Part of having a respresentative democracy is having citizens that are informed(educated). Not everyone has the time to research every political agenda so that is why we have party platforms. Philosophically I do not know if that is good or bad=) Blindly voting with your party platform doesn't seem very responsible to me... but I think it is better than not being involved in the vote at all.
Aalena
JoinedPosts by Aalena
-
160
What are Americans taught about U.S and what do you really believe?
by sleepy injust wondering what exactly americans (u.s.a) are taught about their country in school .do you really salute a flag, do you swear allegiance to the country.
are you taught that you fought for freedom, and that america is the land of the free, etc etc?
do you actually believe what you are taught?
-
-
-
160
What are Americans taught about U.S and what do you really believe?
by sleepy injust wondering what exactly americans (u.s.a) are taught about their country in school .do you really salute a flag, do you swear allegiance to the country.
are you taught that you fought for freedom, and that america is the land of the free, etc etc?
do you actually believe what you are taught?
-
-
Aalena
Sleepy,
The first question that comes to my mind is, "Do you understand what being considered a world power means?" In beng the leading world power, most associate certain responsibilities with that. What those responsibilities are to the US and the rest of the world is quite subjective. How our politicians handle themselves in being involved in government of the reigning world power is their own choice. Our Democracy is set up. theoretically, to hold those in our government accountable if we, as Americans(in the USA), are responsible citizens.
Part of the idea behind being "the leader of the free world" talked about in many political speeches has to do with the concept of Democracy. The Greeks in Athens so long ago were the first known government to hold a direct Democracy. The US holds a representative Democracy and CURRENTLY is the longest running Democracy in our world today. Link that fact to some of the phrases you have quoted and they don't seem so pretentious.
Because the US holds a representative Democracy, neither the public nor the government can take full responsibility for policy that is made. This country is based on a series of checks and balances that is not supposed to give any part of the government complete control and allow the public to change or reinforce policy by whom they allow to take office.
One of the MAIN reasons I do not like our current President is his arrogance. I do not believe he represents the will of the people of the US. I believe his first prioity rests on his belief that he is President, thus he has the power. I truly hope our county acts retroactively in this upcoming Presidential election.
Not to belittle anything you have said, Sleepy, because I actually do agree with some of what you have said to the point of feeling embarrassment of how my country has chosen to act in certain incidents, but while you say your thoughts here are purely inquisitive there seems to be hints of animosity in them. My suggestion to you is to actually do some research on the US government from factual literature instead of allowing newpapers and media to shape your view of the US.
Lastly, one thing to remember is that if Americans in the US believed everything they saw and heard from the media there wouldn't be such a close Presidential race that will be happening this year! I think American's take their role as the world power very seriously, and a lot of us do not like being made to look like a bully that tries to create situations to medle in simply to throw our power around. The most difficult part of everything is separating fact from fiction. The printed word travels instantly now and in so many ways it's difficult to EVER know what is truth and what is not. Not everyone will agree with that... but some of us do!
On the Flag issue: As ready as so many are to salute it, we are just as free to burn it. It's merely a representation of what some very proud and highly patriotic people feel. Does it say that no one else in the world knows freedom? Of course not.
-
58
Age Difference?
by simplesally inshe is older, he is younger.
what's the largest spread in years that you have heard about that is.
1. fun.
-
-
Aalena
Insomniac, Danny wasn't referring to the elderly in general badly, but the prey that some elders have taken upon themselves to marry. This prey being, signifigantly younger people in the congregations that have pretty much no experience in life and are a good amount of years younger.
My younger sister, who is a pioneer in her hall, married a man that was 18 years older than she was, at age 20. This man used to be married to a woman who he married when he came back from bethel, the day she turned 18(and he had dated since she was 14...). This woman also used to study with my younger sister and I when we were pre-teens and teenagers. The couple used to "babysit" us when our parents went out of town and have "get-togethers" for many of the young ones in the congregation during that time as well. I remember this man and his brothers commenting on how my little sister and I were going to be "hot" when we were 10-12 years old and being bothered by their comments. This man and his wife were actually neighbors to us at one point. The two of them divorced because of infidelity in the marriage and as soon as my father died, after my little sister was 18, he started to date her(he knew my father would kick his ass). Anyhow they married and I am disgusted by it.
I think there are circumstances for every relationship and some are innocent and are not to be judged. Others- I think there are some underlying issues that people are not addressing. In this case I believe my little sister is attempting to replace our father and I think he husband is just a sicko.
-
37
Once a cheater always a cheater?
by Aalena ini caught my boyfriend of 8 years cheating on me about a month ago.
he claims it is the only time he has ever cheated and he never thought he would ever cheat nor would he ever do it again.
some of my friends are upset at me saying i should have left him immeditately.
-
-
Aalena
It started as a "one night stand" but he went back for a second run the following weekend while telling me he was at a professional sporting event. I caught him the lie when he came home. He wouldn't admit to it until I told him exactly how I knew where he actually was and then he couldn't deny it any longer. This is the day after he told me if he was ever going to think about being with someone else he would break up with me first because he doesn't and never will believe in cheating... mk...
Apparently he also lied to the girl he slept with about who he was, what he did for a living and of course didn't tell her about me until I let her know who I was. I was torn on whether to contact her, but I knew he wouldn't do what he should do and tell her about me so I went ahead and did it. I am not sure if it was right of me or not to do that. I know it helped my anger a lot... but I think she had the right to know the truth as well since I knew he was lying to her and she didn't know what she was dealing with. I bet she thinks twice about going home with some guy she meets in a bar next time... and I wasn't going to let him off the hook and just let it fade away by simply cutting off contact with her since she lives 4 hours away.
Tests for diseases was the first thing I did. I lucked out on this one thank god...
-
21
How Many XJWs Who's Christianity Is Now Progressive In Nature?
by Eden infrom my observation of walking away from the org eight years ago..it seems..that most xjw's are either fundamental protestants...or on left side as athiests.....so, i was wondering, any xjws here who's christianity is now progressive (non-fundamentalists) in nature?
-
-
Aalena
When I first stopped going to meetings, I simply believed that JWs just didn't have it right. I steered away from Religious Fundmentalism(rigid, one-sided views of practicing Christianity) and basically shunned all organized religion. I then started questioning the bible as a whole and God's existence in general. I wouldn't say I ever became agnostic or athiest... but I can definately see how athiests can prove there is no God according to western Christianity.
I have been studying Baha'i lately a bit... I don't think it's something I would subscribe to entriely as a religion simply because the religion is traced back to one single man's words claiming to be some kind of prophet but I agree with almost every one of their philosophies.
I have a few people i work with that attend Assemblies of God(protestant? I think...) and I think they are good people- which most people that honestly try and live life the way the bible outlines are. I researched their beliefs on the web(they have a official A/G site) and I felt like I was reading the Watchtower litterature. They do believe in things like the Trinity... but their views on dating non-believers, association with secular people, music... was quite dogmatic...
I am suprised to hear they have a pastor that openly smokes and cusses in his sermons without being shunned... their beleifs outlined on their website seem very fundamental and not progressive in the least. They also believe in speaking in tounges which I cannot even begin to understand since they claim it is a tounge no one but God and the person speaking it can understand... why not just use prayer? I don't see much justification for speaking in tounges besides the goal of attracting attention.
-
69
A QUESTION FOR GUYS
by sandy inwhy do some guys feel the need to have sex with their ex-girlfriends?
is this a common thing?
how many of you guys did or do this?.
-
-
Aalena
You guys only see a piece of the puzzle. Yes he is a jerk I know.
But I am no angel. I am not trying to defend him but when you are with someone for four years it is not so black and white.
I'm telling you just the bad now. He is a good guy with some asshole ways. He doesn't intentially hurt people or me.
He needs to grow up and he'll be ok
I'd be rich if I had a penny for how many times I have said this in the 8 years of my relationship or how many times I have heard friends say similar things. People don't really change when it comes to their standards and how they treat others. Even if it's true he would not have gone through with cheating on his current girlfriend(which is complete BS-- that is his ego talking b/c he was shot down) what about respect? Was it respectful and caring and loving to talk to you about such things when someone else has put their confidence and trust in him? Hell no. It wasn't respectful to his currect girlfriend and it wasn't respectful of you. He knows you still have feelings for him so he was trying to use that to his advantage.
The things I'd keep reminding myself if I were you... is how would you feel if you did have sex with him? Would you be going against something you believe strongly in or are you okay with being the "other" woman? If you are someone that doesn't believe in cheating then there is no doubt it would more than likely tear down your own self respect and you would regret it.
He is manipulative and selfish. Don't convince yourself otherwise. Cut him completely out of your life asap and you will finally see things a bit more clearly.
-
37
Once a cheater always a cheater?
by Aalena ini caught my boyfriend of 8 years cheating on me about a month ago.
he claims it is the only time he has ever cheated and he never thought he would ever cheat nor would he ever do it again.
some of my friends are upset at me saying i should have left him immeditately.
-
-
Aalena
I caught my boyfriend of 8 years cheating on me about a month ago. He claims it is the only time he has ever cheated and he never thought he would ever cheat nor would he ever do it again. Some of my friends are upset at me saying I should have left him immeditately. I am confused as to whether I should have or not. I am not sure if I am allowing myself to believe a lie or if I am doing the right thing in continuing to try and work things out with him. The fact that I caught him cheating and lying to me makes me question if he is sorry he cheated or sorry he got caught cheating. There is no question as to if he cares about me- it's difficult for someone to be around you for 8 years and NOT care about you. What I question is if really loves me. Would someone truly be able to allow themselves to betray the person they claim to love most in the world? Or is simply a matter of respect? Does everoyne believe in the saying once a cheater always a cheater? Or has anyone had experiences of someone cheating on them but then going on to having a successful relationship with them?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts~
-
8
Belief and experience in religion
by Markfromcali inhave you ever noticed how you have belief and experience in different proportions when it comes to religion?
on the one hand you might have the fundy that just crams every experience into the interpretation of a static belief system, and on the other you have the typical new age kind of mindset where every kind of belief is conjured up to support your experience.
for those who have seen the movie office space, remember the game "jump to conclusions"?
-
-
Aalena
The relationship between belief and experience no doubt comes from the desire to interpret the experience, so you either try to interpret everything in a simple way that is fairly rigid, or you go with any number of interpretations for simple experiences, or somewhere in between. I would not say to stop interpreting your experience, but atleast recognize when you are coming up with an interpretation, and why. This is where people get lost.
This brings up the debate of whether the mind is a tabala rasa(blank slate/tablet) or if ideas/beliefs are some innate knowledge derived from birth. I'd think that people that believe in god would side with the latter and people that are confused or do not believe in god would believe that we aren't born with innate beliefs but that they are shaped through experience(our five senses).
-
20
Questions about Jehovahs Witness???
by JDWEEE incharles taze russell, founded the jw in the 1860's.
which is based on his own interpretations of the bible.
he had no theology education, and did not know the greek, and hebrew language.. question: how can an average man, with "no" education, interpret the bible correctly?.
-
-
Aalena
Question: How can an Average man, with "no" education, interpret the Bible correctly?
Question: Why would God allow man, to go for so long, up until the 1860's, without the correct interpretations of the Bible?
Question: Why would God guide, lead, and empower, people to write the scripture in a way that we could not understand, and interpret?
Question: How do we know Charles Taze Russell was right in his interpretations?
Question: Why should i, base my beleif on what an average man, such as myself, interpreted the Bible to really say, and mean?
I think that there is no way to have a certain answer for any of those questions. Take out the words "Charles Taze Russell" and subsitute Mormons or Catholics or any other religion or man in it's place and how could anyone be sure of anything? The only thing one can really conclude is that there is no certain answer to any of those questions-- unless one has "faith." Faith isn't supported by any fact, just belief. So, I guess the answers to your questions are, " I don't know... that is what every individual must figure out on their own."
My personal opinion is that JWs are wrong in claiming they have the one true religion and that NO MAN can interpret the bible "correctly" because it was written by man.
-
13
Abraham's Sacrifice
by Aalena ini'm taking this philosophy class(oh no worldy wisdom) and the instructer mentioned how it always bothered him how abraham's god(yaweh or jehovah to us) had put him through the ordeal of even asking him to sacrifice his son.
i identified with this because it's something that always bothered me as well.
i know it was supposedly just a "test" but to me it doesn't seem like something jehovah would ever do when taking into consideration his characteristics outlined in the bible.
-
-
Aalena
JC Cannon,
Clarify your thoughts on Jehovah asking Abraham to symbolically sacrifice his son? I think maybe you used the word symbolically in the wrong place there and I'm reading it incorrectly. I'll very simply and in NO way 100% accurately to the text go through the process of this proposed "sacrifice." It doesn't have to be word for word to understand where I am coming from-- you just need to understand the concept I'm throwing out there:
1. Jehovah God tells Abraham that he wishes him to go to the top of a mountain or side of a hill... and sacrifice his son.
2. Abraham does what is asked of him because... why? Because God knows holiness. He creates holiness. Things are holy because he says they are and no one is to questions this. (Euthyphro's(I think that is his name) ideas on the Greek gods in Athens about 500 years BC when he brought Socrates to trial for religous heracy and corrupting the youth of athens)
3. What is more-- HIS SON goes along with it?? What is happening with his son? One they get to the place Abraham is to sacrifice him and the rituals begin, I think even someone that isn't the sharpest tool in the shed would understand he was about to die. Why do I bring this up? Because humans generally FIGHT TO LIVE when they are faced with kill or be killed. We do not give up too easily. Especially in this case... with a father starting to sacrifice his son. Again, this brings up the point about interpreting this account to mean that God appoints what is Holy(moral) and his subjects blindly follow.
4. Jehovah tells Abraham he was only testing his loyalty. Is Abraham to be thankful at this point?? Would YOU be thankful at this point? I for one, would never have been on that mountain and my son would have been going about his daily business... but seriously: What credibility would a god retain if he asked his subjects to do something like this? Today... do we believe in Human Sacrifice? How many Human sacrifice do you remember or have recently read about in the bible? It seems very consistent that humankind then and now would be EXTREMELY disturbed if something like this was required of them--- or ARE extrememly disturbed if they think it's ok.
Just what was Jehovah testing if he already "knew"? Just what confidence did Abraham lack or what lesson did he need to learn by this that was learned? I fail to see any positives come out of this account for ANYONE involved.
Also, math problems you use as an example are absolute. Meaning, one starts with an equation and it produces an answer, and only one answer, every time. Whether the equation produces a whole number, a negative number, a fraction, an infinate or an undefined... it is the same number one gets every time. You can't really relate subjective philosophy and morals(according to the bible God gives us the mental capacity to chose answers for ourselves-- each related to certain consequences both good and bad) to something that is absolute and unaffected by opinion or change.