In Reply to: Beliefs vs. Actions posted by Jules on August 27, 2003 at 19:26:47:
That's the main point. Weird beliefs come by the dozen but if those beliefs are harmful to populations (their own children, for example), society has the right to step in, as in the many cases where minor indications can trigger compulsory investigation of child molestation or abuse.
Family members can have their own beliefs but they are stepping over a line when they act on those beliefs that infringe the rights of others, particularly the rights of children. There are many legal and social principles and implications here, such as society's right to protect children in its jurisdiction. In this manner, what is the role of the individual? Our role? Our own conscience determines this role but it is also limited by our own level of empowerment.
Another limitation, and it is also an individual choice, is our concern for the rights of others. In some cases these two are in contradiction, what our conscience tells us and our concern for people. Even though the atomic bombs killed many japanese, it ended a war. The horrible and terrible result of "collateral" casualties is not easy to take when they become names and faces of real people.
In order to show the horrible and terrible results of the social experimentation in The Family, faces and names need to become public, otherwise the myth of "recovery" gets perpetuated a little more. As long as people continue hiding those names and being unwilling to be specific in their comments and stories "for fear to hurt the innocent", it is all a myth.