My new role

As of last night, I am officially a member of Community Board 4 in Queens NYC! It is an honor to serve in this new role.

Being that I was born into a cult that teaches people not even to think a political thought, I have come a long way to now serving on a board that deals with any and all issues in the community.  From a major development, to a liquor license.

https://www.nyc.gov/site/queenscb4/index.page

Return

After four and a half years I've decided to return to this blog. Why? For one I was informed that it gained 21 new followers on Feedburner. That means that this information may be desirable and informative to some. Further I feel that I have a lot more to say regarding this aspect of my life. This morning I am writing about Thanksgiving, the holiday. Yesterday left me with such a pleasant feeling as together with my parents, children, in-laws and friends I enjoyed conversation, laughs, a good meal and a movie (Forrest Gump). I was reminded of all I have to be thankful for and how fortunate I really am. That is the purpose of the holidays isn't it? That is what millions were experiencing when I was not as a JW. Now this is not meant to imply that I didn't have the same kind of contentment when I was a JW. I did. But I and most if not all JWs are left with the belief (particularly if they were raised as JW knowing nothing else) that the holidays are evil, that they are a time to indulge in unhealthy and lewd practices. Now I'm sure that some people do those things. But most do and have always done what my family did on Thanksgiving this year. That is something I wish all JWs would be taught. For the holidays, a time when everyone slows down and reflects on their blessings with their loved ones is what we all need. That is what most people every Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Eid, Ramadan, Diwali and Kwanzaa all over the world. Isaac

My interview with Dr. Steven Hassan

Please check out. https://youtu.be/UHl79UF2FTQ https://freedomofmind.com/blog-understanding-jehovahs-witnesses-with-isaac-carmignani/

Coming back again to this blog!

It has been a long time! I was reviewing many of my early posts and thinking how much has changed for me since I decided to walk away from the Watchtower organization. I truly believe that it is very important to move past negative events while still seeing the benefits that those experiences brought. To that end, if interested please check out the episode below of The Influence Continuum posdcast. Dr. Steven Hassan and I discuss the Watchtower Society and Jehovah's Witness beliefs in the latest episode. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan/id1603773245?i=1000608161616

Michael Jackson

Here's to Michael Jackson, a young JW who was a victim of that vicious doublespeak. Someone who could never stabilize after being exposed to such dissonant thinking. He MAY have done the bad things attributed to him. But let us never forget from where he came. Michael, we loved you!

For those interested, a NYC radio station KTU, is celebrating his life by playing his music till midnight. The link to listen live is here: http://www.ktu.com/main.html

Isaac Carmignani

The Fall Of Theocracy

Okay so maybe that title is a little sensational. And maybe the notion of theocracy is not going anywhere soon. But the concept that a few men speak for God is being successfully challenged in Iran this week. Cleric Khamenei called the election results a "divine assessment". Yet not long after that he had to bend to the will of the people enough to call for a partial evaluation and recount. That is BIG. Further, not all of the clerics agree with the "divine assessment"! And that disagreement is public. (For more check out this interview on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/19/zakaria.iran.elections/index.html)

No wonder today there were large protests on the streets of Iran. Perhaps, the GB in Brooklyn should turn on their TV's and computers and learn something.

Isaac Carmignani

Moving On, yet staying in touch

As time has gone by I have moved so far away from the cult I was raised in that it almost seems as if that rearing never took place. This is not to say that I don't feel it's effects. But we all have something to deal with inside ourselves, most of us learn to turn adversity into advantage. I like to think that I have as well.

In recent days I have become so active in my community, as a volunteer, at work and socially, that I find it difficult to update this blog. I want to keep it out there though because people in this community need to see that those who leave can and often do lead productive and full lives afterward.

For example in my own life, I've integrated into my community as mentioned in my profile, finding myself now as a somewhat effective parent leader in my school district. Lately I have found myself acting as President of my CEC (www.cec30,net). I am a union rep at work advocating for my fellow maintenance and engineering professionals. I am also back in school as of the fall semester to pursue (somewhat slowly) my dream of being a full fledged member of the scientific community, possibly in the areas of criminology and government.

Religion for me is not what it once was. I focus now on reality: what is, rather than ideology and what MAY have happened in some far flung and romanticized past. In fact I've suspended judgment on all things God related, waiting for some harder evidence to surface. However occasionally you will see something here as I find things that interest me. To advocate and help those who are in the JW and ex-JW community, I remain an active poster at a forum that I earnestly invite you to visit if you want to learn more about this world. It is www.jehovahs-witness.net and I can be found there as the poster truthsetsonefree. The posters "Leolaia" and "Lady Lee" as well as the ones to be found in the "Best of" series (http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/best-of) I especially recommend.

I will focus my blogging in the future on education related topics and possibly politics as I focus my efforts on helping to make NYC School District 30 even better than it already is. Please visit me there or at JWN.

Isaac