The sad part, at least for me, is that I can't come right out and ask my brother or my cousins who are still in exactly how they feel or what all they believe. We grew up as one big close family, every one on my dads side a JW, mom, dad, brother, sister, aunts, uncles, cousins. My brother and most of my cousins are still in. All our parents are gone now, except for one aunt who is 88. We were the 1975 generation who were told not to go to college, etc. My sister blew that off and got her degree and had a great career in journalism. She is now very comfortable in her retirement, unlike most of my still in cousins.
I can't just sit down and say, "Hey brother, how do you really feel about this, do you still believe it all, all the changes, do you think those of us who had the brains and ambition should have gone to college. Should you have let your kids play sports in high school? Should cousins A & B have done more to plan for retirement? If this is the truth, why has everything changed, why are all those big boring books we studied on Tuesday nights no longer relevant? Why is it that if I wanted to come back after 30 years of being out, I would have to learn everything different? What kind of truth is it that has changed so much?"
And you know, as you all have said, we would get the same answers from them: well, it is new light, we are moving forward, imperfect men, and blah, blah, blah. It used to make me so frustrated but now I am at the stage where I honestly feel sorry for them and their closed minds and allowing themselves to be dictated to by those geezers in Brooklyn. And that is not a very good feelling, to feel sorry for your family.