My views have changed dramtically since I was a JW teen. I came of age during the Viet Nam protests. Looking back, I am very proud that I protested in so many ways but I deeply regret that our slogans were antimilitary.
My background in law and const'l rights has greatly evolved. A military and miltiias are necessary for us to have any freedom. Law and order may be the premiere civil rights issues. Growing up in Newark, there was little law enforcement. The criminal element preyed on the poor. Later I moved to NY, where the police were much more responsive - except for minor vice offenses, such as marijuana. The police saved me from serious bodily harm or worse on many occasions.
Madeleine L'Engle talked about freedom needing restraint when she described her son-in-law's trial coming home to Grace Cathedral during a major earthquake in San Francisco. The traffic lights were out. It took him hours to travel a short distance b/c of the lack of normal services.
The WT reaps the benefit of huge scale government projects, such as the availability of hospitals and ers, traffic enforcement, sewer maintenace, building codes, the weather service, etc. Yet they disrespect the very people who provide these stories.
Since I also grwe up right after WWII and during the Cold War, no one ever convinced me that we were very lucky to have Western democratic values. Without our Const'n, where would the Witnesses be? I am not saying they should be Founding Fathers. Nevertheless, the persecution in Eastern Europe was highlighted at KHs and conventions. My father received a ministerial exemption. He was not executed. Every night I saw the Berlin Wall going up and people doing almost crazy things to escape. I never saw any escapes to the Eastern side.
This nonsense that I was not American bothered me. B/c there was a real sense that the world could end duriing those years. I would always choose FDR and Churchill over Hitler and Mussolini.
The Witnesses are extremely dependent on the world. Lawyers are basically honed tools of the establishment. They use investment advisors and lawyers freely. Many other so-called Christians groups are less ddependent on the world. Let them forsake Social Security payments and Medicare. Disability insurance is very worldly.
When I was younger, I was proud that the Witnesses were neutral. Ha! When I walked down to Ground Zero after they encouraged the public to cheer the recovery workers coming off shifts, I cannot articulate what I saw. The trauma transformed me. Yet they would claim there is no difference between Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and the U.S. military and NYPD. Half my local fire house died that day. It is no longer abstract to me. When did a brother ever die saving me?
