Sadje, over at Keep It Alive, was kind enough to gift me with the Barnabas Award, an award that is given to those bloggers who encourage and inspire their readers.

As a recipient of this award, I’m supposed to:

• Thank the person who nominated you, and share their blog.
• Think of five bloggers that encourage and inspire you and nominate them.
• List five things about yourself.
• Ask your nominees five questions.

I will thank Sadje — thank you, Sadje. I will also reveal five things about myself. I will also answer Sadje’s five questions. But I will not nominate five bloggers. Instead, I will nominate any and all bloggers and encourage them to participate, which I hope will inspire them to do so.

Okay, ready, set, go:

Five things about me:

1. I blog anonymously
2. I am male
3. I am a baby boomer
4. I am retired
5. I am amazing

And now for my answers to Sadje’s questions:

How important it is to reinforce self belief in oneself and others?

I am of the opinion that we each should believe in ourselves, and that must come from within, not from anyone else. It’s not my role to reinforce self-belief in others.

What inspires you on a daily basis?

Right now, I’m inspired by the potential impeachment of Donald Trump, which is becoming more and more likely on a daily basis.

How can we inspire our young generation to do the right thing for our planet?

Simple. Stop telling them that climate change is a hoax, is not real, and that the future of our planet — and their futures — is not at stake. Tell them to listen to what 97% of climate scientists say about climate change instead of listening to know-nothing climate change deniers (i.e., conservative Republicans).

What do you think about teaching moral and ethical values to our children in schools?

I think it’s fine to make kids in school aware of what it means to behave ethically and responsibly. As to teaching morals, though, that’s a different story. The teaching of morals generally has a religious aspect to it, and I think it’s a parent’s role, not a school’s role  — at least not a public school’s role — to teach their children moral values.

What is more important in life, intelligence or hard work?

I would say that this shouldn’t be an “or” question, as both are important. Some people are very intelligent and work very hard. Others can be very intelligent and lazy as shit. And some people might not be that intelligent, but work very hard. And then there are those, like Donald Trump, who are dumb as shit and don’t work very hard.

So has this post inspired and encouraged you, or what?