Is life just a question of what you can get away with?
Only up to the age of 14.
Richard Orlando, Westmount, Quebec, Canada
• Many politicians would agree that this is so, especially the odd presidential candidate.
Philip Stigger, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
• If you believe in God, then your moral obligations are clear. For the growing secular population who believe in just one life with no final accountability, it must be tempting to throw off the yoke of morality and pursue one’s own selfish interests.
David Tucker, Halle, Germany
• This is a cynical view perhaps, but what else can explain our exploitation of the earth and its resources? Overconsumption and mining fossil fuels are clear examples of this attitude. Unfortunately there seems to be too little global action to prevent us from “getting away with it”.
Margaret Wilkes, Perth, Western Australia
• I guess the 1963 Great Train Robbers thought so.
Avril Nicholas, Crafers, South Australia
• These days it’s a question of what you can get away from.
Jim Dewar, Gosford, NSW, Australia
• Only if you want to get away with a questionable life.
Chris Roylance, Paddington, Queensland, Australia
• Many people follow that self-centred precept, some more successfully than others. You can only hope they all get their comeuppance eventually.
Lawrie Bradly, Surrey Hills, Victoria, Australia
• No, that’s what Hell was invented for.
John Benseman, Auckland, New Zealand
The drugs are on their way
What sentence would you use to comfort a person in acute pain?
“Don’t worry I’m a doctor.”
Gillian Shenfield, Sydney, Australia
• I would say, “Never doubt that your life is more meaningful than this nightmare of excruciating pain.”
Pauline Harris, Lydney, UK
• No words; just a big hug.
Stuart Williams, Kampala, Uganda
• Saying “Hold on to my hand – you’re not alone” could be of some comfort, but perhaps actions are of more use.
An injection, cooling a fevered brow or using pressure points for pain relief might all do more for someone in pain.
Ursula Nixon, Bodalla, NSW, Australia
• “Here’s the morphine.”
David Isaacs, Sydney, Australia
Watch out for the right cross
Why do we ‘pay through the nose’, rather than any other part of the anatomy?
It is easier to blow it all away.
Doreen Forney, Pownal, Vermont, US
• Ask any boxer with a pointed proboscis.
Stanley Stott, Christchurch, New Zealand
• Because of the smell of money.
Tessa Crawshaw, New Sarepta, Alberta, Canada
Upright and moral
What stands to reason?
Something that sits well with you.
Margaret Wyeth, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
The beliefs of those who deny anthropogenic climate change - or so they say.
Paul Broady, Christchurch, New Zealand
Any answers?
Why did we evolve such fleshy lips?
R M Fransson, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, US
We all know what’s wrong with the world. What’s right with the world?
Terence Rowell, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
Send answers to weekly.nandq@theguardian.com or Guardian Weekly, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU, UK
