wait, but if you can wait do it.

How does this fit with evaluating MERIT over MOTIVE?

Because when you wait, you give the other guy *more time* to take *more actions*. Then you have more quantifiable date to evaluate, instead of just trying to guess his intent.

I have found patience to be a lethal weapon. I am the most impatient guy in the world, but put me in a competitive situation, and I will wait forever. Like a sniper. My mindset is different.

I take great pleasure in out-waiting people, because it is a great test of mental stamina and character. Anyone can act rashly. The ability to wait…and wait…and wait…and wait…and wait…that takes a certain discipline.

Waiting gives the other guy more time to take more actions. You can then evaluate the merits of these quantifiable actions to better inform your next move.

There is a distinct difference between patience and hesitation, and that difference is fear. Patience is wanting to act but having the wisdom to wait, while hesitation is knowing you should act but being afraid to.

This is a fine line, particularly when it comes to self-protection – pre-emptive striking, for example. Many situations can be defused just by out-waiting a guy. Other situations may be worsened by hesitating to act.

Patience is one of those virtues that I have personally decided to master. Of course, you master nothing, you just pursue.

A patient man is not paranoid. A patient man is like an assassin.

There was a guy waiting to turn onto a busy road. The traffic wouldn’t clear, so he just decided to turn anyways and got hit. It seems to me that most people are like this. They can’t wait.

With regards to conspiracy theories, I have made it clear that you must *only* focus on the merits of quantifiable actions. Once you evaluate a given action, your next thought should be, “they took that action, what should *my* action be?”

Action, action, action, action, action, action, action.

Always think in terms of actions. You evaluate the merits of the actions of others, and then you must decide how you will act in response. This is where patience comes in. How does their action affect your action?

In this way you avoid victim thinking. Conspiracy theorists have victim-mindsets. They are not people of action. They don’t think in terms of action – whether it’s the government’s or their own.

Let’s take Obama. The guy lies a lot, he says and does Marxist things, and he’s incompetent. You could debate these statements with me, but we could debate them based on his actual words and actions. They have nothing to do with his motives or agendas.

Alright, I think he’s a fool. Now what?

Now, I *wait.*

That’s the only logical next course of action for me. I must have patience. I can’t vote again until November, and then not even for him – but I will be able to vote for people who I hope will oppose Obama enthusiastically. Then I wait to vote for a new President in 2012.

In the meantime, the only other *action* I can take is to inform others of my perspective and encourage them to join me at the polls.

I think in terms of actions. I evaluate your actions, then I decide how this affects my actions. Simple as that.

I do not care why you do what you do. It’s irrelevant, whether it’s the President of the United States, your BFF, or the Anti-Christ.

Think in terms of MERIT, not MOTIVE. Have patience, because this allows time for more actions, the merits of which you can then add to your dataset of information.

The question that I always ask that always keeps me grounded in life is this:

“What am I going to do about it?”

Someone lies to me. What am I going to do about it?
Someone threatens me. What am I going to do about it?
Obama’s a Marxist. What am I going to do about it?

I find that by thinking in terms of action, that my emotion disappears. For example, a guy about runs me off the freeway. I am pissed! Then I think, “what am I going to do about it?” Well, nothing, of course. Gotta let it go. Instantly, my anger vanishes.

Victims don’t think in terms of action.

If you think in terms of action, always asking yourself “what am I going to do about it?” then you will find that will operate with a cold clarity that most lack.

This is even true if you’re a bad guy. Some guys will get disrespected and lose it on the spot, because they are men of emotion not action (Even though they are technically acting). They’re the dumb ones. Other guys will get disrespected and stay perfectly calm. They’re thinking, “what am I going to do about it?” And what they’re going to do about it is wait a little bit, then saunter up to you smiling in some private place, and put an ice pick through your ear.

A man of action is really a man of patience. He will act when ready. A man of emotion is a man of impulse.

With regards to the government, you’re thinking should be no different. You don’t like what they’re doing.

So what are you going to *do* about it? Emphasis on legality and peaceful action, although some people will think just as calmly and deliberately and decide that a roadside bomb is the way to go.

But the morality I use to evaluate the merits of the actions of others is the same morality I use to evaluate the merits of my own courses of action.

And one thing you know about yourself that you can’t be sure of about others is that you know your own motive. Check your own motives before you obsess with others.

I realized that when I was obsessed with discerning the motives of others, I was really seeking to control them rather than allowing them to control me. Isn’t that what all these games we play all about?

When I came to grips with my own motive, I realized that their motives didn’t matter. I didn’t want to be a control freak. I stopped trying to control them, and thereby neutralized their ability to control me.

Know yourself and you will know others.

Lot o’ crap here. Soak it up, grasshopper. Oh yeah, baby.

[Damian (Instructor)]

Couple added thoughts:

Conspiracy is just another word for business. All business involves relationships and objectives and profit. We all conspire towards various ends.

PATIENCE is the combination of HONESTY and DISCIPLINE, which are the two components of CHARACTER. You cannot be patient without being honest, and you cannot be patient without being disciplined.

Patience is perfect. A patient man will never make a mistake. Of course, no one has perfect patience, but you are what you pursue…not what you think you have.

My words constitute an inspiracy; a conspiracy of inspiration.

Please, go rehydrate now, and eat a decent meal with a good percentage of protein in it.

[Author]

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