Now here is a subject that never fails to make me go "hmmmm". If there is a thread/subject that is uninteresting or too heated for a person, why not just simply ignore it? I find many thread subjects quite boring, so I avoid them. Means nothing to me that they are there. I wouldn't dream of starting a thread about how tiresome threads on "xyz" are.
The futility of political debate on an ex-JW forum
by willyloman 55 Replies latest jw friends
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james_woods
That is not a Ferrari.
The Ferrari is a 12 cylinder motor car.
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Berengaria
James-Woods, you will have a PM shortly!
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Glander
This is a great thread. My congrats to Willy. His opening post is just about perfect and 3 pages of posts have proven it.
It has also been a terrific opportunity for Band to strut her C.V. before all us cretins. I am truly humbled.
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james_woods
But thank you for presenting the image...
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BizzyBee
>It's fascinating to hear so many political naifs express themselves with such certainty and fervor. You'd think they'd been studying the political system all their lives, when in fact for years they've been trained to parrot the WT's twisted take on the "system of things," of which politics is the driving force.
Even those who have studied the political system all their lives have their opinions. More or less half the unlearned will actually agree with more or less half the learned and half with the other half.
>Given our collective background, the political opinions expressed by any of us are going to be seriously flawed. Our credentials are extremely thin. We are debating these topics the only way we know how, i.e. the way we were taught to argue: By acting as if we alone possess all knowledge of the topic and that by repeating our pet points, we must somehow be proven right.
Flawed opinions? Meaning ill-informed? Perhaps, but no more so than a cross-section of the population. You make a naive assumption that all ex-JWs are all cut of the same cloth and that all non-JW's are Rhodes scholars.
>The sad fact is, most of us are completely at a loss to understand the political process and are easily swayed by the simpest argument.
Whew! Ever read a book? Taken a class? Read a newspaper? You portray ex-JWs as a bunch of rubes who can't find their way out of an unlocked closet. Yet, by the very fact of being an ex-, most have shown some real grit and backbone. And yes, intellect.
>It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out we are at a historical crossroads in this country, a time when civility has left the room and hysteria carries the day. Functional government has reached impasse. The inmates control the asylum, while we waste time calling each other crazy.
Yes, this may be why there is an increased interest and fervor about politics in the last couple of years. Even the uninformed and gullible sense that there is a lot at stake. They've got some skin in the game - in fact never have so many had so much skin in the game - why shouldn't they have an opinion too?
>What's sad is that we should all be setting a better example. We've escaped a mental concentration camp and found real freedom. We no longer have to judge others for what they think, believe, do, or say. Why are we squandering this precious freedom by getting down in the pig poop with extremists? Is that what we left the WT for?
Judging others for what they think, believe, do, or say is and always will be an important part of human survival. We take our best shot at sizing up the guy who is going to fix our car, date our daughter, run our state or country, perform surgery on our mother. What else do we have to go on besides what they communicate to us about how they think, believe, do, or say (I would add "and look")?
Even if you knew this guy was a world-reknowned heart surgeon, wouldn't you have some reservations about going under his knife?
