thank you papabee, let me explain. i was raised in the river bottoms of the Little Wabash river,
and the first exposure i had to any sort of religion was talk of tent revivals. never went, but they were there.
around age ten when i learned i could get out of some work on the farm by going to summer bible school i did.
i couldn't even tell you what religion it was, but i still know the words to 'this little light of mine'.
(my home town was and still has a population of 500, tho that may be inflated, - they can't afford a new sign - and i lived 5 miles from town.)
at age 16 i graduated high school and still did not even know what 'jewish' meant. actually i still wonder at times.

this is why i used 'as far as i know', because i know how little i know.
it's a good way to solicit the opinions of others for consideration.
would it be wrong also that they do not consider their faith the only correct one? i think that one flies.

and 'duty' was probably a poor choice of words, but the word mission sure pops up a lot.

however, i have no desire to debate religion. my point is that Professor Crapfree is on to something.
not to be nasty, but aren't you avoiding the thrust of what i wrote about.

a thread devoted to living a long and 'good' life became more involved with opinions on how people should live.
i merely attempted to show why it is always thus. religion is not germane, other than a good example of why this occurs.

i have enough conflict in my life already without seeking more, but i stated my OPINION simply to express what i believe.
conflict is a major cause of stress, and stress is not condusive to good health, ergo bad if you want to live long and happy.
my understanding of this has greatly reduced the stress in my life, so i thought it might be helpful to others.

i would very much like to know YOUR opinion of my explanation for why people act the way they do, as stated above.

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remember, two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do. sometimes you have to go around the block to get what you left behind. happy trails and safe travels, ed.