Not too long ago, I got into this huge debate with a Jehovah’s Witness (I will say JW for this posting). Now, before I continue, someone’s personal religious beliefs do not determine how I treat a person. This particular encounter was quite different.
We all have the stories of the many times JW’s came to our house and the whole house gets quiet. My house took it a step further. When we saw them coming down the street, we would close all the blinds, turn off the TV, and just sit quietly in the house until they eventually stopped knocking and left. I was the one that my parents would send to the front of the house by crawling on my stomach like a soldier to give them a status of our “unwelcome visitors” (how many, are they still there, etc.).
Anyway, back to my encounter with the JW. In our discussion, he tells me that they are taught that they are not supposed to vote. He also told me the following (I got this from a British newspaper, but it reflects the same information that he passed on to me):
Government or military service
Jehovah Witnesses do not swear allegiance to any organisation or nation.
Because of this they are not allowed to join any armed forces, nor can they participate by voting in any election, run for any political office, sing a national anthem or participate in any activity associated with proclaiming allegiance to any earthly government. This has caused problems for Jehovah’s Witnesses in countries where there is national service or the swearing of allegiance to the flag .
At this point, I was like “hold up, dawg!” Now I had a serious problem with that one. Having your own religious beliefs is fine. But when you completely sever yourself from your own country, that’s huge! Personally, I just think that if you choose to make a particular country you place of residence, you at least owe it to that country to take an active part in the system that made that country appealing to you and others. Voters as well as military personnel include many people that, although are not infatuated with this country, they at least recognize the need and importance to contribute to a country that have given to them. According to the JW’s website, in the US, their total number is between 1,029,652 and 2,273,856 (sorry about the two figures, but their website is not that clear with the actual figure). As far as I know, they do pay taxes. I guess that makes it ok….?
Man, that is a whole lot of voices that could make a difference in this coming election
What do you think?
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