As you know, my husband has physically left the Witnesses. He nevertheless clings to many of the beliefs like a protective cloak, and every once in a while I trigger a dissonant episode where my reality clashes with his. Recently he listened in on my work research, a video of a futurist describing the a potential "disruptive change" event in the next fifteen years, as our culture shifts to autonomic (driverless) vehicles. That talk sent him over the edge, and he talked about the implications for days.
It took me a while to figure out why this talk was so disturbing to him.
It messes with the Witness view of a rapidly declining imperfect world, soon to be replaced by a (perfect) divine one. It is pretty disturbing if humanity appears to be getting there without the help of magazines.
So I propose a novel method of getting through to our (Witness) loved-ones. Feed them snippets of news from trusted futurists of how different it will be in a few short years. We get the added satisfaction of seeing many of these predictions bear fruit in front of their eyes, unlike the ones, you know, peddled by the WTS. It's like planting little time bombs to be set off when they least expect it.
Here's a list of trusted futurists I've followed over the years. Their claim to fame is many of their predictions have actually come through!
John Nesbitt - accurately predicting how the Baby Boomers shape our culture
Seth Godin - marketing guru. Why television mass marketing is dead
Hans Rosling - how raising the standard of living slows population growth!
Thomas Frey - work will be very different. Our future is the paradise Witnesses crave.
Tony Seba - clean disruption (transporation) guru
