Posts by Winston Smith :>D

the torture chamber is a corporate institution.. when we see the bloodshed, terror and destruction born of such generous enthusiams as the love of god, love of christ, love of a nation, compassion for the oppressed and so on, we usually blame this shameful perversion on a cynical, power-hungry leadership.actually, it is the unification set in motion by these enthusiasms, rather than the manipulations of a scheming leadership, that transmutes noble impulses into a reality of hatred and violence.. the deindividualization which is a prerequisite for thorough intergration and selfless dedication is also, to a considerable extent, a process of dehumanization.the torture chamber is a corporate instituion.. does this explain how the hatred becomes an action against those not of the same ideology.. blueblades

Winston Smith :>D

I'll see if I can get an exerpt to post here from Amazon of the book:

2

The Torture Chamber.

by Blueblades in

jw
friends

.

the torture chamber is a corporate institution.. when we see the bloodshed, terror and destruction born of such generous enthusiams as the love of god, love of christ, love of a nation, compassion for the oppressed and so on, we usually blame this shameful perversion on a cynical, power-hungry leadership.actually, it is the unification set in motion by these enthusiasms, rather than the manipulations of a scheming leadership, that transmutes noble impulses into a reality of hatred and violence.. the deindividualization which is a prerequisite for thorough intergration and selfless dedication is also, to a considerable extent, a process of dehumanization.the torture chamber is a corporate instituion.. does this explain how the hatred becomes an action against those not of the same ideology.. blueblades

Winston Smith :>D

Does this explain how the hatred becomes an action against those not of the same ideology.
Blueblades

You sound quite similar to a book I am reading now.

Great book!

All of us are affected by group mentality to one degree or another.

In our desire to "fit in", we sacrifice our AUTHENTIC SELF to exist within society's mold.

The author is of the opinion that Western Culture is plagued with problems because of this, such as depression.

People sacrifice their AUTHENTIC SELF, thus eliminating creative contributions to society and thus harming humanity.

The author presents the idea of the needed tension of what our AUTHENTIC SELF desires and what society pushes us to do. With our psyche aware of this tension, we can individualize ourselves from these set roles and become interdependent with all of humanity.

The author suggests that the level of anger and hatred in the world today is result of the group ideology. To have the unified voice at all costs, there must be a common enemy. Even if the common enemy is not present yet, just sacrificing your AUTHENTIC SELF to fit in with the group then creates a needed enemy to hate and to be opposed to.

Blueblades, you're hitting on some points that I am just starting to examine myself.

20

JW perception of Armageddon's Iminence

by FirstInLine in

i am wondering how iminent did armageddon seem when you were jws?

how iminent does the wts feel it is today?.

i recall that for me it seemed that it could happen at any moment.

Winston Smith :>D

About 2-3 years ago my wife and a few other JW's were sitting in our yard discussing ...How Soon....???

My wife and a couple other JW's said 5 years, ten max!

One brother said 50 years.

I said I have to go with the 50 years idea more than the 5-10. Plus, I could see it never coming in my own lifetime.

Well, I DA'd myself a few years later, and so has that "brother"

The older I got, the farther away it always seemed.

24

Political Party Loyalty

by Greenpalmtreestillmine in

i am very new to the political process and this year will be the first time i enter a voting booth, but something has been on my mind of late and i hope you all can help me sort it out.. if george bush had been a democrat and from day one of his presidency had done everything exactly as he has done would most of the republicans be supporting the war in iraq?

would most of the democrats still be against the war?.

or would each party fall in line with most republicans against the war and most democrats for the war?.

Winston Smith :>D

I'd like to participate as well, but the choices look dismal

Just vote for who you think is the best candidate, even if its a third party or independant.
git

Well, maybe I can do a write in.

Who with me on writing in Gumby?

7

All My Family is Having a Bad Year

by Undecided in

jw
friends

my step daughter's is having their house taken from them because of his signing a note for his dad.

they live in va in the country.

my step son just had his social security taken untill august because social security made a mistake.he is disabled because of a back injury.

Winston Smith :>D

Wow Ken, no kidding! Tough year indeed.

Glad to hear that you are trying to take things in stride.

Hopefully things are on the upswing for you and your family!

Best,

Paul

26

The grandson i never got to know

by kls in

lately there has been threads on family members passing and each time i read them it bring up my grandson devon.

i think of him often but these sad threads of family dieing makes me wonder what he would look like ,what his interest would be.

he would have been 7 the first of march but it was not to be.

Winston Smith :>D

Wow KLS, to do that must have took an amazing amount of strength!

If sorry your family had to go through this...

14

e-watchman, thoughts from past topic

by confusedjw in

i was looking back and a month ago there was a topic about e-watchman and who he was and why he would expose the wt with one side of his mouth and encourage loyalty with the other side.

i wonder if these might be the reasons.... 1. he himself claims to be of the anointed and truly believes he is helping to expose the "evil slave" amongst jehovah's people.. 2. by encouraging loyalty to the wt he doesn't scare away the numberous active witnesses who read his columns and send in questions.

they read and stay in the congregations.

Winston Smith :>D

By encouraging loyalty to the WT he doesn't scare away the numberous active witnesses who read his columns and send in questions.

I'd guess that this approach has let some loyal JW's with some doubts allow themselves to let their guard down just enough to read and consider his words.

But that's just my $0.02 alt

JWs represent Jehovah better than any other religion. I am proud to be one.

Eat flames marshmallow!

Seriously, thx for posting your point of view