bluegreen17 | questions and answers

my friend george sent me this and i thought it was amazing:

Question 1:
If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who had 8 kids already,
three who were deaf, two who were blind, one mentally retarded, and she had syphilis; would you recommend that she have an
abortion?

Read the next question before scrolling down to the answer of this one.

Question 2:
It is time to elect a new world leader, and your vote counts. Here are the facts about the three leading candidates:

Candidate A: Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologists. He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.

Candidate B: He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon,used opium in college and drinks a quart of whisky every evening.

Candidate C: He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn't had any extramarital affairs.

Which of these candidates would be your choice? (Decide first, no peeking, then scroll down for the answer).

Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Candidate B is Winston Churchill,
Candidate C is Adolph Hitler.

And by the way: Answer to the abortion question if you said yes, you just killed Beethoven.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

wow thanks for posting, i'm gonna post that!

yeah,i'm glad my friend sent me this! i like something that gets me to think.

I'm not much of an expert on FDR, but I know a fair amount about Churchill, and his alcohol usage has been greatly exaggerated (he in fact encouraged whacko stories about his boozing because Europeans like to think their leaders can hold their liquor). He did have one extramarital encounter (once) and although he slept late (not till noon) he usually worked until 3 or 4 in the morning and took a short nap, so maybe got 6-8 hours of sleep.

Hitler did have an extramarital affair (in the sense of sex outside the marriage, not in the sense of cheating on your spouse) with Eva Braun, and before that he was in love with his niece. But yeah, he was a personally temperate individual.

The larger point about judging leaders on certain aspects of their lives is well taken. ;)

i picked churchill. first,i knew something was up with #3...that was pretty obvious. i chose churchill because i didn't like #1's hanging out with crooked politicians,plus i figured anyone who got kicked out of office twice was probably actually a valuable individual! it's the ones who stick with the status quo that worry me.

i've been thinking of picking up a biography about churchill...to try to read! i'm fascinated (and envious) about the fact that he struggled with depression (as did samuel johnson) and yet accomplished so much. maybe his life can give me a clue as to how to survive life with depressive tendencies and maybe even do something useful. any suggestions for a good biography?

I like the two volumes that William Manchester wrote. They're called "The Last Lion." It was supposed to be about Churchill's whole life, but Manchester had a stroke or something while doing research on the third volume and he'll never finish it now, alas. It stops when Churchill becomes Prime Minister.

Essentially Churchill fought depression with frenetic activity.

ah,frenetic activity...i don't know if that would work for me as i get overwhelmed with too much to do and i think that's why i get depressed. but maybe i'll find my own way.

thanks for the book recommendation!

Essentially Churchill fought depression with frenetic activity.

Actually, many psychologists believe that Churchill suffered from a nearly textbook case of bipolar II disorder. Basically it's the same as bipolar I (formerly manic depression), but the manic episodes aren't marked with the same impulsivity and destructive behavior as they are in bipolar I. Instead, the individual often finds that during the manic phase they are extremely motivated and productive and require little sleep.

I've never heard of bipolar II, but your description sounds right.

The Churchill family seems to be plagued with some sort of depression or bipolar or something.

yeah, depression and bipolar disorder definitely have a strong genetic component, so that's not surprising.

My friend was born with severe muscular dystrophy in 1962. His parents were told that the baby would be better off if they just let him slip away because he faced a life of helplessness and suffering. His parents refused the diagnosis, were labelled weirdos and proceeded to give their son the bestcare they could at home. He does suffer greatly from physical issues. He is also senior visiting specialist at one of our country's largest research hospitals and is a driving force behind gene therapy research. I like your post's message very much.

i didn't so much post that for a particular message as much as i thought it was good it got me to think. the abortion debate is a very tricky issue. personally,i don't think i could ever do it,but i can't judge others because i've never had to make the choice. the tricky thing is that a fetus shares a body for nine months.
also,depending on one's metaphysical beliefs,one could say that if beethoven hadn't been born in that body,his soul would have found another...still,our lives make us somewhat who we are...so i really can say anything definite. i was just totally surprised and amazed at this. and the story of your friend is amazing too.

when my mother was pregnant with my baby sister,she was told to have a test to see if the baby was mongoloid,since it was more likely since she was older...43 at the time...and if so,she could have an abortion. she simply said that she wouldn't have the test because she wouldn't have an abortion anyway,and she didn't want to know ahead of time. i always admired her for that.

I was actually more focussing on the importance of not intellectualising a child's future from their beginnings. Yes, it is a choice issue though. I was also offered tests to discover possible down syndrome in a pregnancy and decided against it as I wouldn't terminate. I do believe in personal choice. Essentially, I think what I am saying is that we humans aren't as good at predicting outcomes as we like to think...and that gives me hope.

yes,it's good to have some nice surprises in life! i'm quite the melancholy sort a lot of the time,but sometimes life has just thrown me something good and amazing and when that happens i'm very touched.

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