I think if you think of the better side of your grandparents, or aunts, uncles, the answer is somewhere in there, maybe?
...
I don't know. Family has a certain conditional thing tied to it. I'm talking more about some stranger that will give you the kindness of his/her heart... not for anything in return or because they have to... they do it just because you are both human. And it is not only limited to humans... but to animals as well.
I guess I'm describing someone who doesn't exist... just like the ONE honest person I want to meet before I die.
Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
Hail, Hail!!!
...
I don't know. Family has a certain conditional thing tied to it. I'm talking more about some stranger that will give you the kindness of his/her heart... not for anything in return or because they have to... they do it just because you are both human. And it is not only limited to humans... but to animals as well.
I guess I'm describing someone who doesn't exist... just like the ONE honest person I want to meet before I die.
Good post.
Made me think.
Funny thing about family for me, there is a condition, but it was so fucked up in the translation to my upbringing, I almost would have preferred the delusional Jesus thinking. And i got some of that as I travelled out there to work on my uncles farm. Strangely, i performed better on some tests, asserted my atheistic athletic superiority, but missed the quirky superstition side of it.
I guess I agree with most of what has been posted in terms of a decent human being but I'm not getting the black and whiteness of it.
Isn't it the act that makes someone decent and not necessarily the sum total of the individual?
I guess I'm thinking of circumstances where in my opinion people that I don't like or rarely agree with or that have a history of committing indecent acts are still able to gain my admiration by performing acts of decency despite how I would normally view them or their behaviour.
And whilst family and loved ones are people that I would percieve as decent they are still capable of indencency as I would percieve it.
This would also apply to me. Some people would consider me a decent human being and others would not.
I would consider myself to have performed acts of decency during the course of my life, just as there are a few incidents of indecency also. (well that I'm prepared to admit to anyway! )
Would it not be myself and the person on the recieving end of my act that would make that judgement? And wouldn't taking it as the definitive of who I am, based purely on the act, decent or indecent, be not a true indicator of all that I am as an individual?
And if this is the case for me then would it not then apply to everyone?
Is a decent human being one who performs acts of decency frequently over the period of their life or is a decent human being one who performs an act of decency once? Or does the measurement sit in the middle somewhere? And do acts of indecency cancel out the acts of decency and who decides?
I have been trying to think of a good responce to add to this
thread I started, but um, I seem to have gotten nowhere with it.
Many good replys in here.
I must say I know of a decent human-being.
My brother Ryan, he's been deceased now for about 3 years.
He never hurt anybody or anything.
From going through being a diabetic from the 2nd grade age, through
kidney failure, then dialysis, and then a double organ transplant, back into
kidney failure, he never wanted much but to love his 2 young boys.
He never complained but wanted to show others his smile.
He gave it all to everyone, everything he had was for whomever needed.
I do alot of reflecting on him these days, I was and am not nowhere near
how amazing my brother was, and still is.
Quite near to perferct as I think a life can be.
I have been trying to think of a good responce to add to this
thread I started, but um, I seem to have gotten nowhere with it.
Many good replys in here.
I must say I know of a decent human-being.
My brother Ryan, he's been deceased now for about 3 years.
He never hurt anybody or anything.
From going through being a diabetic from the 2nd grade age, through
kidney failure, then dialysis, and then a double organ transplant, back into
kidney failure, he never wanted much but to love his 2 young boys.
He never complained but wanted to show others his smile.
He gave it all to everyone, everything he had was for whomever needed.
I do alot of reflecting on him these days, I was and am not nowhere near
how amazing my brother was, and still is.
Quite near to perferct as I think a life can be.
Well, thats a bummer.
I was going to say something about my grandma dying, but...
I guess I agree with most of what has been posted in terms of a decent human being but I'm not getting the black and whiteness of it.
Isn't it the act that makes someone decent and not necessarily the sum total of the individual?
I guess I'm thinking of circumstances where in my opinion people that I don't like or rarely agree with or that have a history of committing indecent acts are still able to gain my admiration by performing acts of decency despite how I would normally view them or their behaviour.
And whilst family and loved ones are people that I would percieve as decent they are still capable of indencency as I would percieve it.
This would also apply to me. Some people would consider me a decent human being and others would not.
I would consider myself to have performed acts of decency during the course of my life, just as there are a few incidents of indecency also. (well that I'm prepared to admit to anyway! )
Would it not be myself and the person on the recieving end of my act that would make that judgement? And wouldn't taking it as the definitive of who I am, based purely on the act, decent or indecent, be not a true indicator of all that I am as an individual?
And if this is the case for me then would it not then apply to everyone?
Is a decent human being one who performs acts of decency frequently over the period of their life or is a decent human being one who performs an act of decency once? Or does the measurement sit in the middle somewhere? And do acts of indecency cancel out the acts of decency and who decides?
Good points.
You think I'm indecent, at least on this take, and maybe rightfully so.
What you don't know is that I fly to Africa every year for 6 months and just hunker down under kilamanjaro hoping I dont' catch anything.
You think I'm indecent, at least on this take, and maybe rightfully so.
What you don't know is that I fly to Africa every year for 6 months and just hunker down under kilamanjaro hoping I dont' catch anything.
How could you possibly know what I think gue? Most days even I don't!
And that's my point entirely. Isn't it about acts? Individual incidents?
Even if I don't agree with someone, or I can see them performing acts of indencency as I percieve it, I would still be loathe to label them either decent or indecent. (Well unless we're talking politicians in which case all bets are off! They're all indecent imo! That's a joke people! before anyone comes in and tries to fry me in boiling oil!! :rolleyes: ) Humans are complex beings and everyone has character and personality traits that could be perceived as either good or bad, decent or indecent, depending on who is doing the perceiving and the time of day or the incident or a whole plethora of conditions. I'm thinking maybe I agree with Ahnimus on this.
I don't think you're indecent. Or decent. I don't know you. I've had no problems with most of our interactions. I could even go as far as saying that I like you from what I know. Which isn't much! I was merely responding to an attack with an attack and trying to point out that perception and intention can be easily misconstrued. And I'm referring here to the incident in the other thread which has nothing to do with what I've said in this one.
How could you possibly know what I think gue? Most days even I don't!
And that's my point entirely. Isn't it about acts? Individual incidents?
Even if I don't agree with someone, or I can see them performing acts of indencency as I percieve it, I would still be loathe to label them either decent or indecent. (Well unless we're talking politicians in which case all bets are off! They're all indecent imo! That's a joke people! before anyone comes in and tries to fry me in boiling oil!! :rolleyes: ) Humans are complex beings and everyone has character and personality traits that could be perceived as either good or bad, decent or indecent, depending on who is doing the perceiving and the time of day or the incident or a whole plethora of conditions. I'm thinking maybe I agree with Ahnimus on this.
I don't think you're indecent. Or decent. I don't know you. I've had no problems with most of our interactions. I could even go as far as saying that I like you from what I know. Which isn't much! I was merely responding to an attack with an attack and trying to point out that perception and intention can be easily misconstrued.
Am I a bad human being because I don't care about my gram? I don't dislike her, but I wouldn't cry if I never saw her again.
Just saying. If I never saw her again that wouldn't be so bad.
...
No. It doesn't make you a 'Bad' person. You may feel a certain sense of guilt, only because you are basically told that you are supposed to love your family, no matter what. Who knows... the people we know to be the worst people in history had relatives... like Hitler's aunt is supposed to love him. Not that I'm comparing your Grandmother to Hitler... I'm just trying to make a point that states the towards the family tie that tells you we are supposed to love them.
That's why I see what we percieve as decency, relative or subjective to our own personal lives. Even if your Gram makes Mother Teresa look like Saddam Hussein and you still felt the same way... it doesn't mean you are a bad person. Simply someone who feel indifference towards his Gram. That's all. If people tag you as 'indecent' for that... that's their gig, not yours.
Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
Hail, Hail!!!
Funny thing about family for me, there is a condition, but it was so fucked up in the translation to my upbringing, I almost would have preferred the delusional Jesus thinking. And i got some of that as I travelled out there to work on my uncles farm. Strangely, i performed better on some tests, asserted my atheistic athletic superiority, but missed the quirky superstition side of it.
...
In our little camp... during the Walk for Breast Cancer Research... 3 days where 4,000 or so people... the great majority complete stranger to each other... we commit ourselves to one simple creedo:
"Humankind - Be both".
I try to carry that throughout the other 362 days... but, I fail. We see so much of the bad side of people.. and we try to understand that we are all people capable of forgiveness... but, we still fail. It is not the insensitivity of others I blame... it is a failure of my own. But, just because I continually fail, it does not mean I will quit trying to achive it.
Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
Hail, Hail!!!
...
In our little camp... during the Walk for Breast Cancer Research... 3 days where 4,000 or so people... the great majority complete stranger to each other... we commit ourselves to one simple creedo:
"Humankind - Be both".
I try to carry that throughout the other 362 days... but, I fail. We see so much of the bad side of people.. and we try to understand that we are all people capable of forgiveness... but, we still fail. It is not the insensitivity of others I blame... it is a failure of my own. But, just because I continually fail, it does not mean I will quit trying to achive it.
Ed/Eddie Vedder is a decent human being.
Conforms to standards of propriety (the quality of being proper;using appropriateness. Conforming to prevailing customs and usages). Free from indelicacy (distasteful;tactless);modest. Meeting accepted standards; adequate. Kind or obliging. Properly or modestly dressed.
I don't even know where it is, but I just bought the tickets 2day. Please help me to locate the venue, as I might have to start walking to get there . . . I will see you all there!
"The legacy of Surrealism after 1968 must surely follow artists, writers, thinkers and activists who are committed to the power of the unconscious and to the imagination of other possible worlds."
For my purposes, a decent human-being, is one that acknowledges truth and accepts total determinism. However, in a strictly closed system, such as reality, everyone is as they are.
For someone that claims to so obsessed with truth you seem to have a very closed mind to any alternative knowledge. How can you be so certain that total determinism exists? If you were really seeking truth you'd remain open to other possibilities.
As for the topic of the thread, I have no idea what I decent human being is. I guess not eating babies would be a requirement. . .
It doesn't matter if you're male, female, or confused; black, white, brown, red, green, yellow; gay, lesbian; redneck cop, stoned; ugly; military style, doggy style; fat, rich or poor; vegetarian or cannibal; bum, hippie, virgin; famous or drunk-you're either an asshole or you're not!
My thoughts are probably rather simplistic, but here it goes:
A "decent" person is somewhat sympathetic and/or empathetic to the plight of others. This decency may be limited to certain segments of society or certain species, and it may not be a pro active decency. By pro active I mean one that goes out of his/her way and sacrifices something to help others or make the world a better place. A decent person may not really go out of his/her way to change things or help, but they probably take time to "not hurt others" and do not go out of their way to harm others. They may reject a benefit to themselves to keep from harming others. Decency is more of a "lack of harming others" rather than "helping' others.
A "good" person actually goes out of his/her way to help others including all segments of society and all species. This person may sacrifice something of himself/herself to do this as opposed to a decent person who may not actually give anything up to help someone else.
As for as how many times count, it has to be a life style. One act of decency or goodness does not count. It has to be a pattern, althouth not everyone that is "good" does "good" things all of the time and not all "decent" people are "decent" all of the time. Everyone is flawed, but you have to look at the overall picture.
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals. Ghandi
Comments
I don't know. Family has a certain conditional thing tied to it. I'm talking more about some stranger that will give you the kindness of his/her heart... not for anything in return or because they have to... they do it just because you are both human. And it is not only limited to humans... but to animals as well.
I guess I'm describing someone who doesn't exist... just like the ONE honest person I want to meet before I die.
Hail, Hail!!!
Good post.
Made me think.
Funny thing about family for me, there is a condition, but it was so fucked up in the translation to my upbringing, I almost would have preferred the delusional Jesus thinking. And i got some of that as I travelled out there to work on my uncles farm. Strangely, i performed better on some tests, asserted my atheistic athletic superiority, but missed the quirky superstition side of it.
all posts by ©gue_barium are protected under US copyright law and are not to be reproduced, exchanged or sold
except by express written permission of ©gue_barium, the author.
Just saying. If I never saw her again that wouldn't be so bad.
Isn't it the act that makes someone decent and not necessarily the sum total of the individual?
I guess I'm thinking of circumstances where in my opinion people that I don't like or rarely agree with or that have a history of committing indecent acts are still able to gain my admiration by performing acts of decency despite how I would normally view them or their behaviour.
And whilst family and loved ones are people that I would percieve as decent they are still capable of indencency as I would percieve it.
This would also apply to me. Some people would consider me a decent human being and others would not.
I would consider myself to have performed acts of decency during the course of my life, just as there are a few incidents of indecency also. (well that I'm prepared to admit to anyway!
Would it not be myself and the person on the recieving end of my act that would make that judgement? And wouldn't taking it as the definitive of who I am, based purely on the act, decent or indecent, be not a true indicator of all that I am as an individual?
And if this is the case for me then would it not then apply to everyone?
Is a decent human being one who performs acts of decency frequently over the period of their life or is a decent human being one who performs an act of decency once? Or does the measurement sit in the middle somewhere? And do acts of indecency cancel out the acts of decency and who decides?
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
thread I started, but um, I seem to have gotten nowhere with it.
Many good replys in here.
I must say I know of a decent human-being.
My brother Ryan, he's been deceased now for about 3 years.
He never hurt anybody or anything.
From going through being a diabetic from the 2nd grade age, through
kidney failure, then dialysis, and then a double organ transplant, back into
kidney failure, he never wanted much but to love his 2 young boys.
He never complained but wanted to show others his smile.
He gave it all to everyone, everything he had was for whomever needed.
I do alot of reflecting on him these days, I was and am not nowhere near
how amazing my brother was, and still is.
Quite near to perferct as I think a life can be.
"Hear me, my chiefs!
I am tired; my heart is
sick and sad. From where
the sun stands I will fight
no more forever."
Chief Joseph - Nez Perce
I was going to say something about my grandma dying, but...
all posts by ©gue_barium are protected under US copyright law and are not to be reproduced, exchanged or sold
except by express written permission of ©gue_barium, the author.
Good points.
You think I'm indecent, at least on this take, and maybe rightfully so.
What you don't know is that I fly to Africa every year for 6 months and just hunker down under kilamanjaro hoping I dont' catch anything.
all posts by ©gue_barium are protected under US copyright law and are not to be reproduced, exchanged or sold
except by express written permission of ©gue_barium, the author.
How could you possibly know what I think gue? Most days even I don't!
And that's my point entirely. Isn't it about acts? Individual incidents?
Even if I don't agree with someone, or I can see them performing acts of indencency as I percieve it, I would still be loathe to label them either decent or indecent. (Well unless we're talking politicians in which case all bets are off!
I don't think you're indecent. Or decent. I don't know you. I've had no problems with most of our interactions. I could even go as far as saying that I like you from what I know. Which isn't much! I was merely responding to an attack with an attack and trying to point out that perception and intention can be easily misconstrued.
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
And now I want to see you naked.
all posts by ©gue_barium are protected under US copyright law and are not to be reproduced, exchanged or sold
except by express written permission of ©gue_barium, the author.
No. It doesn't make you a 'Bad' person. You may feel a certain sense of guilt, only because you are basically told that you are supposed to love your family, no matter what. Who knows... the people we know to be the worst people in history had relatives... like Hitler's aunt is supposed to love him. Not that I'm comparing your Grandmother to Hitler... I'm just trying to make a point that states the towards the family tie that tells you we are supposed to love them.
That's why I see what we percieve as decency, relative or subjective to our own personal lives. Even if your Gram makes Mother Teresa look like Saddam Hussein and you still felt the same way... it doesn't mean you are a bad person. Simply someone who feel indifference towards his Gram. That's all. If people tag you as 'indecent' for that... that's their gig, not yours.
Hail, Hail!!!
I agree.
And trust me as a friend, let me tell you that you do not want to see me naked!
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
In our little camp... during the Walk for Breast Cancer Research... 3 days where 4,000 or so people... the great majority complete stranger to each other... we commit ourselves to one simple creedo:
"Humankind - Be both".
I try to carry that throughout the other 362 days... but, I fail. We see so much of the bad side of people.. and we try to understand that we are all people capable of forgiveness... but, we still fail. It is not the insensitivity of others I blame... it is a failure of my own. But, just because I continually fail, it does not mean I will quit trying to achive it.
Hail, Hail!!!
Well done.
Well put, well played.
And well lived.
"Hear me, my chiefs!
I am tired; my heart is
sick and sad. From where
the sun stands I will fight
no more forever."
Chief Joseph - Nez Perce
Conforms to standards of propriety (the quality of being proper;using appropriateness. Conforming to prevailing customs and usages). Free from indelicacy (distasteful;tactless);modest. Meeting accepted standards; adequate. Kind or obliging. Properly or modestly dressed.
- Alyce Mahon
For someone that claims to so obsessed with truth you seem to have a very closed mind to any alternative knowledge. How can you be so certain that total determinism exists? If you were really seeking truth you'd remain open to other possibilities.
As for the topic of the thread, I have no idea what I decent human being is. I guess not eating babies would be a requirement. . .
-C Addison
What? Not even jelly babies?
A "decent" person is somewhat sympathetic and/or empathetic to the plight of others. This decency may be limited to certain segments of society or certain species, and it may not be a pro active decency. By pro active I mean one that goes out of his/her way and sacrifices something to help others or make the world a better place. A decent person may not really go out of his/her way to change things or help, but they probably take time to "not hurt others" and do not go out of their way to harm others. They may reject a benefit to themselves to keep from harming others. Decency is more of a "lack of harming others" rather than "helping' others.
A "good" person actually goes out of his/her way to help others including all segments of society and all species. This person may sacrifice something of himself/herself to do this as opposed to a decent person who may not actually give anything up to help someone else.
As for as how many times count, it has to be a life style. One act of decency or goodness does not count. It has to be a pattern, althouth not everyone that is "good" does "good" things all of the time and not all "decent" people are "decent" all of the time. Everyone is flawed, but you have to look at the overall picture.