Posts by done4good

52

What does the rise of Donald Trump tell us about the USA?

by fulltimestudent in

i thank one of my former lecturers for drawing my attention to this overview.. after some 100 years, living out its "manifest destiny" dream, as the hegemon of the world, what has this 'dream' done to/for the usa?

the approaching presidential election provides an opportunity to examine this question.. and what of all the appendage organisations (like the wts) that rode across the world on the hegemon's coattails?.

the answer may be here: http://www.vox.com/2016/3/1/11127424/trump-authoritarianism.

done4good

Excellent article from what I had a chance to read. I will read in its entirety after work.Yes, authoritarian type personalities do tend to lean right, and will lean hard right when they perceive a threat. This is almost entirely related to personality types in the scientific sense of their definition. To spell it out, guardian types on the extreme level, generally translate into authoritarians when placed under perceived threats. These are generally extreme xSxJ types, according to MBTI, (not all xSxJ types).

Yes, Trump is a symptom of a much bigger problem that has been iteratively growing in the GOP since Nixon, (or more correctly, Goldwater). Read Nixon, (strong anti-communist); Reagan, (stronger anti-communist still and brought the religious right into his politics); Newt Gingrich, (converted an entire legislative arm into religious right authoritarians); George W. Bush, (tried to go to war with anything and everything he perceived as a threat); the Tea Party, (all government is out to get you); and finally Trump, (everything about established systems threatens our existence).

I do disagree with the thesis thus far though that this is going to be a perpetual problem. I only disagree on the basis that this problem has evolved as a product of a positive feedback loop that has already destabilized the GOP. The GOP is done, (at least in anything resembling its current form). The positive feedback loop already destabilized it, and now it is time to hit the reset button. This won't continue very long. Social evolution will kill this meme off.

d4g

29

Is this a site controlled by atheists?

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

under the exterior of being an ex- witness site, is this site simply converting atheism?.

i pose the question, because many come here in distress and insecurity with the realization that the w.t is wrong but still retain a belief in god.

my personal opinion is the threads on god are not challenged by an atheists personal animosity to believers, they are challenged and become confrontational because the atheist wants an elaboration and factual proof to a believers faith.. is this unreasonable?

done4good

From one perspective, I can see where you are coming from. Many posters do seem to "pitch" atheism, (even if only by inference), to newbies from the start. I would agree that is not necessarily productive. Although I myself came to an atheistic conclusion several years ago, I certainly did not get there overnight, immediately after leaving the WT. It took research, some practical experience, and a long meditative process to become comfortable with that conclusion.

There used to be a really good ex-JW information site called "Beyond Jehovah's Witnesses" that was ran by late Timothy Campbell. Although an atheist himself, he recommended developing a temporary philosophy of sorts upon exit from the WT, one where a person allows themselves to take in information and not commit to a "belief" system, (yes, I know many atheists will argue atheism is not belief; I am not debating that here, so don't). I found this to be an effective method of development post-JW. There are no shortcuts after leaving years of ambient abuse from a system such as the WT.

As far as this site is concerned, I think what you are seeing is a microcosm of some of the changes in society in general. I remember 10 years ago, we had a lot of born-again types here, I think mostly influenced by Randy Watters' Freeminds site. Although Freeminds proved to be a treasure trove of good information I eventually used to draw a conclusion against bible belief, it clearly had a Protestant born-again bent, reflecting the beliefs of its owner. Today, most people are better informed, and once turned off from one religion usually know better than to jump into another one. There are much better sources of information today available than the Freeminds site. I think this leads many to an atheistic conclusion much faster than even in relatively recent years past.

d4g

46

Dan Sydlik

by done4good in

jw
friends

morning warship - he was the only restraint and i'm not saying that lightly.

i know there are a dozen others here who were in bethel back in the early 2000's who know what i'm talking about.

he actually kept me thinking this was jehovah's org because of his sincerity as if the holy spirit was operating in him.

done4good

Thank you all, (especially those with direct anecdotal experience), for your replies. Many of the anecdotes confirm similar situations my friend spoke of, and my brief encounter with Sydlik at lunch in Little Italy 25 years ago. I think the common thread that can be seen is that he, (along with a few others such as Swingle, perhaps), were decent people themselves, that unfortunately allowed their company man status, (really the only status they could possibly have at that level), to bring out the worst of their humanity when certain situations allowed for that, (e.g. Sanchez, Dunlap, etc.). On the other hand, it seemed Sydlik was a moderating force in a system still very much operating under the Knorr template. Life committed to a cult is a bitch, especially for its leaders in some respects, I suppose.

I would disagree with those that claim he was some closet apostate, however. He was from a different time, when the newly created GB perhaps thought it could affect change away from the Knorr/Franz model. Of course, that was both naive and impossible, since the system itself is authoritarian in nature, and as a result, inherently very flawed. The current GB, not surprisingly, clearly has no one left of the 1970s mindset. The immediate goals of the GB's existence today are quite different from what they were then.

It is a given that any one individual or group of individuals that somehow actually believe they solely represent god has the potential to do some very serious harm to those that actually believe in them. In other words, while the system itself is evil to the core, well meaning individuals will end up doing some very harmful things both directly and ambiently, to those that followed their delusional course. Perhaps the worst of that abuse is brought about by sincerity itself, since this quality has the unfortunate insidious effect of convincing others of one's "correctness" of their course of action. I think this gets to the core of why many, (my JW friend included), continue to believe and follow these sincere ones' course to their own demise. It is probably a good thing the current GB are as megalomaniacal as they are. This in of itself is waking people up.

d4g

32

Self-Driving vehicles and delivery robots - why?

by FadeToBlack in

i saw a 'news' article today about pizza hut (i think) delivering pizzas via a robotic vehicle in nz.

also another article headline saying it is not a question of if, but when.

my immediate thought was, why?

done4good

Being a bit of a car nut myself, I find it somewhat disappointing, but Simon is correct. Times change and Millenials are not into cars much these days. Most I know consider them to be necessary evils at best. Granted, I live and work in a large metropolitan area where the demographic is amenable to this type of thinking.

Statistically, the technology has already proven it will be much safer than human driven vehicles. Human error accounts for most accidents, and auto accidents themselves are in the top 5 causes of death in the US. This alone will make self-driven vehicles inevitable.

Automation always has cost driven factors as well, as has been pointed out.

d4g

46

Dan Sydlik

by done4good in

jw
friends

morning warship - he was the only restraint and i'm not saying that lightly.

i know there are a dozen others here who were in bethel back in the early 2000's who know what i'm talking about.

he actually kept me thinking this was jehovah's org because of his sincerity as if the holy spirit was operating in him.

done4good

Thank you all for your comments so far. I will read them to greater detail either this evening after work, or weekend.

d4g

46

Dan Sydlik

by done4good in

jw
friends

morning warship - he was the only restraint and i'm not saying that lightly.

i know there are a dozen others here who were in bethel back in the early 2000's who know what i'm talking about.

he actually kept me thinking this was jehovah's org because of his sincerity as if the holy spirit was operating in him.

done4good

Morning Warship - He was the only restraint and I'm not saying that lightly. I know there are a dozen others here who were in Bethel back in the early 2000's who know what I'm talking about. He actually kept me thinking this was Jehovah's org because of his sincerity as if the holy spirit was operating in him. All others were/are about power and control. Did you notice a major shift in organization matters since 2006 and not for the better but more cult-like since then? Yeah that was because Dan was the only restraint holding them back from demanding complete obedience and loyalty to the only faithful slave. Sound familiar? Some of us felt Dan was a secret apostate who died with that secret. God bless him wherever he is now.

I didn't want to derail Orphan Crow's thread, so I am starting a new one concerning this GB member.

I have a JW friend that knew Dan well when he was alive. This friend and I have been very frank about both my reasons for leaving 10 years ago as well as his own very serious doubts he currently has. I know his one big hangup with leaving himself has to do with what he thought of Dan Sydlik, whom of which he considered to be a sincere person. I am after specific conversations, actions, etc. that at least anecdotally support the argument that Sydlik was an anomaly. Many people have mentioned he was "different" in some way, but none of the information I have read here or elsewhere over the last several years gets specific enough to build a discussion around. I would like to use that sort of information to support the argument to my friend that Sydlik just happened to be a "good guy" at best, in a flawed human made system. Can you or anyone else offer such?

d4g

71

Sophie gives even more than ice cream money to the WT

by OrphanCrow in

done4good

Morning Warship - I was a Bethelite. I know how they operate. Which is why I am now an apostate. Thanks Dan. Anyone interested can now openly ask why the GB has gone full ape sh1t since the death of Daniel Sydlik in 2006. Go ahead I dare you. Jehovah's chariot has left long ago and is never coming back.

I met Dan and his wife Marina many years ago, through one of the very few good JW friends that I had. He did have sort of this quiet rebelliousness about him, for lack of a better description. A bit of an enigma for sure, if nothing else. I too am curious what you know about him personally.

d4g

108

Heil Trump. Sieg Heil.

by oppostate in

crowd looking like they're doing the heil hitler salute to trump when he asks for a pledge and swear their support while calling for broadening torture laws.

trump asks backers to swear their support, vows to broaden torture laws.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/05/politics/donald-trump-florida-pledge-torture/.

done4good

I'm not sure he meant it as in the political-economic philosophy of low spending across the board. Would be better put as a fiscally responsible government instead. There is no need to reduce spending across the board, but there is a need to focus spending where it's needed, instead of the gross mismanagement of public funds we see now.

Yes, agreed. There is much waste and fiscal mismanagement, and this needs to be corrected. That said, "the all government spending is bad" dogma of the extreme right is not fiscally responsible either. When infrastructure such as road systems break down in one country, companies begin to look elsewhere to invest and open shop. This hurts long-term tax revenues, job prospects, etc. The negative effect on the economy over time is far worse than not making the necessary investments. The same can be applied to R&D, the education system, etc. Steady investment is required over time, to maintain the health of the economy for the long-term. Austerity measures applied to these areas never works to improve the health of the economy, especially in the long run.

In the corporate world, a 20% reinvestment of profits into R&D, has long been considered the benchmark of maintaining the long-term health of any company that produces a technologically evolving product. When companies place too much importance on short term profitability margins, (usually to appease shareholders), at the expense of this level of reinvestment, the long-term effects on the business are almost always disastrous. This is what happened to the US consumer electronics industry in the late 1960s/early 1970s. Companies such as Scott, Fisher, Marantz, etc. all ended up going bankrupt because of this lack of investment, and were either closed or bought out by foreign companies. This didn't happen overnight, but rather was the product of years of under-investment. The austerity approach we are taking with our public systems will have similar results, if not corrected soon.

d4g

108

Heil Trump. Sieg Heil.

by oppostate in

crowd looking like they're doing the heil hitler salute to trump when he asks for a pledge and swear their support while calling for broadening torture laws.

trump asks backers to swear their support, vows to broaden torture laws.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/05/politics/donald-trump-florida-pledge-torture/.

done4good

For those that disliked my very sensible post above, care to offer a counter argument? After all, this is a discussion board, right?

I think I will be waiting here a while, but I would really love to be proved wrong...

Now that I can get behind. It'd be like the Libertarian party, just without all the isolationism and anarchy.

That was how the Libertarian party was supposed to work, according to its founders. What happened was it was taken over by the same right wing folks that gave us the Tea Party, w/the religiosity and everything else. The reality is a Libertarian utopia does not exist, because it has proven it cannot. What you end up with is feudalism, thus my point about fiscal moderation above.

d4g

108

Heil Trump. Sieg Heil.

by oppostate in

crowd looking like they're doing the heil hitler salute to trump when he asks for a pledge and swear their support while calling for broadening torture laws.

trump asks backers to swear their support, vows to broaden torture laws.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/05/politics/donald-trump-florida-pledge-torture/.

done4good

sir82 - A fiscally conservative yet socially liberal party would win the next 50 years of elections.

Agreed for the most part. I would only modify that with "fiscally moderate". Ideological fiscal conservatism is why our roads are falling apart, our space program budget has been cut, our schools in non-affluent areas are woefully underfunded, an across the board "sequester" has been put into place, etc. Ideological fiscal conservatism draws no distinction between spending and investment. No smart businessperson would run their business that way.

d4g