Thanks for sharing, what a good video, fantastic it is!
Long post ahead!
The freedom to disagree with each other is one of the strenghts of science and makes it possible to reconsider and adapt "truths" with new information and insight. A consensus can be dismantled, new ones can be formed. An opinion can be confirmed or weakened by different viewpoints.
The JW obsession with unity, which indeed leans more towards uniformity (thanks stuckinarut2) reminds me of the misquotation in the blue 1985 "Life, how did it get here..." book, where WT gave the false impression that disagreement among evolutionists shows how weak their theory was. They left out the part where that same quote in fact praises such heated debates and rigorous disagreement because it helps to put findings and results under scrutiny in order to come to the best conclusions.
The same thing happens at this forum when someone makes a claim as fact and then is asked to back it up with a source or official letter. When someone is unable to provide such "evidence" he can lower his voice, ask others to confirm his claim, or even apologise for presenting opinion as fact or whatever...
Same with activism, isn't it the same with political parties? We have plenty of them in Holland, probably even too many for such a small country and some are really looked down upon because of their vieuwpoint but hey, at least it's democracy and usually things are getting somewhere without having to do it N.korean (or WT style). If it doens't get somewhere, parties can fall and the process starts over again.
Of course I'm not talking about social and emotional issues here, but even then different viewpoints can help to put things more in perspective or benefit from a different approach. Personally I have almost completely overcome my cognitive dissonance because this forum has "forced" me to consider all the different info and experiences coming from a spectrum as wide as full-in JW to hardcore atheist. Two years ago when I joined this forum I'd already fully embraced TTATT, but I would never have dared to challenge typical christian (core) teachings such as certain miracles, the resurrection or the ransom in the light of pagan similar stories that might have influenced bible writers. It "felt" wrong because the distance with JW was simply too far. Now, as an agnostic, I dare to doubt these deeply embedded religious/cultural "truths" because there's simply not enough empirical proof. I got rid of religious fear and wow, it feels sooo different now compared to a few years ago!
So I want to thank all the members for bringing me to the point where I can better understand people that believe or do not believe or that don't know what to believe, who don't want to leave, that are unable to leave, that have left through fade like me or chose to be df or da themselves. Same goes for activists that either choose the mild way or the more direct/confrontational approach.
No matter how often WT denies it, every way had the potential to work that way, whether we agree with that way or not.
