Friends,
An interested party (who wishes to remain anonymous) has been a confidant of mine for a while, now. As he or she has been involved with this organization’s efforts from a position of anonymity, he or she has written this piece for me to post on his or her behalf.
Thank you, L.T., for sending me this contribution.
I want to discuss something which pertains to and is directed toward all the people who are actively involved in the OTD community. Within this community, there are individuals with gradient degrees of involvement. Many such people simply read the discussions, and occasionally contribute a comment here or there.
There are, however, a lot of people who are extremely vocal. Many are constantly critical of aspects of the religion, the community, and the things they identify as “problems,” or, simply, as “bad.” They call attention to so many of the “bad” aspects of the community and culture of the ultra-orthodox, the apathy and pacifist attitude of the more modern/progressive communities, the obedience to authority, the poor education, the mind-control, the abuse scandals, and the overall traumatic consequences this entire phenomenon has upon the individuals who are part of – and imprisoned within – these communities.
What troubles me greatly is that however staunchly critical these people are; however much they purport to want a better community, an improvement of quality of life for each individual – those most outwardly critical are, ironically, the people who least involve themselves in contributing toward efforts to implement such improvements. The efforts that others have invested their precious time, money, and arduous work into, to build the foundation for putting improvements into action, to bring widespread awareness to the global Jewish community at large, and to use whatever resources that can be called upon in order to build a better future for the next generation of all the Jews who are prisoners in both body and mind to these dictatorial subsects.
Of the thousands of individuals who identify not only as Off The Derech, but routinely express their desires to effect change for the better, disgracefully few actually contribute money, time or effort; indeed, any active involvement in the changes they so vociferously claim they want to help bring about. Is it all just talk? Do they secretly relish in the existence and persistence of such an awful society from which they have escaped, so that it can remain an ever-present outlet for their rage and venom?
This may sound like a complaint; This may sound like a chastising; This may sound like a call to arms; This may sound like a challenge to all those whose daily activities involve monologues about the scandals and the irrational beliefs alike, as well as stern criticism of the apathy and indifference they perceive within the rest of the global Jewish community.
I’ll be blunt: In actuality, this is all of the above.
This organization has started some very simple initiatives as a precursor to the full-fledged community center they are trying to build. It is going to take a long time and a lot of money to build what they are striving to become: The most significant organized community of Jewish freethinkers, charged with opening the eyes and minds of the victims and oppressors alike within the tyrannical cults that have evolved within the global Jewish community.
In order to accomplish this mission, there is an urgent need for every individual to put forth what they can; donations, assistance, volunteer work, research, membership, support, and – most of all – promotion, endorsement, and the spreading of awareness.
Because, if you think there’s a problem, and you want it to be fixed, it is up to YOU, not Someone Else.
L.T.