...and now, picture this: An old JW-couple in their seventies...
Hellrider, that was incredibly heartbreaking.
George Orwell's "1984" and the WTBTS
by NYCkid 23 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
-
nilfun
-
Cognitive_Dissident
NYC, you're absolutely right, 1984(and Animal Farm) is full of extremely disturbing similarities to the Witness world. I've read the book three times now. The first was when I was still a good little witness, and I thought it was an amazing book and had many modern day analogies, none of which focused on the Witnesses(I was a walking, talking poster-child of doublethink).
The second was during a time in my life when I wasn't going to meetings that regularly and a healthy dose of cognitive dissonance had started to set in, and I remember feeling kind of sick and edgy while reading it and after I finished it. After the second time I finished it I didn't really talk about it with anyone, even though I enjoyed it just as much and appreciated it more.
The third time was within the past year, right during the time I was going through a pretty complete mental breakdown, and I was completely, absolutely stunned that my mind had not made the conscious connection between what I had read twice before and what I had lived my entire life. A testament to the effectiveness of the mind-control tactics that the book describes and the Society employs, I suppose.
When I started coming to the sickening realization that there was no dignified way to leave, many times I thought of how Julia was able to maintain her good standing in the party - she excelled all others in screaming obscenities during the Two Minutes Hate. And although I stopped going to meetings and am now somewhat successfully fading, that principle was always fresh in my mind whenever I felt a pang of "conscience" at saying and acting like I believed when I knew in my heart that I didn't. Eventually I came to grips with the fact that I have absolutely no remorse or guilt about lying to elders or nosy gossipers in order to prevent my disfellowshipping.
"You could only rebel against it(the party) by secret disobedience" - chapter 5
Another quote that I like to that effect is from the book The Unbearable Lightness of Being
"In a society run by terror, no statements whatsoever can be taken seriously. They are all forced, and it is the duty of every honest man to ignore them."
CD -
NYCkid
Oh gees....now I have to read "Animal Farm".... ;-)
Hellrider, your story is very truthful...any elements coming from a personal experience?
I feel similar in regard to my parents...gave their lives to their religion, now they're old, ill and have very little retirement savings and they are quite stunned they reached the age of retirement before "the end of this system"....Heaven Forbid they'll get any help from the religion they devoted their lives and money to (my Dad served in NY Bethel as well).Quite Sad...sort of like poor Winston Smith (1984), who in the end was very grateful to "Big Brother" for providing for him so well.
NYCkid
-
Hellrider
Hellrider, your story is very truthful...any elements coming from a personal experience?
That little story was fiction...but I have seen this up-close. I lost both my parents to cancer, both loyal JWs. I can`t exactly say the elders (or anyone else, for that matter) spent much time with them at the hospital. Well, I don`t think my parents would have been any different if the tables had been turned. That`s just the nature of JW-"love".
-
watch the tower
Brave New World by Auldous Huxley is another one.
Check out this quote:
One hundred repetitions three nights a week for four years, thought Bernard Marx,
who was a specialist on hypnopædia. Sixty-two thousand four hundred repetitions
make one truth. Idiots!
-
Robdar
Loved the book. Loved "Animal Farm" too. But no, I didn't see any similarities to the WTBTS. Perhaps you just have a bad case of Watchtoweritis? Stick around here and soon you'll be on the road to recovery. Welcome to the forum.
Robyn
-
FairMind
I've read 1984 and found it to be facisnating. Another book I've read is The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses by Heather and Gary Botting. This book is a great analysis of the similarities between the book 1984 and The WTBTS.
-
Bangalore
Great book.
Bangalore
-
-
Band on the Run
I read Animal Farm and 1984 in high school to prepare for college. 1984 was particularly chilling. There is no doubt that the Witnesses have established an Orwellian world. They also remind me somewhat of Franz Kafka's works. There was an excellent TV series called The Prisoner with Leo McKern and Patrick McGoohan (not certain of main character)on in the 1960s. It became a cult classic. They sell the series on DVD. The main character is a member of the British Secret Service. One day he is dragged onto this weird world that resembles a camp. He is told escape is impossible. The Witnesses remind me of the secret camp.
Of all the books, though, I'd say 1984 is the most compelling concerning the Witnesses. Probably history volumes discussing the role of fascism in WWII would also shed much light.