Posts by SixofNine

42

what kind of degree do you have?

by deservingone26 in

jw
friends

ive been going thru a lot of the different posts on here and seeing that most here believe that higher education is very important.

i agree that it is important and i plan on going back to school in the fall but im just wondering who all here has a degree and in what?

just curious .

So, do you still think that nuclear power plants are a good idea?

by I quit! in

jw
friends

SixofNine

who could have imagined that diesel generators wouldn't work under water?

101

How do you feel about the pledge of allegiance now?

by SweetBabyCheezits in

jw
friends

for you us citizens (and those whose nations have a similar patriotic oath), how do you feel about your children saying the pledge in school if it's customary?.

my daughter is in 3rd grade and part of her school's morning routine includes the pledge.

when we stopped attending meetings a year ago, my wife and i explained to her that we don't agree with the jw "idolatry" classification so, naturally, she started joining her class in the pledge.. fast forward to the present: my wife and i are both non-theists who want to raise ethical, caring, tolerant children, but also children who aren't afraid to stand apart, especially when that stand isn't popular.

SixofNine

those kids were just lining up to get tickled by unka Adolph.

101

How do you feel about the pledge of allegiance now?

by SweetBabyCheezits in

jw
friends

for you us citizens (and those whose nations have a similar patriotic oath), how do you feel about your children saying the pledge in school if it's customary?.

my daughter is in 3rd grade and part of her school's morning routine includes the pledge.

when we stopped attending meetings a year ago, my wife and i explained to her that we don't agree with the jw "idolatry" classification so, naturally, she started joining her class in the pledge.. fast forward to the present: my wife and i are both non-theists who want to raise ethical, caring, tolerant children, but also children who aren't afraid to stand apart, especially when that stand isn't popular.

SixofNine

I'm not sure if you're talking about me or just discussing in general terms.

I was responding to something from just n from bethel actually. But just so you know, as a rule, I'm ALWAYS discussing things in general terms unless I'm not. And even then I am.

Have I said anything that makes it seem like I'm just substituting one indoctrination for another?

Not at all. I wish all parents were as thoughtful and respectful of their children as you obviously are.

101

How do you feel about the pledge of allegiance now?

by SweetBabyCheezits in

jw
friends

for you us citizens (and those whose nations have a similar patriotic oath), how do you feel about your children saying the pledge in school if it's customary?.

my daughter is in 3rd grade and part of her school's morning routine includes the pledge.

when we stopped attending meetings a year ago, my wife and i explained to her that we don't agree with the jw "idolatry" classification so, naturally, she started joining her class in the pledge.. fast forward to the present: my wife and i are both non-theists who want to raise ethical, caring, tolerant children, but also children who aren't afraid to stand apart, especially when that stand isn't popular.

SixofNine

Obviously the government thinks it teaches something.

I suspect they know it's not "teaching", it's indoctrination.

As for good Germans, not being connected in any way to the mind-controlled youth movements

I don't know why you said that; it seems totally disconnected to anything in the previous conversation. Please elaborate specifically on this part: " not being connected in any way". Thanks.

101

How do you feel about the pledge of allegiance now?

by SweetBabyCheezits in

jw
friends

for you us citizens (and those whose nations have a similar patriotic oath), how do you feel about your children saying the pledge in school if it's customary?.

my daughter is in 3rd grade and part of her school's morning routine includes the pledge.

when we stopped attending meetings a year ago, my wife and i explained to her that we don't agree with the jw "idolatry" classification so, naturally, she started joining her class in the pledge.. fast forward to the present: my wife and i are both non-theists who want to raise ethical, caring, tolerant children, but also children who aren't afraid to stand apart, especially when that stand isn't popular.

SixofNine

So if the pledge is both ineffective and meaningless...

I didn't believe it is totally ineffective and it is certainly not meaningless. I would say, for instance, that it's ability to inspire devotion was probably across-the-board much higher in the year after 9/11 than it is now or in the years previous. PAID (the Pledge's Ability to Inspire Devotion) was probably at an all time low around the end of the Vietnam war.

101

How do you feel about the pledge of allegiance now?

by SweetBabyCheezits in

jw
friends

for you us citizens (and those whose nations have a similar patriotic oath), how do you feel about your children saying the pledge in school if it's customary?.

my daughter is in 3rd grade and part of her school's morning routine includes the pledge.

when we stopped attending meetings a year ago, my wife and i explained to her that we don't agree with the jw "idolatry" classification so, naturally, she started joining her class in the pledge.. fast forward to the present: my wife and i are both non-theists who want to raise ethical, caring, tolerant children, but also children who aren't afraid to stand apart, especially when that stand isn't popular.

SixofNine

- but those kids who had been indoctrinated, and went on to be soldiers for Germany

The horrors of Germany came from "good Germans" not some zombie youth movement. Of course kids should be inocculated from "programming", but the way to do that is not to program them yourself, it's to teach them how to think. And that means responding to the environment you find yourself in.

101

How do you feel about the pledge of allegiance now?

by SweetBabyCheezits in

jw
friends

for you us citizens (and those whose nations have a similar patriotic oath), how do you feel about your children saying the pledge in school if it's customary?.

my daughter is in 3rd grade and part of her school's morning routine includes the pledge.

when we stopped attending meetings a year ago, my wife and i explained to her that we don't agree with the jw "idolatry" classification so, naturally, she started joining her class in the pledge.. fast forward to the present: my wife and i are both non-theists who want to raise ethical, caring, tolerant children, but also children who aren't afraid to stand apart, especially when that stand isn't popular.

SixofNine

A little more on why it should be a personal decision and why it's not always an obvious choice yeah or nay.

You mentioned the German Heil Hitler, and to that I'll add the JW Malawi situation... in both of those cases, the "right" thing to do for most people would have been to indeed "Heil" or just-sign-the-damn-card; because you can't resist if you are dead. Similarly you can't resist or make change if no one will listen to you because you act so far outside the norm that they think you are unreasonable or a flake or a moonbat; IOW personal politics. It's how reality with fellow humans works, like it or not; and it's never based purely on logic.

A further point being that JW's could have signed the card, but signing a card is not giving allegiance to anyone; you'd think a religion that came up with the term "spiritual warfare" would get that. "Heil Hitler" is not giving allegience to Hitler. And pledging allegience to the flag is whatever-the-hell the individual pledger thinks it is.

My stepdaughter refused to say the pledge and I was proud of her - it had nothing to do with JWism (she probably couldn't even remember what the inside of a KH looked like, by that age). That said, if she wants to do great things in this world, she probably won't get to do them through elected politics (which is where most great things get done).

37

Mr. Falcon is going GALT!

by Mr. Falcon in

raypublisher started this thread: http://www1.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/207626/1/best-way-to-step-down-from-being-a-servant.

it got me thinking, for some wacky reason, of perhaps how i could go about getting relieved of my "privileges".

in the ridicously long-winded novel atlas shrugged by ayn rand, there is a character named john galt.

SixofNine

wait? being creative isn't it's own reward? I create and I've known a lot of creative people, and for the truly creative, the only "burden" would be not creating. And when I need help to create, I appreciate that help, even if the hard work that help does is relatively mindless.

Falcon, you sexy beast, the only problem I see with your strategic incompetence strategy is that all those task are so simple to start with that they can't really be done poorly.

Strategic incompetance with a razor - now there's an idea :) I think the way to do this would not be to grow a beard, like I did, but rather to show up at every other meeting with a few days growth. If questioned, "bro, are you growing a beard??", respond with "oh no, of course not! I just have to remember to get home earlier, and buy a new razor... ". (when you are freshly shaved, be sure to have a few bloody pieces of tissue stuck to your face)

101

How do you feel about the pledge of allegiance now?

by SweetBabyCheezits in

jw
friends

for you us citizens (and those whose nations have a similar patriotic oath), how do you feel about your children saying the pledge in school if it's customary?.

my daughter is in 3rd grade and part of her school's morning routine includes the pledge.

when we stopped attending meetings a year ago, my wife and i explained to her that we don't agree with the jw "idolatry" classification so, naturally, she started joining her class in the pledge.. fast forward to the present: my wife and i are both non-theists who want to raise ethical, caring, tolerant children, but also children who aren't afraid to stand apart, especially when that stand isn't popular.

SixofNine

But maybe I'm overthinking (or underthinking) this. Any thoughts?

Nah, you're not overthinking this. But this is all the beauty of being a smart, cool parent: you get to discuss with your daughter what you just discussed with us.

After that, it's up to her. She may see it as something to take a stand on, or she may think it would be insane to make waves about something as minor as this. Because it really IS about politics as much or more than ideology, but it's her personal social-self-politics that matter in this case; ie: how she wants to present herself to the world.