There is hope gained from hearing that you are not alone in your struggle. Many of the brothers and sisters have cautiously shared with me the same concerns that a lot of you voice on this forum every day. As you post, please remember that there are possibly thousands of curious, doubting, concerned friends who sneak onto to this website in search of something. Show them they are not alone. Show them they are not dependent on any man-made religious entity. Show them that love, goodness, and compassion exist an more places that they may have ever known.
Beautifully put. You are an eloquent writer, and I agree wholeheartedly with your words. That said, I wish you strength in remaining undercover. I tried to do that as well, out of respect for a large extended family of uber-strong Witnesses whom I love dearly, including my elder husband. I've been partially successful, but found I cannot participate in field service with a clear conscience. I did the driving around visiting the elderly and ill for a long time (which, btw, I enjoyed and found genuinely useful) but inevitably it would entail at some point being forced to do a few not-homes or RVs. How are you planning on navigating the field service requirement?
My husband just returned from the KM school, where he gave one of the talks w/demo, and I'm aware that he's experiencing a measure of cognitive dissonance. His response is to batten down the hatches and revert to more deeply entrenched non-thinking modes (for lack of a better phrase). I, on the other hand, have become more and more aware of the severe gaps in evidence and logic immanent in so much of what the Society prints. This has caused not a small amount of stress in our marriage.
The harsh and un-Scriptural rhetoric on higher ed is, to me, one of the clearest signs that this organization is embracing a heightened seige mentality that can only result in further fragmentation from within.
Nice to have you here!