Thank's David Rose-Carmack

I guess this isn't going to be the end of my blog, i find important jewish issues in my life every day, and i can't really post them on my livejournal b/c people who ready my lj don't care about jew stuff.  So this is my jew blog.  Here's the latest issue:

I've been interviewing some people whom i find at least somewhat knowledgeable about judaism, and asking what the difference is between Reform and Conservative Judaism. No, this is not another way for me to prove NFTY is better than USY, but i'm seriously interested. I know of many a jew who considers themselves conservative, yet follows none of the guidelines set by the movement, and furthermore, agrees with reform principles on many issues, and visa versa. So what's the deal?

The answers that i've gotten go somewhat like this: Reform bends halacha and picks and chooses what they agree with and what is antiquated. Conservative is more binding with the jewish laws, but not as binding as those crazy ultra orthodox people. Plain and simple - people think Reform is lazy, and conservative is more strict. Here's my problem - it seems to me that unless you're really involved in your movement's happenings, and know what's up, THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE. Personally, i think that everyone is a reform jew, and its just to what extent that separates you from the rest - and that level of observance is characterized by movements. I can explain this reasoning later if wanted.

I guess this is going to turn into a rant because i think that this problem, of labeling yourself before you know what's going on, is a big one; You can't call yourself a horse unless you look and act like one, otherwise you're just another idiot who wants to be ridden. hah.

I think the key to this problem is education, and a key phrase: Choice through Knowledge - educating yourself about a subject and making a decision based on that information. Obviously this is a vague and idealistic game plan, but even if it could be executed to the smallest degree more, maybe we could call the progress. If you want to call yourself Reform - you have to know that it's not synonymous with the words lazy and picky, also going for Conservative. 

So my hope and challenge to anybody who reads this is: Learn about your movement, get educated, and find out what YOU think about the subjects. Don't just look at the CCAR Reform Jewish principles of 1997 and say this is what i believe, find out what's good, and what's shitty, and what makes sense...to YOU. You don't have to let a movement define you, in fact, DON'T let a movement define you (said by DRC), but learn about the ideals of Reform or COnservative, and make a decision based on that, i guarantee you'll be happier if you know what's going on.