cinderella –
Maybe I’m wrong. I don’t know because I was never the sheltered person with no real choice.
You think you have a choice because you weren’t sheltered, right? Ha.
1) You, cinderella, were sheltered. I’m guessing here, but I don’t think you were exposed to real idolatry, or to things which every American kid isn’t exposed to and is illegal, were you? But if this un-sheltering is for such a holy cause, why not go all the way? I suspect that this has more to do with wanting to be like everyone else, than an honest debate of which is the better way of life. And yes, wanting to be like everybody else is a factor of consideration when raising kids – which was the second point you made on this thread – but it has nothing to do with the question of which way is inherently more valuable.
2) Even had you been exposed to all those things, you think you would be choosing? There are a million other factors which influence your choice. Do you know how difficult it is to leave your family? To disappoint everyone you know? To take your entire life and leave it behind? You think that just because you were exposed to a few movies you suddenly have so much more of a choice than the most sheltered chasidim? It’s an illusion, my friend. If you decided to let it all go it would be as crazy a decision for you as it would for the sheltered girl. You simply think you have a choice, and that is due to the way you were raised – which again, speaks to your second point but not your first.