For me, it's mainly the money and the women, I suppose.
No, but seriously, I was thinking the other day about why I post here. In September it will be two years since I left the organization. I don't much care for doctrinal debates anymore, and I usually pass on threads that are concerned with he-said-she-said kind of stuff inside the organization. So why do I post here?
When I left the organization, I was dumbfounded and awestruck by the process of growth I went through and the realization of what the world really was. It felt like walking out of a small house and realizing for the first time that there was an entire universe on the other side of that door. I gradually came to see that not only Witnesses, but fundamentalists of all colors (including non-religous fundamentalists) were trapped in similar tiny boxes, and I wished I could help them see the same things that I had seen. I wished that for a moment I could make them see through other eyes, to understand through another mind.
I became determined to write. If I could somehow convey what I had learned to others who might similarly improve their lives, my experience would not have been in vain. I wanted to write a novel or a screenplay that distilled my experiences and framed them in a setting with broader appeal, probably a non-religious setting. I still hope to do this.
I realized the other day that the reason I post here is because of this urge to help others through writing. In this board, we have an incredible thing - the prospect of being read by hundreds or even thousands of other humans in a very specific target audience. A good discussion helps not only those who read it now, but others who may come later. The author of the thread hones their ability to write well, and the readers (including the writers on the thread) get a chance to consider new ideas.
I suppose if I were to frame this in JW terminology, I might say that it is "love of neighbor" that prompts me to write here. But it feels cheap and clichéd when put in those terms. In my case, it is not dictates from some supposedly holy book, nor peer pressure from a the social network in a religious order that drives me. It is a genuine desire to interact, to learn, to share, to see things though different eyes, and to allow others to do the same. This is much, much more than I ever experienced in field service as a Witness.
Sorry if I rambled. I suppose I'm feeling write-y today. What drives you to post?
SNG