As I ponder why it didn't shake my faith, I must have given the Borg a pass since it was so long ago or maybe because the light is getting brighter. I am afraid that the same thing is going to happen with the 1975 video at the assemblies. No big deal...
Of course that will happen. That's how humans are wired.
Under normal circumstances this is an important, innate reflex of consciousness. Since what we are is based on what we perceive to be our place in the world around us, certain "facts" have to stay in place.
One of the reasons this is has to do with simple daily processing. Once we learn that fire is "hot," we will never touch it twice. But can you imagine what life would be like if we either forgot this fact immediately or always second-guessed ourselves? Always having to learn and re-learn that fire is "hot" and trust your belief in this fact will result in lots of burns and a very slow learning process. People could not survive.
We rely on our belief system to build upon so we can function normally and go forward in life. We don't have to learn about gravity again and again. We learn to trust it, to never second guess it. We know our next foot is going to hit the floor next time we take a step because we have already been over the whole "what goes up must come down" thing. If we always second-guessed this, we could never learn to walk.
But the system can be abused, as we all know. We can be given false information and build upon it. That's what the illustration of "building a house of cards" is all about. We can build an intricate belief system and "put all our eggs in one basket" based on this, but if there is no real foundation or our building materials are just "cards," it will all come tumbling down.
No one wants their "house of cards" to fall. In fact, no one wants to believe they live in a "house of cards." Who could function that way? Everything you believe about yourself, your world around you, and those you love is based on what you have come to trust to be so.
This is why when something like a tornado or terrorist attack erases parts of your world that you thought would always be there, this is why some people stand in shock and utter: "I can't believe it." They actually can't.
When push comes to shove, and your belief system gets threatened, that innate mental response system goes into action and tells you: don't mistrust yourself and keep on going forward. Keep walking, gravity will still be there. It will say to you: You don't have to test fire again as it will burn you. And if you are a member of a cult built upon lies and someone tries to prove it right before you, the same system will say: Don't believe anything they tell or show you. You know that you have the truth.
So no, this latest "admission" will not change anyone who identifies as a "Jehovah's Witness." That's who they are: Your husband or wife loves you because you are a Witness. Your children came about due to that love of two Jehovah's Witnesses. You have the great job you do because your boss is an elder in the congregation and naturally trusts you because you are one of Jehovah's Witnesses.
But if suddenly you aren't a "Jehovah's Witness," what then? If the world isn't coming to an end, now what? If this religion you are in and have invested everything you have into is just a "house of cards," what does that mean about your understanding of reality?
"I can't think about that now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow."--Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.
