The meek or the ruthless: who prevails in the end?

But regarding CI's recent questions, I'm seeing obfuscation rather than depth.

I think he is probably just distracted by something else right now. He and his family were held in the concentration camps the US used to round up the Japanese Americans. He has shared stories here for as long as I can remember and I’m certain his life was far more interesting than he thought possible as a young boy living in an internment camp. Maybe he will be back after lunch, or maybe not.

What the heck CI is Japanese? Great news I love Japanese culture!

Yes, I visited one of those camps because of CI's mentioning them while on a drive through CA a few years ago. He seems to have taken the experience in stride though.
CI is stable if nothing else, never out to lunch.

Something that bounds, or restrains.

Others can, in extreme situations, bind you from taking certain actions, but unless they destroy your mind they can't bind you from any thought or belief.

Society goes to great pains to restrain free will. In some societies, criminals break free of the restraints. In others, courageous heroes do.

The concept of free will is that your will is free from supernatural restraints.

You answer isn't egotistical at all! My "all this life" has nothing to do with religion. My answer is very basic; my parents had sex, and bingo, I was born. As for the meaning of life? As subjective animals on this planet, it's probably influenced by the country in which we are born; it's culture, economy, and its freedoms. As one born in the middle of the Great Depression, our family as well as the majority were very poor. Then, WWII came around, and we were sent to 10 different concentration camps, because we "looked" like the enemy. German and Italians didn't suffer the same fate, because they were "white." Racism at its best in the good ole US of A; both the public and our government were bigots. To make a long story short, my older brother is an Attorney, my younger brother is a MD, and my sister is an RN. I got my degree in Accounting, and did pretty good with it. Florsheim Shoe Company hired me straight out of college, and promoted me to Audit Manager after traveling the seven western states as their Field Auditor for 3.5 years. We had to move to Chicago, their home base, but after 3 years, we missed family, friends, and the climate of Northern California, so I resigned. Things turned out pretty well. I was Controller for a couple of small companies, then started doing small business consulting. The money was good, so bought income property, invested well, and retired early. I've traveled to 132 countries, which includes the four countries (Spain, Germany, France and England) I was able to visit while in the USAF in the late 1950's, and stationed in Morocco for one year. That's when my passion for world travel began. I also believe a huge part of what I call success was based on being at the right place at the right time; which translate to "luck." Current college grads aren't so fortunate. The best part of all my travels was being able to make friends in so many countries, and that includes Russia (Sergei and Oleg) and Cuba (Ceasar and Hiroshi Robaina). Some of the most interesting folks I've met during my travels were Bob Brodsky, Rocket Scientist. He designed the aerodynamics on the nuke weapons I worked with in the USAF. He taught Astronautics at USC and Iowa State University. We kept in touch for many years until his recent passing. Another gentleman was Dan Piel, grahpic artist and professor. He taught at Cal Poly after he was an Art Director at an advertising agency in NYC. Dan gave me one of his art works after our second South African safari that now hangs in our entryway. His painting of Lyndon Johnson sits in the Johnson Library. He also has a painting in the Smithsonian. On one of my trips to Cuba going through Mexico City, Francisco Baez, who I met on the internet, gave me a personal tour of Mexico City. We visited the Frida Kahlo Museum and home, and the university where he taught for ten years. He also took me to Carlos Slim's Museum. Francisco is now the editor of the English newspaper in Mexico. I also know Bill and Yvonne Lim of Singapore. I met them on a tour of England, Scotland, and Ireland. During our first day in London, I came down with the shingles, and Bill (he's an MD) had pain killers that he fed me throughout the tour. When I planned a trip to Singapore, I wrote to them, and told them I wanted to take them out to dinner. They picked me up at my hotel, and drove to their beautiful home, and fed me dinner. I told them, they were supposed to be my guests for dinner. So, I planned another trip to Singapore, and insisted that they be my guest for dinner. They chose a seafood restaurant where they have a fish tank, and you pick what you want for them to prepare. Those are the kinds of friends and experiences I have been privileged to have experienced. I also have friends across California, in Houston, Chicago, NYC, and a couple in Canada. I know, I've been lucky to have been able to travel to all seven continents, fly to Mt Everest, dipped my feet in the Dead Sea, visited Ushuaia, the southernmost city of the world, and Hammerfest, the northernmost city of the world. Even visited Esperanza Base in Antarctica. I really didn't like the Air Force all that much, because you give up your freedoms, but that's where my passion for world travel was born.

CI is American but has Japanese ancestry. As a kid during WW2 he spent a few years in one of those US internment camps in California (I think).

You seem more informed than most Americans. It also created friction amongst family members and friends who refused to serve in the military, and those who volunteered to serve. Even then, the 442nd Infantry Battalion made up of Japanese Americans and fought in Europe and worked in the Pacific as interpreters and spies were the most decorated in US history. To make a long story short, the discrimination we suffered before, during, and soon after WWII disappeared, and my brother even served in the California State Legislature in addition to serving as Mayor of his town.

I see you're a meat puppet kind of guy

Please explain "meat puppet?"

It's a phrase used to describe the way adherents of neuroscientology view humans. In other words, you have no free will at all. If you don't then you are, essentially, a meat puppet.

But I'm sure the exalted one, Phil Albukeke can explain it much better than I can and will happily do so.

We do have some level of free will. That's explained by the choices made by each individual to direct their lives. My wife and I chose to visit Main Street in Cupertino where they have some shops and restaurants. It was filled with people today, mostly Asians. My wife and I shared a bowl of shaved ice with red beans on top. That seemed to be a favorite with the people today; many were enjoying them in this weather. That's free will in practice.

I won't disagree with you. I only point out that your A2K Guardian Angel Phil thinks we don't. I'll let him educated you. Perhaps since he seems to like you he will do so with a far less supercilious attitude.

Oh CI, I didn’t say “all this life”, I said “All This”. That you don’t recognize the difference describes the vast distance between our perspectives.

It is very nice to look back on the places we've been. Even not so great places. Like that **** hole 'village' of Dong Tam in Vietnam. It would be kind of neat to see it again fifty years later.

"All this" is about living. "All this" doesn't exist when you're dead.

CI, you are one serious buzzkill.

That's the consequence of logic. As a matter of fact, I had to kill a whole nest of wasps in our back yard just a few days ago. All one needs to do is spray soapy water on them. Learn something new when we least expect it.

Ci watch this video carefully beginning to end after a good night sleep and make what you want of it: