Bowzer, thank you for your kind words.
Joseph, I am not trying to bash Chareidim. I am trying to look for the emes. I myself used to be a bigger kannai than you, believe it or not. But I am now in the process of doing tshuvah for it. I realize that in the past I had said things to people which were arrogant and hurtful because I thought I was acting lshem shomayim. I sometimes belittled things that were important and dear to others because I thought they were narishkeit, since they weren’t shayach to learning.
I now realize that everything people do for yishuv haolam is choshuv, and that there are many ehrlich and fine people who do much good for this world who are not frum, and not even Jewish.
In addition, people are not perfect robots, and there is nobody who doesn’t slip sometimes. Ein odom tzaddik baaretz. That is why we have a Yom Kippur.
Finally, those who know somebody who has R”L been ill with conditions such as a nervous breakdown, or have been in a situation which was so difficult for them that they felt like they were about to have a nervous breakdown because they couldn’t pay a bill or whatever, you realize what chochma the RBSH put into the world just to keep us all sane. If you see someody walking down the street whistling, you should immediately thank the RBSH that He has provided for the needs of this person so that he is relaxed and calm and happy and not in pain. Without knowing anything about that person, you can immediately tell how much effort the RBSH put into him. Sometimes I see certain minority girls walking into their local pizza place and like dancing while they wait to be served. This shows the gadlus of the RBSH that he made them happy and not in any pain.
Just to survive and remain sane for some people is a major avodah, and maybe they can’t take all the stress of doing every prat. This is another reason why I get upset at your attitude that it is a given that there is no compromising in halacha. If you really believe that, either you are dishonest or not living in the real world. You are denying the struggle that all people go through.
Lgbg, I do not know anywhere near that level in learning. I just know how to look certain things up, when necessary. I also have a Bar-Ilan CD which helps.
Also, the vort on aniyim merudim tavi bayis of earlier post I heard from somebody else. It happened to be Reb Shmuel’s mechutan. (So, obviously I would never be pogea in Reb Shmuel’s kovod. However, I still disagree with certain aspects of the chareidi hashkafa. Mainly in what the emphasis should be, and how to relate to other non-chareidi groups.)
Finally, one thing that turned me off to some of the chareidi thinking was what I read right here on YW. When I read about the ban because of the logo on the Bamba, and the letter from the guy who wouldn’t stand on Yom Hazikaron and who also held that one doesn’t need to thank his auto mechanic, I almost expelled my meal.
There is definitely a problem which is not being addressed in their way of thinking.