Something today made me think of that question.

We can't all be a Jonas Salk, and someone had to grow his food, and make his glasses.

Any thoughts?

I'm in it. Therefore it's better.

Partly because I'm so humble.

Yep. There's a lot of bitchin', rantin' and ravin', and name callin' that goes on here...among men.
For what...differences of opinion...over politics...religion...rifles...etc.,...?
The courtesy we show is a reflection of who WE are, not who we are dealing with.
God responds the same to all people. He "causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." His actions are based on who HE is, not on how people treat Him or respond to Him.
We are called to follow His example.

laffin'

If not then I am at least slowing the rate of decay.

GFY. I'm a taker not a giver. I don't care.


I learned this from Flave. Blame it on him.

I've been telling people for years that 'I' am my favorite charity.

Job 1 is to not be part of the problem. You cannot save a man from drowning if you yourself are drowning.

I have had the good fortune to know some truly kind and generous people and they made me a better person, and I try to pay it forward.

I believe that most people make positive impacts on someone else's life and never know it.

Just my random thoughts on the matter.

Well I'll break the pattern of sarcasm.. I was born in 1952.... despite all the ups and downs of life, I am surprised I am still here.. in as good of shape as I am...

If the Good Lord would grant me all of my wishes and desires, they would be to serve him, by serving the needs of my fellow Veterans in any capacity I could, especially in a medical environment....

trying to get on board with the VA in a capacity to do so...
definitely not for the money.. but to serve those that served us....

I was part of the N.O. Katrina relief and one of his grandchildren was a big part of our group.A very nice individual.


We can't all be a Jonas Salk, and someone had to grow his food, and make his glasses.

Any thoughts? [/quote]i

No, I haven't made it any better. Pretty sure I haven't made it any worse.

I worked at it for 33 years, but as I look around, I don't feel I was very successful. GW

"I'm shakin a stick boss".

The results of my efforts will be for others to measure, but for my part I will say I am trying. Next year will by my 30th year of teaching hs science and coaching cross country/track. And yes, a lot of what we all care about here does find its way into my classroom as I teach wildlife management/role of hunting to biology students and set up an "archery shop" in the back of my classroom to repair arrows when our PE students are doing their school archery program.

My focus? I care less about the scores that students get on a test and more on the person they become.

Who am I to judge that question or my answers to it?

One never knows, that's the beauty of life.

I'd like to think I am making the world a better place. I have chosen a career path that is working for a nonprofit doing habitat restoration work and working to help wildlife. I figured Man screwed up enough of this planet, the least I can do is to reclaim the parts that would have been best left to nature in the first place.

Anything I'm associated with improves due to my being associated with it.



Travis

Have you made, or are you making the world a better place?

Yes.

I kill every P-Pine and Rattler I encounter so, Yes.

You kill snakes, yes you are golden in my book.

You stole my thoughts! (Thanks for doing so; you expressed them better than I could.)

From what I know of you the VA thing is just one more of the many things you do to make this world a better place. If anyone here actually does make it better my vote would be you.

You inspire me.

I was not being sarcastic.

The first step to fixing the problems of the world is to not be one of the problems...

Bloomberg's done enough for all of us. He has written the big sacrificial check. ;-{>8


I don't think God lets us know our real impacts.

Sarcasm font WAYYYY on-

If only I could be more like Boxer...sigh.

Sometimes I need reminding of the person I don't want to be. I get that here.

I would lie to think that the answer is YES.

I believe that my wife and I raised two sons that are self sufficient and can stand on their own two feet. They provide for their families and work in fields (engineering and merchant marine) that help make the world a little better.

I just found a new signature line!

Yes, by marrying my wife and growing two fantastic daughters like her. How many people are married to someone smart enough to answer their own questions? :-)

Gee thanks Scott... that kinda embarrasses me.... wasn't programmed in my house growing up to handle compliments...
somehow that didn't make the syllabus.....

Kinda learned a long time ago on my own... and watching others in their twilight moments... its not what you take with you in this world when your time comes.. it is what you left behind for others...

That is what I consider makes a person rich or not...

God gave me a life... and good, bad or indifferent...I owe him thanks for that life... I am reminded of my best friend growing up, giving his life for his country at 19 years old in Vietnam, several years after his father died over there as a helicopter pilot... or my brother who only lived to be 16....

or the many young men, whose gravestones I have read in military cemeteries all over the country and in Europe, who gave their lives for their nation and fellow citizens way too early....

God has blessed me with 25-30-35-40 more years than many of these young men were given.... why me and not them? only God knows, as it is in his plans...

but it taught me my value in this world, is not what I accomplish or gain... it is what I give to those that serve each of us and our nation...regardless of their age or when they served our country...

I only see this as for me.. but it is the path I have chosen, and it rewards me with personal 'riches', that all the money in the world couldn't buy.. I just hope it makes my creator know the appreciation I have for what he has given me...

Well,...the government is taking approximately half of my earnings through taxes,...so I suspect that I'm contributing to making the world worse

I do my part

mostly at home or at the cabin

so I can stay out of the way of the ones that are attempting to make the world a better place

through Obamacare

"safer" gun laws

higher taxes


etc.

what a swell bunch of dolts those folks are

Can't answer it on our end. Only on Gods is my guess.

All I know is we probably should have worked harder for more money, but have had more satisfaction helping folks when they need it. Doing what we could. Building home, fences, moving folks, all kinds of country help as needed. And we've been fortunate to recieve same in return at times.

Just saved a gal over 1000 they wanted to charge to move from one house to another. Took us the time to drive over with 2 trialers, and about 2.5 hours of time for the wife, myself and my nephew.

I don't know that it makes the world any better. But sure is nice to be nice to friends and neighbors.

I'd wager that volunteer fire/ems probably does somewhat qualify for making the world better. Sure wished that pager had not gone off in the middle of the move last night, but it did and we finished that move this morning instead....Lord was with us though, we'd gotten it all to the new house and were able to back the last trailer into the garage and disconnect which was good. We ran the call without pulling a trialer to the station and it rained some... so the stuff stayed dry and my wife stayed to help unload what they could without us 2 guys.

I can't tell - who knows? As Steelhead says - I feel it is one part of the "beauty of life". I do feel commanded and compelled to try. But, am sure glad that eternity does not depend on how well (or not) I do here.

Two of the best answers so far.

I get possessed with a wildhair on occasion and go out and plant a few trees.

that action is sometimes counter-balanced by cranking the old Polan and going out and sawing down a few trees.

each doing our individual parts can have a positive or negative influence on the collective, no doubt.

Racists don't make the world a better place. They're losers and breed hate which does the world no good

killed some commies
caught some crooks
saved some lives
helped my wife raise some good kids
taught some good guys how to mess w/ bad guys
brought joy to all I met, except bad guys and commies
yep

mike r

surprised more people havent mentioned volunteer work. Or maybe people dont volunteer much. I think that is one of the ways I make the world a better place. I am a firearm safety training instructor, president of my local Pheasants Forever chapter (which does a lot of youth and habitat activities), board member of a local sportsmens club, member of a number of conservation orgs, on the finance team at church, take care of the kids in the church nursery, and probably the biggest thing is i never pass a kid's lemonade stand without stopping and buying a lemonade.

And then I am raising my 3 kids to be conservative little hunters and fishermen! Oh, and almost forgot this, i am Vikings, Twins, and Gophers fan which obviously makes this world a better place!

From what I understand, It'll be a great place once I leave it!

I did manage to help a family keep their home once. I had to borrow from my employer at the time and work for almost a year at half my wages to pay it back but their still in that home to this day. anonymous donation.

AND I got to help a family of cats abandoned when a family lost their home and left without the cats! I've fed em and kept em alive for 4 years. The neighborhood wants em all dead so i recently found a place they could go.

When I was young and healthy I was in my own little world that didn't include sharing and caring! Once I got older and disabled I realized sharing and caring is all there is!

Thanks for the thread..it causes one to think.

Like Seafire, my wife and I too were born in 1952 ('twas a very good year.)

I must give all the credit to my little wifey since she is the one who is making the world a better place. Everyone loves her. She makes you laugh. She is always giving and rarely takes. She loves "old people" and is very considerate of them, always speaking to them at church, and serving them. She volunteers her time to help with community activities. She sacrifices her wants for those of her children, but especially for me. She reminds me so much of my mother, who was a Godly women, loved in the community, served her family and my dad, but was unfortunately taken so young in life (46 years old.) I am the luckiest man in the world to have had my mom and my lovely wife in my life! Think Proverbs 31!

About pizza? Me too.



Travis

I really don't see how one could be a hunter and not make the world a better place.

Hunting does that through conservation.


I think we all have that card punched.

I flush every Dimocrap I take.

I've met a lot of hunters. And a lot of them are not making the world a better place.


Travis

you don't need to worry about the world, only the people around you.

My daughter is a rising junior at ASU in nursing with a 3.80 GPA, and I kill every damn crow I see. Yeah. I am leaving it better than I found it.

GFY.

You were doing great, right up to that last line, then it all fell apart...

Good post Okie!

God Bless both of the lovely ladies in your life...

A bit of true wisdom.

Your choices are your own fella...just don't ask me to buy into them.


And I won't ask you to buy into mine.

To be honest it wasn't until my fourties that I started to think of others. I guess I was so wrapped up in my family and career.

At some point I started volunteering, quietly helping the private Christian school, quietly helping the local mountain bike club, quietly helping the local conservation club reforest our valley bottom, etc.

In our little cities river bottom we have now got more 6,000 trees planted. It won't really be noticeable until I'm sucking food out of a straw but it will make a difference.

Why? Not sure, makes me feel good in a very satisfying way. So yes, in my own small way I'm trying to give something back.

Does feeding the world with azzloads of oil and gas count? I reckon I am on at least 90 years of production in my short 30 year career.

Basically the world is in an ever increasing downhill spiral. Trying to not make it a worse place on my account. Win some - - - lose some.

A lot of women would say i have made it better for them

Not to pat myself on the back but by some of my efforts volunteering and my ethics as a whole I think I have made it a better place but there's a lot of work for myself and others to do