Any questions?

From time to time, I’ll throw out the phrases, “Say what you mean and mean what you say,” and, “Hear me now and understand me later.”  And one of my favorites from stolen from Don Geronimo, “Lear to listen; listen to learn.” 

But people throw out phrases where they think will help society, but they’re taken all wrong.  Lucky for you, I’m here to help.

“Question everything.”  You seriously can’t question everything.  It’s impossible.  You have to go on in life just taking some things for granted.  Gravity, breathing, the Phighting Phils won the World Series last year, etc.  You can’t question facts.  What people should say is, “Question why.”  Why don’t I float off into space?  Can I live without breathing.  How the hell did the Phils and Tampa Bay sneak under the radar and shock the country into making the World Series?

“Question authority.”  These people are just asses.  Authority is in place to prevent chaos and anarchy.  You don’t have to agree with the powers that be, but they’re in place for a reason.  Question their motives, question their policies, but when a Connecticut state trooper pulls you over for doing 75 on I-84, then is not the time to mouth off to him saying you’re following your inalienable right for the pursuit of happiness.   Walking up and ringing the Liberty Bell with a 12 pound sledge is not “freedom of speech”.  It’s a shortcut to the pokey.  And to the top of the list of people Philadelphians hate the most.

What we should really do is question why or question how.  What’s the thinking behind that?  How does that work.  Why was that built that way?  Curiosity is healthy!  Google is your friend.   Knowledge is power.  Enough of it will get you onto Jeopardy.

But here’s a good one I learned on the old Don and Mike Show:  “Don’t answer a question with a question!”  But by that, when somebody asks you a question, give them a direct answer, not their same question hashed back.  “Did you eat the cake?”  “Did I eat the cake?”  NO!  Man up!  Admit it or flat out lie, but DON’T ANSWER A QUESTION WITH A QUESTION!!!

Confused yet?