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It is almost universally accepted that to take something that doesn't belong to you without the owners permission is wrong and criminal. This is acknowledged in the ten commandments. I am concerned for Jill. She may have aan emotional problem that can become criminal if it moves outside the family.

M

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Since it's impossible to change other people, all we can do is change ourselves and our own attitudes. Easier said than done.

I did want to comment on your reply in an earlier piece in this segment regarding knowing rather than believing. You indicated that knowing was almost impossible in the current time. However, there are a few things that you and I do know. First, we KNOW that the media lies to us, therefore I don't believe anything until I do my research. I KNOW the government and almost all institutions are corrupt, therefore I act accordingly. I think to ignore what our own experience has shown us is foolish. Curiosity and self awareness are useful tools in learning what to know and what to believe.

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Nancy: My past experience showed that I WAS able to change Jill... Further, ALL media does not lie, etc.

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John, you did not change Jill. You gave her the opportunity to change by exposing her to a different idea. She could have chosen to retain her anger. None of us have the ability to change another.

I should have said mainstream media.

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Nancy: I appreciate your perspective, but I think that you are splitting hairs. There are millions of examples where people changed because of someone else. For examplea, your position would be that Mother Theresa never changed anyone.

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Mother Theresa may have changed a person's circumstances, but I thought you were discussing attitudes and beliefs. People affect change, but the recipient has to be willing to be open to thinking and doing differently. Only a narcissist or a busybody thinks they can change others.

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Nancy: Let's not call people names here, please. You are talking about a person consciously choosing to do something, or not. As I've explained in this four-part series, we all also have a subconscious. Other people can communicate to your subconscious for you to make a change — and (if they do it properly) you will. And, you will not be aware that your change is due to what someone else did. In other words, you did NOT consciously make a change.

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Suspension of disbelief is an approach to literary criticism and is analogous to your analogy. In each instance, the item of literature and the unapproved utilization, a fact is being judged as to intent of its agent which is better characterized as an opinion rather than a belief in my opinion.

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John: Beliefs and opinions are often synonomous.

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May 28
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Keith: Not sure why you got that idea, but I do 98% of the writing. In the rare cases where there is someone else writing (once or twice a year), they are identified as the author.

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