Sunday, December 25, 2016

Christmas Post 2016

To all,
    Now Christmas is of a season of love. Though if there is anything a dictionary can teach us, words can have multiple meanings. As your Christmas present, here are four meanings we may be using when we say we love someone.

1) We greatly care for someone.
2) We are greatly similar to someone.
3) We greatly admire someone.
4) We greatly desire being with someone.

I use these meanings to form the basis of Love Tanks, meaning these four definitions need to be satisfied for a person to feel loved.

Now to fill the Love Tanks, you must speak one of the Love Languages. You can do Acts of Service, Give Gifts, Spend Quality Time, Speak Words of Affirmation, or Physical Contact (like hugs). Since each person speaks different languages primarily, you need to do figure which one they receive best. My theory is that the language they want the most relates the the definition of love they feel they are lacking the most. Here's a chart from the perspective of receiving the love language


So this Chrsitmas, if you couldn't figure what to give someone, try another language because love is the best gift we can give.

Merry Christmas!
N. D. Moharo


Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Justice and Fairness

To the Afflicted,
    Some of today's society believes that Justice and Fairness are the same thing. However, even the usage of the phrase of a decision being "Fair and Just" indicates this is not the case. They are certainly related, but they are definitely different.
    An old and essential definition of Justice is rendering what is due. When we argue if someone's case is just, we argue whether or not they deserve something or not. When putting someone on trial, we are trying to argue what sentence they deserve to get. However, the question becomes "How to determine was is just?" That is where fairness comes into play, by which I argue to be "judging by the same standard for different people/things."
    An apt analogy for Justice and Fairness is that Justice is paying someone the correct price for an item while Fairness is using the same scale to determine the price for different people. If we measure some tea leaves and I pay some amount, but someone buying the exact same amount of the same tea after me is measured to be charged more, that would be considered unfair. Another example would be when someone cheats in a game, that's unfair because he's not playing by the same rules. One more example is a just decision would be to send criminals charged with the exact same crime to jail, but if the sentences are different lengths, then it can be considered unfair but not unjust depending on circumstances (for example two different judges, different levels of remorse, mercy, etc.).
    Why do we often consider unfairness to be the same as injustice? There are a few reasons. One is that we believe it is due to us to be judged on the same standard we perceive. This is common when it comes to siblings. If one child gets something, another may assume he should get it too because they are both children of the same parents (perceived standard), not necessarily because of something he did or need (actual standard). Another reason is that unfairness can lead to injustice. When someone cheats in a game, his opponent is not receiving his due respect in fair play and his due prize can be stolen from him.
    Now even though a standard is how we initially judge justice, we must be careful of the standards we use because they may be unjust. How is this possible? It's due to the nature of higher standards. Perhaps the best way of thinking of this is in terms of what justice is most often associated with; Law.
    According to a local law, punishment may be due to someone, but if that law contradicts a higher law, such as the constitution, then that would be opposed to real justice. This is important because lower laws often eliminate mercy and goodwill. I argued before that Mercy and Justice get along because Justice cares about order and balance. If someone is willing to forgive an injury, the relationship is put back into proper balance despite the perpetrator not paying restitution. Likewise, if a shop owner decides to give me a discount because of goodwill towards my father for some help he gave, it could be a fulfillment of justice. Of course, this idea of justice is dependent on using Love as the high standard.
    I argue that Love is the standard we should prioritize. I have written about the multiple definitions of love before, but in this case and pretty much every time I mention it, I'm referring to the caring definition by which "one wills the good of another." When you judge by using the standard of Love, then you judge based off the perfection of man that I argued for before in proving the universal moral code, and in doing so, you help advance the perfection of others. I like to think that that would be both fair and just.

With Love,
N. D. Moharo
 

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Ideas for Innovation: Sewer Generated Power

Sorry for the late post. I had to take a family member to the hospital and been taking care of that. On the good news, the patient is good.


Now for the idea. Take the power generators used at dams and place them in the sewer. That way, the tons and tons of gallons of water going down the drain can potentially help power the city's electric needs. Of course strategic placement would be necessary, but I figure that even if it can't power all of the homes, it might be able to power all public needs such as street lamps and traffic lights.

The background for my idea of sewer generated power was a result of considering the necessity of dams. A lot of power is generated by dams, but they ruin ecosystems and sometimes cause home-displacement. However, if every city with a sewer system could use all the water that goes through it, would that be more than enough "clean energy"?

N. D. Moharo


Saturday, November 5, 2016

Ideas for Innovation: The Compass Walking Stick

For the next month or so, instead of my usual philosophical pieces, I'll be sharing ideas I've had that I think we can use in the real world. I don't know if anyone has come up with them already, but if not, then these ideas are a contribution to society to use for the good of man and not to profit. In other words, I don't want to see people create a patent with these ideas (especially if you got the ideas from me). I would instead like to see people take these ideas for free and implement them for the good of the society.

The first idea is the Compass Walking Stick. I've heard that it's sometimes best to leave a blind man alone or not guide him somewhere because he may lose his orientation and sense of direction. The simple idea is to implement a compass-like device on the handle of the stick so that he can know which direction he is facing.

The tricky part is making it so the compass is touchable without erasing the position. If it's electronic, then maybe it can use an electric compass and then pop out the symbols of the directions in the proper place.

Now, while the goal is to make it so that blind people can use it, A simple design with a compass on the hilt for those who can see is good as well. In the city, it's quite easy to lose sense of direction, especially when emerging from a subway. At that point, even with a map, I had trouble identifying which direction I needed to go and my phone did not help due to the tall buildings surrounding me. I think this will benefit the elderly a great deal especially if they are using a walking stick anyways.


N. D. Moharo

Friday, October 21, 2016

Love and Appreciation

Dearly Beloved,
    When I wrote to you last about Love Tanks, I left out mention of Appreciation. It is debatable that this is a fifth Love Tank, but I eventually decided it was not. Even if it was a tank, I do not consider it as falling under a definition of love for a few reasons.
    First, it's always separate when we use it in language, We say "loved and appreciated" and not "love is appreciation." Second, Love requires two parties, but only one is required to act. Appreciation, on the other hand, indicates a return, meaning two parties need to act. Third reason is that it's relationship to the love languages and love tanks is unique. While it acts like a tank in that it can be drained, it can also drain all of the love tanks. It also is filled by any of the love languages, but which one is dependent on the situation.
    Something you must consider is an interesting paradox. It's good to give and receive appreciation, but bad to want it. The reason behind this is that the former can focus the attention on the other party in a good light, but the latter focuses on your self and can place the other party in a negative light, negatively impacting your ability to love. That negativity not only damages your relationships, but also drains your love tanks, making you depressed and lonely.

    Remember though that appreciation itself is good. The thing that is bad is the feeling of entitlement. If you think about it, it can be quite often that you perform an act of love with no expectation of a reward. Instead you act because you love, focusing solely on the receiving party. However, once the idea that you should be rewarded enters your head, you begin to take those acts of love and focus on yourself rather than your beloved. By transforming the acts of love into fuel for entitlement, you become bitter. This is true with all senses of entitlement. For the sake of your soul and happiness, you need to drop the selfish-feeding desires of entitlement and just let them happen or not.

    Now I know this is difficult, especially for me. When there is injustice or abuse of rights, I become very angry or depressed. However, I believe it is helpful to start dismantling your ideas of entitlement one by one, hopefully making it to just the core rights, things you need in order to become a better human being. If you can go beyond that, your ability to forgive will be divine.

    Whether you believe or not, actually practicing Christians have an advantage here. This is because they have a perfect model as a result of their beliefs. God should be entitled to praise, honor, and respect, but instead people mocked, scoffed, and executed him in an excruciating manner. Yet, instead of condemning these people, God spoke words of forgiveness and proceeded to suffer and die for them. When you believe that, it should have a profound impact on your senses of entitlement.
    If you examine it even further, even though Jesus displayed no sense of entitlement, he still fought for the rights of others and rebuked their oppressors. The point is that he was not selfish, but loving, according to Christian beliefs. When you believe all of those things, there is no greater role model of love.

With Love,
N. D. Moharo

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Love Languages Revisted: The Love Tanks

Love Languages Revisited
My loved child,
               I have written to you about love languages before. Taking from what I have written on the various definitions of love, perhaps we can understand the nature of love languages even better. To recap, the five love languages are Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation, Gift Giving, Quality Time, and Acts of Service. I gave four definitions of love but here I will describe them in terms of feeling loved. When we say we feel loved, we can mean that we feel Cared For, Liked, Admired, or Wanted. Each of the Love Languages address these accordingly
               You may have noticed that there is a mismatch of numbers, but that is okay. What I have figured is that there is some overlap. Some languages will address the same feeling, and a language can address multiple feelings. However, in order to have a full “Love Tank,” you need to have all four addressed.
               Perhaps the first thing we should do is establish that you have four love tanks, but one set and probably only one primary tank by which you judge if you are loved or not. I say four because it’s not the Love Languages themselves are not the tanks, but the fuel, if we are thinking like gas tanks. The tanks are the four ways we feel loved. However, due to the unique nature of humanity, the size of each tank is most likely not the same. As a result, three out of four can be filled, but the primary tank can account for over half, meaning you still won’t feel loved. On the other hand, it also means that it does not take much to fill the others, and you do that with different Love Languages.
               To feel like we are cared for, the primary fuel is Acts of Service. The secondary fuel is Gift Giving. Quality Time and Physical Touch are wildcards depending on the relationship. A child playing with his mother might feel cared for, but a child playing with friends will likely not have that feeling. Gift Giving is also a wildcard, but for the reason that if the gift is something we really desire, then we feel like they care about us.
               To feel like we are admired, the primary fuel is either Words of Affirmation or Gift Giving. The secondary fuel is Quality Time or Physical Touch. They are secondary because we can acknowledge that one or the other will fill the respective tank, but it most likely won’t fill much.
To feel like we are wanted, the primary fuel is either Quality Time or Physical Touch. A secondary fuel is Words of Affirmation. I make it secondary because we I consider Gift Giving a wildcard, because I can only think of it applying in romance. However, even in romance, the gift will probably fuel Admiration more, even if the reason for the gift is desire. On the other hand, depending on the gift, it can also convey being wanted.
               For feeling liked, pretty much everything covers this because the word is a bit broad. Not only can it mean desired, but also admired and similar. However, since we cover the other too, here will just take the Similar aspect, saying that we feel we belong. As a result then the primary fuels are Quality Time, Words of Affirmation, and whatever Love Language the recipient primarily uses.

 
After looking at this chart interesting things we can see after looking at the chart. First is you can understand why Hugs/Kisses and Gifts are popular since they are the easiest to do and can potentially fill every tank. Of course, in reality, some people don’t need gifts and some people don’t want to be touched. However, according to the chart, Quality Time is the best in terms of coverage and degree, though how you go about it is still important. At the same time, Words of Affirmation do a great job of making someone feel liked no matter the definition.
The second interesting thing is the effect of romance on creating wildcards. This perhaps is one of the main reasons why people desire romance so much and attribute it to love, even though friendship is arguably the best example of true love. It makes Gift Giving able to convey that you are desired. It can make us assume that we are cared for. It gives us a meaning of belonging and that someone admires us. Friendship, of course, can and does cover all four, but perhaps finding that level of friendship is too difficult for some and it doesn’t cover the sexual appetite.
I hope this helps you, my child, in understanding the complex nature of love as well as how to make others feel loved. However, you must remember that just as these languages can make a person feel loved, they can also do the opposite and cause great harm. Take care to use this knowledge to promote love and you will be on your way to becoming a saint.
With Love,
N. D. Moharo




Wednesday, September 28, 2016

The Definitions of Love and Love Paradox

News update: I am writing a book collecting and organizing various essays and letters I have written over the years. To be fair, it's been mostly complete for about 3 months now and I am currently just doing the polishing process as well as collecting opinions before I publish it. The project started while I was writing the series on True Love and I realized I would like to make it easier for my children to read what I have written. The result was that many of the letters I have published have been slightly modified versions of letters I have written to my children for this book, including what I'm sharing with you now. 



Dearly Beloved,
I often preach that True Love is an act of the will. The primary definition I use is “Love is to will the good of another.” I like the definition as it covers action, choice, desire, mind above emotion, and selflessness. However, one more definition is “Love is a great admiration of something.” Similarly, love can also mean “a strong like of something.” In addition, another definition some people love the most is “Love is a great desire to be united to something.”
If you study language, you may find what are called homonyms, “words with same spelling and pronunciation, but different meanings.” Some are completely unrelated such as a “bat” being a flying mammal or an object to play baseball with. However, many words are derived from the original word. In fact, when the connotation becomes the definition, it goes through this process. Love is one of these words.
Consider the first and second definitions. If you greatly admire something, it means you are more likely act on behalf of it. Consider a priceless jewel. If you don’t care about jewels, you’ll simply toss it away. If you greatly admire jewels, then you’ll take care of it. Same applies to people. If you greatly admire people, you will even perform some sort of sacrifice for their benefit.
Now consider the second and third definitions. You tend to greatly admire something you strongly like. Then take that “like” is derived from the same word which means “similar.” You like things that are similar to yourself or who you want to be.
Next up is the third and fourth definitions. A synonym for like is “desire” so naturally you can see how they link. When we think of desires, we tend to think of them as uncontrollable passions. And that is how you get the same word meaning an act of the will to meaning an act of passion. Is this believable? Certainly as we do this with language all the time. Words “evolve” as long as there is something to link it to the older meaning, including sarcasm. After all, antonyms can swap meanings just as “awful” and “awesome” did. 
If you look up synonyms for “love,” you will find “passion” among them. This is what I meant by “Love is a great desire to be united to something.” This is the emotional definition of love that many people love. You want something so much that you can’t imagine being without it. This is the explanation for what I consider the Love Paradox. You love someone so much that you want to be with them, but at the same time, you want him/her to be happy, even if that means he/she is not with you.

Now there is nothing wrong with any of these definitions. The biggest point I would like to make is of all of them, the first is the most pure and admirable. That is the one that makes use better people and is the secret to morality. The key here is that it’s the only one that works perfectly with humility, service, and every other virtue. The other definitions open the door to being selfish and therefore conflict and tragedy. As long as they are bounded by the first definition, they are fine. However, you generally cannot have all of them and therefore only the first is essential.
Consider what it means when you have the others, but not the first. Perhaps the best example is a teenage boy who tells a girl he loves her so in order to have sex. He might greatly admire her, but if it’s only her beauty he admires, he’ll dump her when he finds someone else he considers more beautiful. He might hold a lot of things in common with her, but that is very fickle especially for teenagers. Even if they maintain common interests, the importance of them will change as life changes. Lastly, he certainly wants to be united with her, but it’s to satisfy himself.
The boy is speaking the truth, but he doesn’t care for the girl. He doesn’t want what is best for her. He only cares about himself and heartbreak is going to happen. It’s often the case that a couple will have sex only to part that night. The common scenario is the girl is hoping he means the first definition along with the others, but if a guy can’t wait until marriage for sex, it’s most likely he doesn’t mean he cares. If anything, it shows he doesn’t have the willpower to make many sacrifices for her.
My hope is that by showing you this example, you may see that selfishness produces pain, sadness, and ultimately victims. Let the first definition rule your life so that you may become a great hero. When you abide by the pure definition of love, you may recognize when it is lacking and therefore be able to avoid the unnecessary heartache. That is my wish, because I do indeed care for you.

With Love,

N. D. Moharo

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Listing why a Person Might or Might Not Believe There is a God

To the Atheists and Apologists,
    The debate over the existence of a god is a very interesting one. One reason is that not everyone have the same reasons for his or her belief whether there is a god or not. There can be any number of reasons and those can determine how firm one will stand when debating. To help, I've compiled two simple lists and done my best to provide a brief explanation. I won't address the flaws or either here, but perhaps another time I will try that.

Realize that these lists are not what all of either side hold, but instead are compilations of various reasons individuals might have.

Note: If someone has a strong opinion, it means they have deep concerns. We need to listen and figure out what they are.

Why someone might not believe in a God

  1. Problem of Evil: If God is so good, then why does he let us suffer?
  2. Parents: I knew a girl in college who surprisingly converted to a religion. Her explanation is that her hatred of religion was not her own, but her mother's. When she realized that, she found she liked religion after all
  3. Hypocrisy: seeing people who preach some values only to act against them.
  4. Doesn't Make Sense: Cannot grasp the various concepts of God and how they can tie together. How can a God of Love punish eternally? How can God be Infinitely Just and Infinitely Merciful? If he is all-powerful, doesn't that mean he can create something he cannot lift meaning he is't all-powerful?
  5. Misunderstanding of positions: Sometimes people have a hard time grasping one concept and once it's explained in a logical manner, they convert. For example, perhaps they were assuming a different definition of justice which opposes mercy completely.
  6. No Encounter: Don't believe to have had any miraculous events in their lives
  7. No reason to believe: Burden on proof are on the claimants, not the doubters.
  8. Evolution: 
    1. I'll be honest. I can't explain this one. I just know some people use it but I don't understand their explanation. So if you know how to explain it. Please share and I'll update this list
  9. Education/Indoctrination: Someone in a position of authority said there isn't a god
  10. Having to change my life: Realize that if they truly believe in a God, they have to change their ways and they don't want to.
  11. Too many wars because of conflicting Religious ideas

Why someone might believe there is a God

  1. Family tradition: one's parents promoted belief from an early age and to consider people you trust to be wrong on something important would make you question your whole life
  2. Can only see despair in a world without God: With all the evil and suffering in the world, they would only despair if there was no paradise.
  3. Too many coincidences: Seeing how one major event would have never happened if anywhere in a long chain turned out differently encourages belief there is divine intervention.
  4. Prayers: Might be marked as coincidence to some, but the fact that some people get what they prayed for makes them believe there is a God who is listening.
  5. Poetic Justice: In our world, too many criminals are able to get away with their crimes. A God who is just could issue perfect justice in the next life
  6. Someone they love is dead: They want their loved ones to be eternally happy and the idea of paradise is consoling
  7. They have heard or witnessed miracles concerning trusted sources: If you witness a scientifically impossible fact, like a 15-pound tumor disappearing within a night, an easy explanation is that there is some being who has power over nature
  8. Stories of saints inspire them: the testimonies of people who are highly regarded to be wise and virtuous act as highly trustworthy material. Since many of them cast away many worldly desires such as fame, fortune, and even sexual pleasure, they are not considered to be corrupted
    1. Some modern examples include Mother Theresa
  9. People with real faith become great people: The people who believed so much that it inspired them to act with great love and become saints act as a testimony to goodness. People who want to become better themselves see these saints and work to imitate them because they see their actions as good.
  10. The Martyrs, especially early ones: The death of people close to the time of the "revelation" because of their resolve in faith in their god makes people wonder about if it's true. Since they were willing to die for their god, there must be a strong reason why they believe it to be true.
  11. Evolution doesn't cut it: The idea that a single organism evolved into everything we have today is a bit far-fetched. Perhaps the biggest kink is the separation into sexes. Why go from self-replication to requiring a partner? Some things which became necessary had steps of evolution where it there was no point. An idea that there is design makes more sense to these people
  12. The universe is ordered: For physics and science to be possible, there needs to be order. For the variety of life, objects, and forces, things work pretty well together to the point that we can understand them
  13. Why believe Scientists?: It takes faith to believe what scientists claim is true, especially with the long track record of being wrong. Since they don't fully understand everything that's inside our own universe, how can they make a claim about something outside?
    1. Even the science community is at odds because their "discoveries" don't matter when it comes to proving there is a god or not. Hence some scientists believe there is a creator while others don't


These lists are not exhaustive and could use better explanations, but I hope they do help in some regard. If you have something to add, please comment below or tweet @ND_Moharo 

With Love,
N. D. Moharo

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Examining a Root of Racism toward Blacks

To the world and blacks,

Recently there's been a lot of attention directed towards the black community regarding shootings and racism. It is important that we analyze how we got to this situation and where responsibility lies. This is because, unless all parties take responsibility for their actions, the issues will never be resolved. So in order to cover this, we should consider experiences and the emotions played in various encounters. In this case I will describe my various encounters with black people and my initial impression, as that is the most likely to be biased and therefore the biggest hint we have towards racism.

Scenario 1 : big black guy with muscles in gym clothes. Here I am amazed by the physique and not really afraid.
Scenario 2 : black guy with piercings in his but also tight fitting clothes. Again I am not afraid and even though he is muscular as well
Scenario 3 : black youth in a uniform. Again no fear
Scenario 4 : black youth with loose-fitting clothing with A diversity of friends. Also not afraid
Scenario 5: black youth with loose-fitting clothing by himself or with other black friends with loose fitted clothing. Here is where fear starts to appear.

As you may have no might have noticed I am not normally afraid of black people comma nor am I suspicious of them. I know quite a few of them over the course of my life. I've met them in high school where they wore uniforms and became my friends. In college I met more and even though they dressed in loose clothing, the friends they were with were diverse and giving the impression of being nice people. I also encounter a random black people on the streets or at work but I have no fear from them. This is because they dress in tight clothing in which you might see their muscles, but they are in gym clothes. Also if they talk properly then there is nothing to fear as well. The parts that anyone is probably most likely to be afraid of is the black youth with clothing hanging around other blacks with loose clothing. This is because this is the image of a gangster or someone and who might shoot you. Whose fault is it's for this image? I argue for two parties primarily: the media and the black community itself

I blame the media because they are the ones that give us the impression that a random black person we encounter and loose clothing is someone to be afraid of. Often in shows if you encounter a black person and loose clothing they are likely to eventually shoot someone or become gangsters. While a white person and loose clothing is most likely to be a drug addict or someone who isn't cool. In fact, according to the media, even the white guy will shoot you if he doesn't have his drugs.

Now for the Inconvenient Truth that will probably make the black community not listen to me, but it is true nonetheless. The people who think black youths dressing in loose clothing is cool are gangsters. That's how they dress and gangsters are criminals. Therefore, a reputation that a black kid will be a delinquent or criminal comes from dressing like criminals. It's not because of skin color and I can prove it.

A black guy who dresses well and talks well is not often considered a criminal. The exception are scam artists, but that applies to whites as well. Consider Motown. They dressed in suits and were well loved. Consider Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, James Earl Jones, and even President Obama. They are highly respected so that only the low of society would be racist toward them. The same applies to some great athletes as well. Calvin Johnson, Michael Jordan, etc. These people don't walk around or talk like gangsters but well dressed and clean speech. So if talk or walk like a gangster, then you will be suspected of being one.

There is actually another scenario were I really felt afraid. It was when I was in Bahamas and rode into a poor neighborhood and someone came up and talked about how the place was the drug capital of the area. I was afraid of being kidnapped. The fear wasn't so much about color as it was about the area being so surprisingly poor next to a resort. To clarify, it's not so much the poor to fear, but desperation. People go to visit the poor all the time, and in places isolated from civilization. However, I will argue that poor who are away from civilization are far less likely to feel the desperation that people who constantly see rich tourists.

This is actually a reason why I hate the hashtag #blacklivesmatter. It takes issues that apply to so many people and focus them on a small group on the claim of racism. Many of the injustices I see claimed stem more from gangster imitation or poor vs rich than skin color. I also see them applying stereotypes in a hateful manner, which is just as bad as racism.

I argue that black lives due in fact matter, but that's because #LifeMatters. Not only that, but the way you live your life matters. Dress well, speak properly, and act properly and there will be improvement. Then let's work together to address the injustices where celebrities get away with crimes. Especially to the point that they can get away with crimes and still run for president.


#LifeMatters,
N. D. Moharo

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Life Matters

To society,
    I've noticed that the slogan Black Lives Matters appears to be marketed as the current civil rights campaign. If the goals are for justice and to stop the shootings of innocents, then I will agree those are good. Someone even tried to explain to me that the slogan implies a "too" at the end, which changes the impression you should get when you see it. However, there are so many problems with the slogan that it's actually slowing down progress rather than helping it. Intent may be good, but just as someone might say a racist word without realizing it is offensive, promoting "Black Lives Matters" will result in so much unnecessary conflict, tensions, and death.

   Here are the issues I have with BlackLivesMatter as a slogan (and why it'll never gain full support)

  1. It sounds so racist: Someone explained that the slogan implies a "too". Why isn't that too explicit? Otherwise it can (and has been) interpreted as "Black Lives Matter More"
  2. It's easy for extremists: Black Gangsters who want to simply murder can use the slogan and it's hard to anyone to disassociate with them. They act with what people understand to be the slogan's meaning.
  3. It's associated with crime: Again with extremists. That's the impression in the mind of people, especially the cops. How often when an innocent cop is shot do we see the same people who say "Black Lives Mater" say "Cops' Lives Matter"?  More so, since it's associated with crime, cops will not support it. If both parties can unite, then there will be peace.
  4. It sounds so black-centered: Why should other minorities support this? Why support a slogan that sounds like it will die as soon as the blacks are covered? I often saw that when the same things happen to other minorities, they don't get the hashtag support from the "black community"
  5. It accuses people of stupidity without giving them a reason not to: Someone said that this is a point of people being judged on looks and how people aren't looking deeper. If the audience is stupid, why make it harder by making things implicit instead of explicit? Why make things complicated when they should be simple?
  6. The slogan will result in more shootings: The blackLivesMatter slogan is always said against cops, which strikes fear of retaliation into innocent cops. This fear only increases the amount of innocent shootings because they are now rightfully scared for their lives. Even more so in gang-ridden territories. Hence the name is having the reverse effect
  7. It won't win: Civil Rights won because it was a name all could fight under. As Black power, it failed epically and only divided the nation further. 
  8. Refusals to change the slogan reinforces the idea that it's black-centered and not about real justice: It should be easy for them to usurp the slogan "All Lives Matter." Since that gets attacked, those watching the issue only see that the blacks don't care about others. 


    The solution? A new slogan that takes the point and makes it invulnerable against extremists. As long as extremists can take a slogan, the cause can be easily destroyed, but if they act against the slogan that can't be violated, then it's easy to disassociate with extremists. The proposal: Life Matters

Reasons:

  1. Someone explained that "All Lives Matter" has the reputation of being used by people who want to ignore the issues they are trying to bring up. I don't believe that was the origin of the phrase. More so that it was to make that too explicit. But since the black community won't believe that explanation, a different slogan is needed
  2. Life Matters takes the core of what someone can expect to be good about Black Lives Matter. It makes it specific as well by saying each life matters, therefore don't kill. Cops should not shoot innocent blacks and blacks should not shoot innocent cops.
  3. By making it specific and general, no side can claim to adhere to it while murdering another
  4. It's easy to condemn extremists and identify who is truly for justice and who is for malice
  5. This is a slogan everyone can unite under and the cause doesn't die.
  6. It's simple yet powerful. It's true.

The rest is up to the community. What is best for society? Stubbornly using a slogan that only creates conflict and is easily used by extremists? I see some twitter feeds that promote hate and use the hashtag #blackLivesMatter. There is certainly fear in innocent cops that some blacks they come across will shoot them. That fear is deadly. Using a bad slogan will only slow progress and result in death for many parties (especially blacks and cops). Is that good? No. So let's adopt a slogan that is rooted in peace, life, and love. Any refusal will show that you don't care about society and justice because now I have shown why BlackLivesMatter is an evil slogan despite any good intent. Good people want peace and progress to be as soon as possible with deaths avoided. Let's march on that.

With Love,
N. D. Moharo

#LifeMatters

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Political Correctness

My Dear Child,
               I write to you that you may not worry about being Politically Correct. In my day, it is politically incorrect to say anything that might be construed as sexist, racist, anti-semetic, etc. On the other hand, there are no complaints about insulting Christians, some political parties, etc. This is because Political Correctness is just that, Political. It changes often and will always be inconsistent because it isn’t based off Love and Truth. This is why it was “right” to insult the Japanese during WWII and why they insult Christians today. The world with its god of selfishness doesn’t care about respect, but about how it believes it can obtain and maintain power. Therefore it will do what it can to destroy the message of True Love.
               So I write to you that you instead focus your energy on Love and Truth. When you are known by these two things, even those you supposedly offended may come to your defense. This happened recently when a white actress said a racist term. The media attacked her, but her black friend defended her, calling her family. Consider also that Jesus was never politically correct. Instead he spoke the Truth and teachings of Love.
               If someone knows you are trying to speak the truth with no malice behind it, and they still take grave offense, then they don’t really care about respect. Instead, they seek entitlement, which is simply selfishness. Honest people want respect. If they know you care for them, then they will listen to the truth, even when it hurts.
               The purpose of Freedom of Speech is that people may find the Truth to improve their lives, be able to express their concerns, and propose ideas. As long as it is not used to express hatred and destruction, then your words will never violate or abuse this important right. Society depends on the Freedom of Speech to be used correctly, not the political tool of censorship.
With Love,

N. D. Moharo

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Concerning Smoking

Dearly Beloved,
               Some people wonder if smoking is a sin. My thought is that it isn’t most of the time, but it can be. In fact, it’s always an evil to encourage someone else to smoke, because smoking is definitely not good for anyone and those around that person.
               If you remember my words about Love, you will recall that anything thing that is opposed to love is an evil. We are supposed to desire what is best for others. When it comes to smoking, and many other addictions, there are but millions of reasons to avoid it, while only one okay for doing it. Even that one okay reason is flimsy. Does it make you look cool? No, to the rational man, you look stupid because that is what you are when you get addicted purposefully. The one valid reason, which is what addictions thrive on the promise of, is relaxation. The problem is that you might be free of stress at the moment, but it will build up later to become almost unbearable.
               If we consider smoking, we know it is bad for our teeth. Therefore we have to brush quite often and for a long time every time you smoke. What once was okay to do only twice a day, can become required 8 times a day. Why create more work for yourself or others? If you ignore, then you suffer the horrible consequences. You can see the stress is already building up just for this one side effect, and there are hundreds more.
               Of course, there are three reasons why smoking is still around. One is that people are selfish and try to convince others to smoke in order that they can continue smoking. Second is that people think they can get away with smoking. By limiting the areas they can smoke, it has helped the situation, but it’s not enough. The third reason is that most attention is spent on future consequences instead of the present. When people do some addiction, they aren’t looking at the future. They are looking for something in the present. Generally it comes down to “look cool” or “release stress.” When these two are dismantled, then we might be able to get rid of it.
               Let’s get rid of the “looking cool” first. As I said before, people are selfish and try to convince others to smoke in order that they can continue smoking. That means you “looking cool” to these people is really them thinking, “All right, now we don’t have to worry about smoking around this idiot anymore.” You also showed that you aren’t above the influence. You are not a hero at all. Heroes are able to stay above the influence and do what is right, even if everyone is against them. Heroes are cool. Even if people don’t say it publicly, when you stick to good morals, you look you cool. To prove that, I got a message from an old classmate who told me that he admired my ability to do just that. People want to be strong, and sticking to morality is strength.
               How about relieving stress? The thing about addictions is that that relief is only for an instant. If you want it to last as long as before, then you need to be more intense. This can means the first time, you can be relieved for two minutes. The second time, only two minutes. The third, two minutes if you smoke for twice as long. The third, two minutes if you smoke four. Eventually you need to do an entire pack for just one moment of relief, and you have to do it every single day.
               So that’s still technically focusing on the future. Let’s focus on the now and what that means. Money! Can you afford to buy a pack? Can you afford to do that every day? Wouldn’t you rather buy a fun video game with the money you save? How about going on a fun date? Speaking of that, most people hate kissing smokers. So if you smoke, you can’t kiss unless it’s another smoker, but why limit yourself to a minority that is a bomb ready to explode? Remember what I said about stress? It builds up very quickly when you realize all of the consequences just from smoking once. If you cannot smoke, you’ll snap because you cannot think until you do so. Also, it can make you sick. The problem is that you are addicted just from doing it once. You may not think you are addicted, but soon you’ll want it again. It’s the same with every addiction. You cannot think until you feed it. Therefore it is a sin to do it the first time, especially when you know of the evils.
               I used to think it was okay to allow people to smoke as long as I wasn’t around them. But then something changed my mind; you. I became curious about the effects of secondhand smoke on women who are pregnant and the babies they carry. When I read that it could lead to brain development issues on babies still in the womb, my opinion shifted entirely. You don’t always know when a woman is pregnant until she is 6 months in. That means smoking in the present is causing problems for another family and raising a child is hard enough to begin with. In addition, I have asthma and it does not react well to secondhand smoke. When you smoke even in the open air, there is a large radius where others can’t enter. It causes suffering almost every single time, but smokers have grown to be apathetic to this. Know this: Smoking is never an act of love, only selfishness. If you smoke, I would not only be sad because it’s bad for your body, but also your soul.
With Love,

N. D. Moharo


Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Pornography: Effects and Treatment

To the Addicted, Curious, and Propagators,
 
    I've mentioned it before that anything that hinders you from being able to love is an evil. I have held off writing about this topic for a long time, but there are few things that hinder the ability to love more than pornography. Therefore, it needs to be talked about. Effects and how to treat them.

    Now it's not often I watch a TED talk as they can be nonsensical, but this one was actually meaningful and easy to follow. Pornography is an interesting problem in that it is everywhere in society despite being frowned upon. So is the "social stigma" non-existent? Is it only in the workplace where it has any effect because of how bad it impacts the company (via viruses and low productivity)? I liked this video because it talked about the effects psychologically and socially. While I disagree with the "free sex" advocacy at the end as it undermines his arguments against porn, he's got good points the rest of the talk.
    Psychologically, I must agree. I hold that children can know what true love is far better than adults. When I was 10 or 12, I came up with the idea that I truly loved a girl if I was willing to let her date someone I thought was better for her. I thought that dating should not be exclusive because if I wasn't right for her, I didn't want to waste her time in finding the right guy. After I became an adult, I found it difficult to follow through on that idea for two reasons: I was worried that she would have sex with someone else, and I would be a bit jealous. Luckily for me, she only wanted to be with me so I didn't have to deal with that.
    He talks about how boys dream about how to love a girl before porn. After porn, the desire shifts to simply releasing. In addition, porn makes sexually stimulating things that are definitely not acts of love. Beating a woman is not love. Watching a woman make out is not love. A more true act of love would be feeling sorry for the women involved.

    Socially, I must agree again. Why must a teenage girl try to be sexy? In fact, I recall reading an article a long time ago that little girls wanted to be "hot" more than they wanted to be princesses. These are little girls that are getting these messages. My wife told me that in her schools, sex while an adolescent was bragged about by guys. One time, I went to a hospital and saw a man reading a porn magazine in the lobby. I was more shocked when I saw the magazine belonged to the hospital!
    When I visited Japan, I saw the situation is really bad as porn magazines are right next to children's comics. It's like that in convenience stores, book stores, even advertised in the trains! What's the result? How about like that one kid from England who raped his little sister? That TED video made a good analogy about the music show and it's impact on him and how porn would do the same. So if the kid is watching violent sex stuff, he'll think it, eventually talk about it, and then do it.
    Another thing the video talks about is the impact it has on the women involved. Not only are more trapped, enlisted, or kidnapped to fulfill the demands, they are likely to die at an early age. The one thing I was surprised he didn't mention is that once they lose their beauty, they have nothing else. I'm surprise when they last more than 10 years. Even if they maintain their attractiveness, they will not be able to find another job. There are stories about ex-pornstars working at a school when a kid found out and harassed her to do it for him. Since these videos are online and freely available to watch, there is no way they can be forgotten. They are stuck being sex-slaves because that's exactly what they are. The only way they can be freed is when someone like Jesus comes along and gives them a chance. By watching porn, we contribute to the demand, which means more people will suffer this fate. Porn doesn't help society, it hinders it greatly and should be illegal. Otherwise you give people like Donald Trump enough money to be able to run for President and actually get far.
    But what about the women who do it willingly? In that case, surely porn isn't entertainment at their expense. Actually, it still is. It is entertainment for you at the expense of their human dignity. From my previous paragraph, you might have noticed that these women are no longer considered human. Instead they are sexual objects solely to please you. Once they stop pleasing you, they get tossed out. In addition, it impacts how you see other girls as well. This is how sexual objectification grows in today's world.

    Now perhaps you have wanted to quit but are struggling due to its nature as an addiction. It's unfortunately common that little kids are exposed to this stuff not by choice. Some curious kid may find a magazine in the trash. Some may find it by searching for images of their favorites characters on Google. Some are exposed in order to be sexually abused. Something I find common is that they don't like it the first time, but they are trapped.
   The Art of Manliness has an article about dealing with that with lots of tactics and advice. The trust method is certainly a good one and you may notice that porn tries to destroy that. I had a friend come to me and ask me to help him. I would occasionally check up on him and ask his status, encourage him, make sure his bedroom door was open if he was on the PC, and also held a password to his parental controls. That last one is important as it allows him to access stuff when he needs it, but first needs to convince me that he wouldn't use it to look at porn.

    One note I want to make is that porn has a trick up its sleeve. It tries to convince you that you'll never be free from it and so you must watch more of it. However, if it had such a strong hold on your mind, you shouldn't need to watch more. You may feel like you need to watch something new, but you don't. It's the addiction that needs the "food" in order to grow. Therefore, abstaining from watching porn is a very important step in overcoming it. You also need to avoid anything that's sketchy in pop culture (like a lot of music videos as the TED talk mentions and TV shows) as they are sexually charged and may entice you to relapse. That's difficult, I know. This is also why you need to find good friends who will want to support you. But that's a benefit actually. You find good friends and you only need 1 or 2 to be happy with your life.
    Of course, it isn't enough to simply not look at porn. Among the articles I've read on Art of Manliness, the advice of doing something beneficial when the desire is aroused is great. If you are dating someone, writing a love letter can not only help you focus on love rather than lust, your beloved will love you more after receiving it. Note that you probably won't be able to draw as your imagination will be dominated by pornographic images. You need to do something abstract or physically demanding. Eating chocolate (dark chocolate is best) might help quell the passion for a while too. That's what I do when I want to make love with my wife but she's not around. However, if you need a lot of chocolate, then you should find something else. Trying to replace one addiction with another is not a good idea as you end up with 2 addictions.

    Speaking about having sex, taking a cue from the guy's argument in that TED talk, do the opposite of what porn videos do. Make romantic gestures like caressing, hugging, and kissing. In fact, do them after sex as well. A sign that you are in love and not simply lusting is that you are willing to hug and kiss after sex. I found that after sex is when my brain becomes most rational, but it's also the time that I'm probably the most in love with my wife. We can talk about many things, her smile becomes brighter and more beautiful, and I feel joy as well.
    I have to also advocate saving sex for when and with whom you are actually married. This is important for a few reasons. First, I believe dating is when you are supposed to learn how to say "I Love You" without sex. This is important because you do need to know that you are loved even when you cannot have sex. Second, when sex is part of the equation, you can lose track of other things that are important to you and not discuss them. Third, one of the core purposes of marriage is that you cannot back out of it. If you do not hold that third point, then your marriage will always fail, unless one of you dies before it can. Was it difficult to abstain for me? Yes, it was, but my wife and I did it over the long course of courtship despite both of us being very physically attracted. Our primary love language is physical touch and that makes it very difficult to avoid sex, but we succeeded. As a result, my wife said she knew I truly loved her and she was happy that we worked so hard. I love seeing her smile.

    There's something else you need to know. You will never be cured of pornography. Like alcoholism, you will always be "recovering" and have a scar. It's partially why it's so important to never open that Pandora's Box. It can takes years before you can hold off the habit for just 1 month because of the willpower required. The longer you are in its snare, the harder it becomes to be free. However, the result is worth it. When you realize how bad you are addicted, it's depressing and immobilizing. But when you are able to overcome it for a few months, then you feel joy. Your self-esteem rises and you are happier overall.

Do your best,
N. D. Moharo
 

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Beyond Being a Hero


Dearly Beloved,
               I once wrote to you that the meaning of the phrase “be a man” means to be a hero. However, this by itself is not the perfection of man. A hero is simply a role model who acts because it is right. But a hero who also acts with love is called a saint. I can be a hero, but if I don’t have love, I won’t be perfect. In fact, my example would be less effective. For example, when I was in High School, I went through all four years working hard to not break any rules. I did this because I wanted to prove it could be done, but I didn’t have love. While I got better the last few months of my career, I was depressed and filled with contempt for some people around me. At this point, I knew that I needed to become a hero, but I did not yet realize love is what makes it perfect and joyful.
               Do you need to perform great deeds to be considered a saint? Not at all. In fact, some of the greatest saints are those who do many little things with love. I don’t need to die to show my love for my wife. I can simply wash the dishes and do the laundry; two things I hate to do. But I found that when I do them because I love my wife, I’m at peace doing them. When she says thank you, I’m even more filled with joy.
               When you do things because they are good and because you love others, you are one of the best role models in the world. So I pray that you not only become a hero, but that you become a saint.

With Love,
N. D. Moharo

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

The Rationality of a God becoming a Man

To the Truth-seekers,
    A valid concern many religions have about Christianity is the concept of "God becoming Man." How can a being, who is perfect, become man, who is imperfect? This would mean that God changed which is contrary to the nature of being perfect. When you are perfect, you cannot change. Therefore, God cannot become man, because that would mean he was imperfect to begin with.
    It's an interesting paradox, but the answer makes sense when you hear the explanation, "God did not change." To properly understand this, we need to switch perspectives. To us, it appears that God changed, but not from the perspective of God. Let me bring you back to the analogy of a virtual world where you are a god.
    In this analogy, you have complete control of the virtual world. You are its god. You decide to become one of your characters. Are you still the god of that world? Yes. Do you lose any of your "Divinity"? No. Do you still have perfect control and know everything? Yes. If you maintain your Divine Knowledge and stay perfectly virtuous, nothing changed. That is how it looks from God's perspective. And if God is perfect, even as a character in his creation, he would be perfect. There is no change. In fact, it is perfectly God's nature to have become man, because God is Perfect Love.
    If God is Perfect Love, he would perform acts of love. A great act of love therefore is to become man, dwell among us, teach us how to love, and give us the perfect example of love. Why? Because that is what is best for us. By us having a perfect model and teaching, we are able to love more and become perfect. Also, by God becoming man, you have the most definitive authority for establishing a religion. No other man can establish a religion better than a man who is God, especially when the religion is about True Love.

With Love,
N. D. Moharo

P.S. The prompt for this topic was how last time I suggested that the mentally handicap from birth are angels incarnate. I don't know if this is true or not, but I wanted to address the argument that "Angels becoming man would lower their nature." It wouldn't because they would not lose any of their angelic nature. Instead, it'd be a perfect showing of their angelic nature as the purpose of their life on earth would be to bring people closer to God. They are God's servants and therefore would gladly accept this task. Of course, since I am not an expert, I can be completely wrong.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

How Hell is the Result of Love

To the Truth-seekers,
    Hell is an interesting topic. It is a valid question people have when asking about a God who is supposedly Perfect Love. "How can an all-loving God condemn someone to eternal punishment?"
    It's fairly easy to explain hell as an act of justice, especially poetic justice. Do evil and you will eventually be punished either in this life or the next. Also, if you sin against someone who is infinitely good, the just punishment would be eternal. But hell is actually the result of love.
    It sounds paradoxical, but hell is an act of love for the sinner. When someone goes to hell, it is because they chose not to love. Since love must be an act of the will, and God respects our free will, God would not force us to love him. Since God is Pure Love, and the sinner chose to reject love, being with God would be worse than hell.
    Hell is "Where God is not." It means there is no other love in that place beyond its existence. This also means if someone wants to hate God for eternity, they can do it. Now one may argue that it would be better for God to wipe out the sinner's existence. However, that would violate two things. First is that God sees everyone's existence as good, just like those against the death penalty see that all life is good. Second is that annihilating the sinner would counter hell being an act of love for the rest of us.
    Jesus gave us an analogy. We are salt whose purpose is flavor. But if we lose our flavor, then we will be thrown out to be trampled under foot by men. This shows two things. First is that God will still use you even if you fail your purpose of love. Second, though I don't know if they did this in Israel, is to keep the rest of us from falling down. The purpose of salt on the ground is to prevent men from slipping on the ground. Salt is what you throw on ice so that men can walk. God sends people to hell so that we might not.
    God wants what's best for us, and that is for us to be willingly united with him. The first step is instilling the fear of punishment. We have a free will, but we don't initially start life by loving God. When we are children, we initially only fear punishment. We don't really care for our parents. But as we grow older, what started as fear of punishment can grow into fear of offending our parents. The punishment is a seed that grows into an act of love. When we reach this stage, it means we have a true love for God. Of course, if you chose otherwise, then you will receive the punishment promised. Being removed from existence would not encourage you to chose love, but the fear of punishment might.
    Another argument is that "Good parents rehabilitate their children, not condemn them eternally." This is true, and that is exactly what life is. Our life is our rehabilitation. We are here so that we may become better people by choosing to love. We receive many opportunities to grow in love for God and our neighbor. It is then our choice whether we want to stay in prison or get out for good behavior. Hell is merely the life sentence that we may choose.
    Now this revelation might have brought up some concerns, especially due to our fear of wrongful imprisonment. "What about the mentally disabled from birth?" Since they cannot freely choose to love or not, technically the scale of justice is balanced. However, since God is Perfect Love and wants what is best, they will be united with him. Then why should they live on earth at all if they will go to heaven anyway? It's so that we may grow in love by caring for them. They teach us how to better love each other. They live in order that we may live with God forever. I actually wonder if they are God's angels incarnated, because they have already chose God.
    So what about those who never learned about God or learned wrong about him? Actually, they can still go to heaven, though they probably would not reach the pure perfection. If they were truly ignorant through no fault of their own, and they tried their best to live with virtue, they simply unknowingly chose God, because he is the source of love and virtue. However, it is far easier for them to live in virtue and chose God if they are taught correctly. That is why I write to you about the message of True Love. It could be said that God did inspire the other cultures' great teachers in order to prepare them to receive the gospel of the Religion of True Love.
    So is hell fair? Yes, in terms of Justice. No, in that sinners possibly deserved worse. It is also not fair because God gives us so much to avoid it. Since God is Infinite Love, and forgiveness is an act of love, all we need to do is repent when we are wrong. When our repentance is because of our love for god, it is a perfect act of love in itself. When it's not perfect because it's based off fear of punishment instead, God will still forgive, but we need to do whatever he commands for restitution, which is always another act of love so that we may grow in love.
    Hell is the result of Love, because by its existence, we are encouraged to love. If there was no punishment, not only would that violate justice, but also allow us to not care to love. That would not only be bad for society, but also for ourselves. The existence of hell is True Love trying to call you to itself.

With Love,
N. D. Moharo

P. S. Since Hell falls in the realm of Theology, I can be wrong. This is merely an explanation on how it would make sense, especially given the purpose of man being to love.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Conversion Theory

To the People and Missionaries
    It's not often that I speak of matters of faith, but this time there's a philosophical element to it: Why do people convert? I'm ignoring the cases of conversion for a spouse and social status as those are not true conversions. The conversion I'm referring to is the total conversion where one's life changes because he or she truly believes the faith. For this letter, I'll reference Christianity because that's what we have the most experience with, but also it's the crux of my theory.

    The first part of my theory is that people convert to a religion they see as more Christian. Consider what Jesus said to be the two greatest commandments. The first is "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." The second was "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:28-31). These practices are what people are looking for when searching for faith. You must have both.
    The interesting thing is that some faiths try to make themselves "open" by relaxing some of their practices. The result is that doing this does not attract people for the long run. In fact, it only causes more people to leave as it goes against that first commandment, which is what people are searching for when examining religions. After all, what's the point of a faith if there is none? The purpose of religion is to "give to God what belongs to God." If people see that this is not being carried out, then they see there is no real faith. At this point, these religions care more about money or influence than about a God they heard about. When groups of Christians find things they don't consider Christian, they will split and create their own denomination. To be honest, I consider each denomination to be a different religion, just as Judaism and Islam are different but believe in the same God and some of the same scriptures.
    Let me give you an analogy. Imagine there's a bird club. The participation is high and members are very active and excited. However, at some point the management decides it needs to attract new members so it decides to open up the club to dogs as well. After the initial jump in membership ends, management decides to open it up to mice. Next are fish, and eventually cats. Eventually the club is so open that birds are very rarely talked about. The bird club only exists in name. When people come to the bird club, they are seeking to share their love of birds and learn more about them, but these people see mostly cat lovers and dog lovers. "This isn't a real bird club. If I want to talk to dog lovers, I can go anywhere in the world to find them. There's no need for a club," the onlookers observe and leave.
    This is what happens to religions that relax their practices for the sake of attracting people. It doesn't work. It may attract attention of the world, but at that point, it's just a hollow institution with nothing to offer, but it will still ask for money. People should be nice to each other all the time, but people also want a place to actually praise and learn about God. That's what Religion is for.

    Consider this famous verse from Revelation 3:16. Here, God says, "So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of my mouth." To remove the practices of a faith in order to attract people is to become lukewarm. The idea is that if the people of the world are to be considered lukewarm, we need to be lukewarm as well in order to attract them. However, the people who are lukewarm want to feel cold or hot and so are looking for religions that are so. I'm not sure what the proper interpretation of this should be, but here's an idea I have. To be hot means to be energetic, singing, dancing, and praising God. To be cold means to be quiet, listening, and meditating on God. If you are lukewarm, then you are doing neither of them.
    I've observed how the youth appear apathetic in daily life but become very passionate at conferences. Why is this? The word lukewarm means to be apathetic, unenthusiastic, indifferent, etc. However, these conferences tend to be "hot" with passion and excitement. These same youths say that they "felt God's presence." However, once they return to the lukewarm society, they no longer care. If church is lukewarm as well, that explains why they leave. They want that "heat" from their church, because Heat causes the lukewarm to become hot. Likewise, a place that can encourage contemplation and prayer, such as a quiet church building, can make the lukewarm cool.
    This is how people know there is no faith in a particular church. The church is supposed to change people for the better apart from the world's evils, but instead they become part of the world's evils. Religion is supposed to counter the evils of the world. This is why "Christians" may convert to religions like Islam. They see a counter-cultural movement that condemns the evils they see. They see people willingly perform sacrifices. Many Catholics in first-world countries these days say it's so difficult to not eat meat on a Friday while Muslims go a month without food and water during the day. I found this out because I went to a theme park with a Muslim and he wouldn't even drink water during the hot day, but he did not complain one bit.

    When people say why they converted to a religion, they tend to say things like: I saw their faith; they really love God; they are so passionate. These things fall under the first commandment. Other things you may hear from converts are the following: They accepted me; I belong here; I'm welcomed. These things follow the second commandment. People are searching for these things. In fact, my boss one day told me his praise for the Roman Catholic faith despite not being one. He told me that he admired that they had not changed their core beliefs despite all of the pressure of the world. That's amazing because so many other Christian denominations alter their core beliefs so much throughout history. I would add that the constant service to society (everything that we take for granted now such as hospitals, schools, homeless shelters, orphanages, and advocating justice) is also something to be admired and why we can condemn those who murder "in God's name." Perhaps this is the key to finding a real religion. A real religion serves God and Man, but the service of Man is to convert him to Goodness and Love of God, not convert God to the evils of Man.

With Love,
N. D. Moharo

Monday, June 27, 2016

Second Root of the Gay Marriage Debate

To All Sides,
    After debating with a few people, I've come to realize that there is another root to the homosexual debate. Before, I addressed one root is how someone views sex. This is still true, but there is also another one that is equally important. This root is the underlying mentality to "follow your heart."
    This idea is actually quite controversial. Even though it appears often in movies, stories, graduation ceremonies, etc., people are divided on the idea. This in turn can impact their views on gay sex (being gay is not evil in my opinion and also not important to the logical root of the debate). When I see people saying that people are "born gay," I see that they are arguing for the ideal of "following your heart is right." When people are claiming it doesn't matter how one is born, they are arguing against "following your heart is right." Which side is right? Perhaps we should investigate how both sides are propagated.
    As hinted above, culture is the one promoting the idea of "following your heart." When we see people using this idea to determine a course of action, they are the heroes and it's always right. When celebrities speak of their success, they say the same thing. Movies often promote the idea "If you you work hard, your passion will see you through against all odds." It actually sounds a lot like faith. It gives us hope and when are depressed, we want something we can hope for. Also, we tend to think of ourselves as the heroes and as good people. I believe the nature of man is good because the perfection of man is to love. In addition, we want to do what we believe in. Lastly, we don't like being wrong. If we say that we did what our heart told us to do, then we feel like that is a good excuse because we are the valid authority of saying what our hearts told us to do. So who are likely to abide by this opinion? Proponents of gay sex, artists, youth, culture, and businesses. The last two I'll explain later.
    In opposition, these people hold that "following your heart" is not a good determinant of morality. They are more likely to adhere to religious morality or the morality I proposed before about love. Now it is understandable that proponents of "following your heart" believe the one about love to be the same as their idea, and it can be. As mentioned before, we like to think of ourselves as the heroes and naturally good. It's not exactly false, but not exactly true either according to the other side. These people see that following your heart can drive to both good and evil. 
    Culture tends to promote only the heroes as following their heart, not the villains. However, the villains are doing that. Extremists and the mob are following their heart when they commit crimes. So if your heart is ordered towards love, you might go that way. However, if it's ordered towards selfishness, it's going to go toward evil. An apt analogy is fire, as passion is often described as. If controlled, it's beautiful and beneficial. It can light dark caves, cook food, fight wild beasts, generate energy, send messages, keep us warm, save our lives, etc. However, when fire is uncontrolled, you cannot do any of those things. Instead it burns like a wildfire where death is the result. That's why people say you need to guide your heart with reason and discipline.

    People on this side also see that passion is not enough to get you anywhere. I can be passionate about tennis, but without well-functioning arms, I cannot play well. Also, if I do follow my passion, I might actually waste my talents and potential. I saw a good summary of this view in a video by Mike Rowe. 
Now your purpose in life may very well be your dream. Dreams are good as they give us hope and direction in life, but I've noticed something about a dream. It can not only make you always dissatisfied by being something impossible to obtain, it can distract you from recognizing what is good in front of you. You might have a dream to marry a certain celebrity, but if you are always comparing your date with that celebrity, you're never going to develop a real bond. 
    Another example is that I used to dream of a fantasy girl who was perfectly beautiful in my opinion. Hair color, height, hair style, etc. were all determined. I found one girl who pretty much fit the description almost too perfectly. That did not work well. However, I happened to get introduced to this other girl who definitely did not fit any of the criteria except in that she was a girl my age. What I realized was that this was the girl perfect for me, and she became my wife. My love has only grown for her as time has gone on. So dreams are those hopeful goals to help us through life and develop ourselves until we find something that is truly good. Some people don't have dreams and they are content. They are happy and enjoying life. When you are satisfied, you really don't desire anything more for yourself.
    So who will hold this opinion? I assume Mike Rowe based off his video. Also religious groups that claim man is imperfect. In addition, people who believe that just following your heart will only increase your selfishness, not help your ability to love. It's not a question about whether man is good or evil, but rather that man is corrupted and can become evil if left unguided. Whether it's nature or nurture, it does not matter initially. By the time people can make choices, they are either on the selfish side of things, or loving side of things. However, whatever people are exposed to the most will impact their views. So if they exposed to selfishness a lot, they might adopt that mentality. Kids tend to imitate what they see from both parents and culture, especially the media.

    So why will culture and businesses promote following your heart? Because it's an easy sell. Not only does it sound nice, it sets the stage to sell you stuff, including things you don't need. Since it can promote selfishness, the culture of selfishness loves it. It also knows it can create "needs" and therefore force you to buy into them. Also, if you make people feel good about themselves, they tend to do business with you. Therefore, I argue it's manipulation.
    Every man has negative inclinations and we cannot let them control us. This is why people oppose the idea of following your heart. Consider what it means to follow your heart. It essentially means let your passions control you. This also means that whatever you are inclined to do is okay. So if you want something then it's okay to take it such as love (in the case of adultery), money (theft), and objects (theft). This chain of logic eventually means that greed is okay, lust is okay, envy is okay, and many other desires which increase selfishness. However, this means this is opposed to the key of morality I have mentioned before as this can hinder your ability to love. It's also not good for society at all.

    The idea of following your heart probably had a good intention. It probably had faith that the people who would act on it were the people who are inclined to do good. However, it can also result in uncontrolled and misguided hatred. Every fallen hero becomes a villain because of this philosophy. They followed their passion and got disappointed. But since they were following a passion, they weren't improving their ability to love. Passion is good, but only when controlled to increase your love. In other words, your love should not be defined by your passion, but your passion should be defined by your love.

With Love,
N. D. Moharo

P. S. I didn't link to the first post above because I wanted people to read this one first. Now if you want to examine the idea of sex, you can click here

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Condoms and Africa

To the Concerned over Africa,
    When I listen to people debating over the nature of contraception, there are a few words generally spoken by proponents of contraception with hatred. "The outbreak of AIDS in Africa is because of no access to condoms." Now I'm not an expert on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, but I am under the impression the hatred is still in the wrong place. If my understanding is wrong, then please correct me.
    Here is what I have gathered about the nature of AIDS. It mutated from a monkey disease that somehow got transmitted to humans. Its origins are unknown and some people think it was from hunting and blood somehow infected humans. Another theory is that some guy actually tried having sex with an infected monkey, after all, it's an STD. However, it also gets transmitted through contact with contaminated blood or needle.
    This is what I found on the Aids.gov website on June 26, 2016

In the United States, HIV is spread mainly by:
  • Having anal or vaginal sex with someone who has HIV without using a condom or taking medicines to prevent or treat HIV.
    • Anal sex is the highest-risk sexual behavior. For the HIV-negative partner, receptive anal sex (“bottoming”) is riskier than insertive anal sex (“topping”).
    • Vaginal sex is the second highest-risk sexual behavior.
  • Sharing needles or syringes, rinse water, or other equipment (“works”) used to prepare injection drugs with someone who has HIV. HIV can live in a used needle up to 42 days depending on temperature and other factors."

So proponents of condoms argue that that condoms will prevent the transmission of the disease. That's most likely as true as that condoms guarantee no pregnancy. However, the issue here is that it treats the symptoms, not the disease. Also, it creates more problems.

If you recall how it's transferred, and how the condom debate is concerned, it's through sex. It's rapid spread is not because of people having sex though, it's people having sex with multiple people. If a person who had the disease had sex only with one person, and that person only had sex with that other person, it would not spread like it did. Now consider who is ultimately advocating condoms. They are the people who view that sex is for pleasure, and are using the negative consequences of that view to attack those who don't hold that opinion. That is unjust. Instead, those who see sex as a responsibility are trying to address the disease, not the symptom.

I mentioned there are other issues with the condom debate. One is that it does not limit sexual promiscuity, which is how the disease thrives. Two, those infected with AIDS are not going to use condoms when they want to have children. Three, condoms will cost the Africans so much money. If these people are in poverty, can they afford another necessity? Possibly four since I don't know much about the manufacturing process, the production of condoms in Africa would taint the little water supply they do have. 

Question: Does encouraging Sexual Promiscuity aid or inhibit your ability to love others?

You have to admit that the abundance in condoms only increase sexual promiscuity. However, since sexual promiscuity is the actual cause of the outbreak of HIV, they won't help in reality. The real help is to being sexually responsible. Of course, the culture today refuses that for a few reasons.

One is the sex industry worth a lot of money. By encouraging sex for pleasure, it allows businesses to operate prostitution, pornography, and make money off sex toys and contraception. Since it's worth money, they try to encourage promiscuity by creating a need that necessarily did not exist. Advocacy for responsible sex does not result in sexual crimes such as rape or cheating, but promoting sexual promiscuity does. This is because sex is no longer an act of true love, but of selfishness. The purpose of sex becomes to fulfill your passionate desires, not to increase your love for someone else.

The second reason why culture does not want to advocate sexual responsibility is because of contradiction. This is a reality. These people have accepted that sex is for pleasure and therefore do not wish to promote anything that is naturally opposed to the selfish desire. People want to do what they believe is right, but to oppose condoms would naturally condemn their opinion that sex is not supposed to be for pleasure, but instead that pleasure is a side-effect.

I hold that sex is a good thing, but it must be taken responsibly. If my wife is feeling sick, I must endure my passion and wait until she's feeling well again. This not only shows actual love toward my wife, but strengthens my spirit. If we have sex every day for pleasure, it's going to make it hard to stay faithful when we cannot do that. Therefore, the best thing to do is to advocate being responsible and oppose anything that threatens it.

To take another perspective, in an area that isn't sexually promiscuous, I don't need to worry about my wife being raped or seduced. That's a big deal and certainly an ideal. I hope this post certainly diminishes any hatred you might have for some people's opinions. We might consider them to be crazy, but they are actually thinking on a much deeper level. Also note that even if they fail to live up to the ideal, that does not mean the ideal is invalid.

With Love,
N. D. Moharo

P. S. You can technically consider this a sequel to my previous post about identifying the root of the homosexual debate. There I described both sides and what they naturally mean, as well as list some concerns. Here I examine the consequences a bit more.


Now for those who are worried about getting HIV, I also found this picture on the same website.
To my understanding, as long as there is no blood contact or mixing, you are okay