Posts by SydBarrett

15

How many new converts do you remember as a JW?

by SydBarrett in

jw
friends

inspired by the "whats the reason you think jw's are in decline" thread.

my belief is that almost all the growth, at least in the western world is due to jw's having kids.

i was a 4th generation jw from birth till about age 20, so the timeframe i can comment on would be my teen years.

SydBarrett

Inspired by the "Whats the reason you think JW's are in decline" thread.

My belief is that almost all the growth, at least in the western world is due to JW's having kids. I was a 4th generation JW from birth till about age 20, so the timeframe I can comment on would be my teen years. For context that was the 1980's so I guess that would be considered the 'old school' pre-internet, pre-generation change version of the WTS.

I was in the same congregation the entire time and I can only remember one couple who were called on, began studying and were baptised. Once in a great while someones bible study might attend a few meetings then quit. Around age 14 or so, the congregation outgrew the building and we split into 2 and a new KH was built. But every face I can recall were 2nd, 3rd,4th generation. The doubling in size was all due to families.

Aside from that couple, the newest in the congregation were 3 families with kids my age who had converted as young adults back in the 60's and early 70's. I liked all three families but the parents were definitely the former hippie/seeker types who picked the wrong train to enlightenment. By the 80's it seems that sorta thing was over.

Was your experience the same? Also when answering, please include the general time period you were a JW

100

American Healthcare: How your system works

by Diogenesister in

canada has universal healthcare.

the consensus is that america never will.

can anyone explain why, please?

SydBarrett

"I'd rather we had taxpayer-subsidized preventive and basic care available to everyone, with insurance available for the less-common circumstances that often require massive financing."

Agree 100%.

100

American Healthcare: How your system works

by Diogenesister in

canada has universal healthcare.

the consensus is that america never will.

can anyone explain why, please?

SydBarrett

Diogenesister,

The various points of view in this thread shows you in a nutshell the two sides of the issue any time it's ever come up for serious debate in my lifetime. (twice. During Clinton's first term and again under Obama).

As I said, one's point of view generally aligns with your political leanings. People like me who think that some sort of Universal care (perhaps not NHS level) would be an improvement over the mess we have now. And the other side who believe it would be an expensive disaster and Canada, UK,Australia, most of Asia and all of Western Europe hate their system, are dying in droves and secretly wish they were Americans.

Unless the demographics change drastically in the future it's likely to remain a deadlocked issue and it'll stay as it is, perhaps with a few minor cosmetic changes now and then.

100

American Healthcare: How your system works

by Diogenesister in

canada has universal healthcare.

the consensus is that america never will.

can anyone explain why, please?

SydBarrett

"I can imagine people dying because they can’t get the surgery/treatments they need in time!!"

So you really think this is some sort of crisis in the UK, Canada, Germany, France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Australia, Luxembourg, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic etc etc etc.......and only the US has got it right? Many (most?) have higher life expectancy, lower infant mortality and easier access to treatment than the US.

Even in the US with private insurance, it's not uncommon to have to wait for certain procedures. I've never had to wait to see my general practitioner more than a day or two for an appointment, but if something more serious is going on..people wait. Being a private system doesn't mean there are magically endless numbers of hospital beds and surgeons available. I guess if you're super rich and can hop on a jet at a moments notice you can demand to be taken to wherever in the country there is an opening immediately. But most aren't.

As I mentioned earlier I had surgery 4 years ago. From the time of my initial consultation to actually having the operation was about 3 months. Granted it was not life threatening but it was an awfully uncomfortable for 3 months.

" I saw with my own eyes young mothers coming in with babies for regular care! "

Is this supposed to be an argument in favor of private insurance?? Poor people use the emergency room for regular care because they don't have insurance.

This thread got me reading about other countries system. South Korea ranks #1 and is a mix of government and private. Maybe that is the best route. Everyday things are covered universally. So you can take your kids or yourself to the doctor for regular checkups, minor illnesses and injuries etc. But they are also required to purchase private insurance to cover catastrophic things like cancer. Perhaps a system like this would allow all americans to get basic healthcare without using the emergency room and also without the extravagent cost of expanding medicare to everyone for everything.

23

Link between relationships and health/happiness

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

even though i’m agnostic so will not commit to either intelligent design or chance, i love being part of the congregation for the close personal relationships.. there is such a great atmosphere inside the congregation it really is like a family and you don’t get this anywhere else.. a real friend is someone you can rely on when you are in need.

if things go wrong for you and you are going through a hard time you know real friends will be there for you.

as long as you didn’t bring it on yourself by going against gods law then you have to prove you are repentant first of course.. there is a lot of research now saying that good friends is essential for healthy and happiness.

SydBarrett

"From my reading of science literature promoting evolution, I think that humans did evolve from apes (heck, now evolutionary biologists say modern humans are apes themselves) - but not from any of the now existing species nonhuman apes."

Thats right.

And we are apes. I like to picture aliens visiting and classifying all the life on earth. A creationist finds out the alien has classified him as a species of ape and strongly objects to this. The alien says "chill out. I get that you are a pretty clever ape, but you're still a species of ape, I mean...i'm looking at you"

Like if humans found a strange creature with a beak, talons, wings and feathers except it had developed a complex language. And the creature got all upset when we pointed out what a fascinating species of bird it was.

100

American Healthcare: How your system works

by Diogenesister in

canada has universal healthcare.

the consensus is that america never will.

can anyone explain why, please?

SydBarrett

"Does the majority of US citizens actually want an NHS-style healthcare system?"

I'm not sure about the majority wanting it 100% like the NHS. But it appears a slight majority want either a single national program or a mix of national and private. I would guess those who want the mix would be to fill in the gaps for kids whose parents aren't employed by companies who provide it or for the occasions when an adult becomes unemployed and therefore loses coverage. Like everything in America lately, opinions on this tend to line up with political affiliation:

"Can anyone explain why, please? - because there hasn't ever been a referendum on it."

Government isn't done by referendum here. At least not on a national level. Here's a WIKI article on all the various
proposals over the years to initiate more direct democracy in the US. Currently the rules vary wildly by state. It's a good
read if you need a sleep aid.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiatives_and_referendums_in_the_United_States

23

Link between relationships and health/happiness

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

even though i’m agnostic so will not commit to either intelligent design or chance, i love being part of the congregation for the close personal relationships.. there is such a great atmosphere inside the congregation it really is like a family and you don’t get this anywhere else.. a real friend is someone you can rely on when you are in need.

if things go wrong for you and you are going through a hard time you know real friends will be there for you.

as long as you didn’t bring it on yourself by going against gods law then you have to prove you are repentant first of course.. there is a lot of research now saying that good friends is essential for healthy and happiness.

SydBarrett

"Oh that is nonsense on steroids Syd, my old cong if heavily stacked with fractured families, most of the kids there have cousins that the don't know because "they are not in the truth". As for "no one else in the world has close friends or family they can rely on" how do you know that? Let me tell you from my own experience that there is more nutters and grifters inside the Borg than "out in the world"."

RB, it was sarcasm directed the OP. Didn't you see the eye roll at the end?

100

American Healthcare: How your system works

by Diogenesister in

canada has universal healthcare.

the consensus is that america never will.

can anyone explain why, please?

SydBarrett

And kids. What about if you're having a baby and loose your job?

Im not sure about kids specifically. I know there is no government plan to make sure all kids are covered. So in that situation you'd be screwed.

I know there is something called Medicaid, but I believe the income threshold to qualify is shockingly low.

The answer for kids with no insurance is find a charity hospital. Set up a go fund me. And then there are also the jars at the checkout at gas stations with a sad looking childs face on it asking you to toss in your spare change to help the family pay for their childs treatment...

What if you have a kid with type one diabetes and you want to set up your own business - say, go self employed as a carpenter. Will you be put off from starting because your kid has a preexisting condition and your insurance will be nuts??

I have several friends who are self employed in this manner. The answer? Their spouse has a corporate job that provides the insurance. If you were a single parent, I would imagine losing insurance would cause great hesitation over leaving such a job and going it on your own.

You'll probably wonder what we pay for employer based insurance. As I mentioned, mine is a pretty good plan and it is $61.00 every 2 weeks as a payroll deduction. But I only cover myself. If I were covering a Wife and Kids it' would be several hundred I imagine.

100

American Healthcare: How your system works

by Diogenesister in

canada has universal healthcare.

the consensus is that america never will.

can anyone explain why, please?

SydBarrett

Because it was demonized as 'Socialism". And private health insurance companies lobby like crazy to make sure it continues to be seen that way.

Back in the 1930's employers began offering health insurance as an employment benefit and it took hold and never went away. If you work for a large company that provides good insurance, it doesn't seem like a huge issue because "I got mine". Until you get laid off that is, or the company decides to reduce benefits. So you have a system where if you're employed in a decent job you're covered but if you are ever in between jobs, you pray you don't get sick. Another objection was people being told they won't have a "choice" if we had Universal care. But no one really has a choice as it is. Your employer is contracted with 1 company usually. Take it or leave it. The only choice i've ever had is between a standard or premium plan. Your yearly deductibles and co-pays are a little lower with the premium but of course you pay more per month.

I have pretty good insurance through my employer and had a minor (as in non-life-threatening) operation 4 years ago. I still ended up with a bill for nearly $3,000. Navigating the co-pays and yearly deductibles is a pain. I can't imagine trying to deal with it if I were debilitatingly sick.

The strengths of our system are we have some very good hospitals and medical schools. Great if you can afford it. I remember during the debates over universal healthcare the republicans always loved to point out that rich people from other countries like to come to America for healthcare. Yippee for us I suppose? Rich people also like to build homes in Beverly Hills, so what?

Obama Care as I understand it was a crappy compromise. It provided a marketplace for people to buy private insurance at different price levels(thus different levels of crappiness) without being denied for pre-existing conditions. Making it available doesn't really help a low wage worker who's barely scraping by though. Also at tax time there are penalties if you don't have insurance.

"here's how we fix the problem of poor people not having insurance. We make it illegal to not buy insurance" Brilliant.

As to why some hated Obama Care so much? Because it was Obama. And we were assured he was the worst President in the history of forever and probably wasn't even really an American. Before that, Bill Clinton was the worst President in the history of forever. Now they assure us it's Biden. In my grandparents day it was Franklin Roosevelt who was the worst man in the history of forever.

We do have Universal healthcare of a sort. For the elderly. Everyone qualifies at age 65 for Medicare.

23

Link between relationships and health/happiness

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

even though i’m agnostic so will not commit to either intelligent design or chance, i love being part of the congregation for the close personal relationships.. there is such a great atmosphere inside the congregation it really is like a family and you don’t get this anywhere else.. a real friend is someone you can rely on when you are in need.

if things go wrong for you and you are going through a hard time you know real friends will be there for you.

as long as you didn’t bring it on yourself by going against gods law then you have to prove you are repentant first of course.. there is a lot of research now saying that good friends is essential for healthy and happiness.

SydBarrett

"-Im genuinely interested are you saying some humans evolved from one animal and other from another. Or do you think all humans today evolved from one animal possibly monkeys?"

You ever thought about going to your public library and reading something on this subject you claim to be interested in?
Or maybe even just bother to read the links COFTY posts?

We didn't evolve "from monkeys" or or chimpanzees or gorillas or bonobo's. Think of all the life on earth today as the many branches on a tree. Take a group of the newest branches on a tree, follow them backwards and all of those will converge on a larger branch from which they all originated. Take a group of the larger branches back and they too will eventually converge on a common branch of origin.

Monkees, humans and apes are 3 separate branches that if you go back far enough will have a common branch of origin. One didn't evolve from the other. If you go even further back, much further back on the "tree", there will be a branch that is the common origin of all mammals. Trace those branches back and eventually, even further in the past, those lines will converge on a branch shared by all animal life. Keep on going and eventually you'll reach a common origin of all Eukaryotes, meaning humans, trees, bees, fish and mushrooms.