War

Cathy and I visited the National World War II Museum in New Orleans last week. After seeing the Churchill War Rooms in London my expectations were low, but we were there for almost four very fascinating hours. The facts and artifacts were mostly not new to me but the presentation of the events and the stories that went with them was superb.

My first impression was the level of sacrifice involved. Any war requires sacrifices by the combatants and by those caught in the crossfire. But this war required significant sacrifices at home. So much was rationed – a normal gas ration was three gallons a week. A newspaper reported President Roosevelt asked Americans to eat less so more food could be sent to civilians in Europe. This is nothing like any of the wars in my lifetime, where the government has continually said there was no need for civilian sacrifice.

There is a huge political and moral difference in the costs of war being borne by a few and being borne by all.

The second impression was the dehumanizing effects of war.  I only took one picture in the main exhibits of the museum – it was a plaque bearing this quote:

I am living on borrowed time…. If I don’t come back, try not to take it too hard.  I wish I could persuade you to regard death as casually as we do over here.  In the heat of battle you expect casualties, you expect somebody to be killed, and you are not surprised when a friend is machine-gunned in the face.  You have to keep going.  It’s not like civilian life, where sudden death is so unexpected. – Pvt. Ken Webster, U.S. 101^st Airborne Division, letter to his mother

But my largest impression was the resiliency and capability of the human spirit.  People were subjected to unbelievable conditions and tortures in concentration camps and prisoner of war camps – many survived.  Soldiers were given near-impossible missions – they succeeded.  Nations were overrun by invading armies – they resisted.  And a developing nation with an isolationist attitude and only the 17^th largest army turned itself into the greatest power in the history of the world in just a few years.

I have heard “warrior” defined as someone who does what must be done, no matter what.  I think that’s a good definition.

What kind of world would we have if that level of commitment could be marshaled in the cause of peace, justice and compassion?

Why are so many unwilling to unleash their full capability unless there is a literal gun pointed at them?

I know our survival instinct is strong.  I know there are countless issues and causes that some would elevate to the importance of a world war.  I know you can only run so fast for so long before you collapse. 

But it doesn’t seem right that so many of our greatest accomplishments – both individually and collectively – have occurred while killing each other.

A Special Christmas

I am not so old and cynical I can’t remember the joy that Christmas – a traditional American Christmas – can bring to a child. Nor am I so naïve I can’t recognize that my disdain for its materialistic aspects comes from a position of privilege. I remember being six or eight or ten years old and enjoying putting up the tree, shaking presents, shopping for gifts for the rest of the family… Those were wonderful times and I would not deny them to anyone of any age.

The problem is one of proportion and of desensitization. I remember my grandmother (who was born in 1907) telling me about getting an orange for Christmas and being happy with it. She was not an old grouch who enjoyed misery, nor was she some kind of transcendent saint – she was telling the truth. Her family were poor farmers and that was all they could afford. A hundred years ago, bringing oranges from Florida to Tennessee by train and then to market by horse-drawn wagon was costly – oranges were luxuries.

When I was a child fifty years or so later, oranges were no longer luxuries. They were commonplace even in our semi-rural working class home, and orange juice was always in our refrigerator. The bar had been raised.

Holidays are meaningful because they are special. There are special decorations, music, food, clothing, gatherings, and activities – things you don’t see and do and eat every day. They are a time outside of time, when normal rules (which are necessary for day to day order) don’t apply. Giving gifts is part of what has always made Christmas special – we don’t do it every day.

Today, all but the poorest Americans live in what would have been luxury a hundred years ago. When you have every thing you need and virtually every thing you want, how can another thing be special? The attempt to keep it special leads to present-counts among children (“I got nine and you got eight – I win!”) and an arms race of extravagant one-upsmanship among adults.

Certainly we appreciate the thoughts behind the gifts… though we know from first-hand experience that the thought behind many gifts was “just grab something at Wal-Mart so I can check him off my list.” Can anyone truly understand The Gift of the Magi anymore?

The Winter Solstice is perhaps humanity’s oldest and most universal holiday. It represents the rebirth of the Light and the promise of Spring and it is the birthday of countless gods and heroes. It is a special time and we should observe it in ways that are special to us.

Several years ago, Cathy and I stopped buying Christmas presents for each other. Instead, we take a trip around the holidays – this year we went to New Orleans. Though it is not rare, travel is still special for us. We buy presents for our mothers and a few others who wouldn’t understand if we didn’t. If we stress over anything, it’s over the many religious gatherings we attend: Winter SolstiCelebration, Yule, her choir’s Christmas music program, Christmas Eve services at my church or hers or her mother’s. It makes for a busy season, but it works for us.

What would make Christmas / Hanukkah / Yule work better for you?

And what about the children? I have no children and I’m hesitant to advise others as to how to raise theirs. But I still remember being a child. Surely there is a way to make the holidays special for them without feeding the materialistic beast that Christmas in America has become. Perhaps that starts by setting a good example???

The annual Halloween to New Year’s orgy of excess will not be defeated by pious exhortations to remember “the reason for the season” – or that “the season is the reason.” Our children – and the children who still live in each of us – will never permit it. Rather, it will be defeated as one by one we decline to play by the old rules and instead find what makes the holiday – the holy day – special for us.

I hope each of you has had a happy and special Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule or whichever of the many incarnations of the Winter Solstice you celebrate.

Christmas – Stop the Insanity

There has been a rash of activity on the Pagan side of the internet this week about Christmas and what – if anything – those of us who aren’t Christians should be doing with it. It began with this Wild Hunt post by Jason Pitlz-Waters, which summarized his entry on The Washington Post’s “On Faith” question “what is Christmas all about?” Jason basically argues that much of Christmas comes from older, pagan, universal Winter traditions, and thus belongs to everyone.

Thorn Coyle took another angle, arguing that Christmas has become a Frankenstein’s monster that does a disservice to the true meanings of both the Christian and the Pagan holidays. Follow-up posts here and here generated a ton of commentary, ranging from the supportive to the insightful to the incendiary.

While the tone of Jason’s original essay was light and positive and I generally agree with his thoughts, ultimately I think Thorn is right – the “traditional” American Christmas is a monster than needs to be destroyed. And here’s why.

My mother is retired and living on the proverbial “fixed income.” She has her savings and in general she’s doing OK (and would be doing better if some other relatives would stop asking for money, but that’s another rant for another time), but she can’t afford to spend a ton of money on Christmas presents. Yet every year, she does.

This year, as every year, she asks me what I want for Christmas. This year, as every year, I try to talk her down, name things that are simple and inexpensive. And this year, as most years, when I open her gift I find something I don’t need and don’t really want.

My mother spent money she needs for other things to buy me something I don’t need, don’t want, and can’t use. Now I have to lie my mother and tell her how much I like it, so I don’t make things worse. Why? Because of the “Christmas spirit?” Because of love and generosity?

No, because of social expectations.

The marketing-driven consumer orgy that is Christmas must die. Look at the car commercials – you should give your spouse a car for Christmas??? It’s no accident that the biggest auto advertisers are Lexus and Mercedes. Jewelry commercials? These messages trickle down to the rest of us, pushing us to participate in this monstrosity.

Celebrate the birth of Jesus or the rebirth of the Sun. Gather with friends and family and your co-religionists. Celebrate – sensibly, sanely, sustainably.

But stop the insanity.

I’m off to a family dinner. Merry Christmas, Happy Yule, and blessed be.

A Restful Solstice

The shortest day, the longest night, the return of the light, the rebirth of the Sun, the birth of the Sun God, the birth of countless gods and heroes...

Whatever or whoever you're celebrating, remember that Winter is the season of rest. In the midst of all the preparations and parties, relatives and rituals, feasting and frivolity, take some time to sit quietly and reflect. And rest.

Mainly rest.

Happy Solstice!

Pagan Studies

Chad Clifton has two blog posts titled “Why We Do Pagan Studies” – Part 1 is here and Part 2 is here. They’re brief looks at Pagan scholarship from the perspective of a professional scholar and they make for interesting reading.

Jason Pitzl-Waters at The Wild Hunt links to the first post here, where he says:

I think some of us have fallen into the trap of labeling Pagan Studies works as “advanced” books for our faiths, when they should instead be seen as an illuminating aid towards deeper understanding of how and why we do what we do. How we got to where we are today, and what that might mean for our future. This should be separated from books that actually seek to deepen our own practices, works on practice and theology from authors like Brendan Myers or Thorn Coyle.

It is this use of Pagan Studies works as advanced guides for Pagan practice that I want to address. I think Jason is right in his assessment of what these books are but wrong to say they don’t make good resources for advanced practice.

Clearly, academic studies of Paganism are not theological or devotional works. But they are helpful as advanced books for our faiths precisely because they are “an illuminating aid towards deeper understanding of how and why we do what we do.”

When it comes to my theological beliefs and spiritual practice, I’m essentially a solitary practitioner. I’ve been trained in OBOD and I’m active in CUUPS, but both of those organizations are big on individual freedom and short on doctrine. I wouldn’t have it any other way, but the result is that I have to figure out things on my own. Academic works on Paganism serve as a map – they let me know what other Pagans have done and are doing. And the really good academic works explain how those beliefs and practices relate to people of other faiths, other times, and other places – they connect what I believe and do to universal experiences.

When I find myself more or less in alignment with others, it’s reinforcement that I’m on the right track. When I find myself at great variance with others – especially with other Pagans, it tells me I need to take a deeper look inside. There are times when I look at these variances and say “I may be different, but I’m still convinced I’m right” – but at least I do the examination.

And Clifton references yet another book I’m going to have to read, Niki Bado’s Coming to the Edge of the Circle. It’s now on my to-be-read list – a list that seems to grow all the time…

Income and Life Expectancy

Here’s a video from the BBC that’s worth four minutes of your time. The introduction is a bit slow – bear with it through about 45 seconds and you’ll be hooked.

It’s a presentation on income levels and life expectancy by Hans Rosling, Professor of Global Health at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. The presentation itself is a fascinating way to present data to make a point. It’s a reminder that no matter how important your message is, the communication process first requires you to gain and hold someone’s attention – otherwise you’re just talking to dead air.

I’ve seen all kinds of interpretations floating around the internet – most of them heavily colored by political ideology, from the far right to the far left. I think that’s a clear case of people seeing what they want to see – as fascinating as this presentation is, the data shown is simply too too generalized to draw detailed conclusions from it.

What we can say is the obvious – for all its ills, the modern Western world provides a significant improvement in life expectancy. And as other countries grow economically, their life expectancies also improve. This is a good thing.

But it is not an exclusively good thing. Industrialization and technological advances have made lives easier and longer, but they’ve also caused us to become more isolated. Modern Paganism is in large part a reaction to that isolation – the connections to the natural world that used to occur by virtue of living close to the land now have to be formed and maintained through ritual and spiritual practice.

I’ll take that tradeoff. My grandfather and two uncles died of heart attacks at ages 56, 44 and 49. My father survived a heart attack at 40, another at 48, and a third at 59 before finally dying of cancer at 71. The difference? He was born later – Western medicine had life-saving drugs and procedures that weren’t available for his father and brothers.

On a less dramatic level, while I love Nature, I also love having seemingly infinite information at my fingertips, being able to travel quickly and safely, and not having to sweat 24 hours a day during the Texas summers!

The bottom line is this: let’s not romanticize the preindustrial past. While there is much about modern Western society that is suboptimal, difficult, or just plain broken, we live much longer now, and much better. Let’s fix what’s broken, not trash the whole thing.

CUUPS Yule Circle

If you're in the DFW area, come out and join us next Saturday evening for our Yule Circle.  

WikiLeaks

This is the third time I’ve started composing a blog entry on Julian Assange and WikiLeaks – to say that I am ambivalent would be a serious understatement. The far left is ready to canonize him and the far right is ready to hang him (and may ultimately succeed, figuratively If not literally).

I have no great wisdom to offer. I have only questions.

• What is the ultimate goal of international diplomacy?
• How should we engage regimes with values antithetical to our own?
• When – in international relations or in interpersonal relations – is confidentiality necessary?
• When does confidentiality become deceit?
• When is breaking a confidence justified?
• What’s the difference between news and gossip?
• Who gets to decide?
• And finally, was anyone genuinely shocked by what was revealed?

This is not a Socratic exercise – I’m not trying to lead you to any conclusions with these questions… mostly because I don’t know what conclusions I’d want to lead you to.

But these are questions that need to be asked, and answered.

Desire

Here’s a link to an essay on Huffington Post by Rev. James Martin, S.J., a Catholic priest and a Jesuit. I’ve read Rev. Martin’s work before and I find myself agreeing with him more than with any other Catholic writer I’ve come across.

This piece is titled Desire and the Spiritual Life. The central theme is this: “Recognizing our desires means recognizing God’s desires for us.”

Desire is as much maligned in the liberal religions as in the conservative ones. The conservative religions denigrate sexual desire, while the liberal religions denigrate material desire. As Rev. Martin points out, both are legitimate, and when kept in moderation, both are healthy.

The key is to separate the deep desires from the surface desires. This can be difficult, as Rev. Martin acknowledges. I’ve found prayer to be helpful here. It is one thing to watch TV or surf the internet and say “I want that!” with all the maturity of a three-year-old. It is quite another to stand before the Divine and contemplate what would truly bring us satisfaction – what we are called to be and do.

Dark Green Religion

Dark Green Religion is a study of the relatively new religious trend toward viewing the Earth as sacred and acting accordingly. It’s written by Bron Taylor, Professor of Religion and Nature at the University of Florida. I highly recommend it for those interested contemporary nature religions and their origins.

Taylor begins with a cursory definition of religion, but he sees little value in arguing about where to draw lines between religion, parareligion, and religious behavior by those who don’t consider themselves religious. He coined the term “dark green religion” and defines it as “one where nature is sacred, has intrinsic value, and is therefore due reverent care.” He does this to draw a distinction between those who care for the Earth because it has value of its own and those who do so out of a sense of religious obligation like stewardship.

Dark green religion is practiced in both spiritual (supernatural) and naturalist (non-supernatural) forms.

While dark green religion has its oldest roots in the beliefs and practices of indigenous peoples, Taylor begins his historical narrative with the colonization of North America by Europeans. Both the land and the native people were far more “savage” than in Europe, striking the early settlers with fear – as well with as a sense of wonder and awe, that most ancient religious impulse. It began to be expressed in the 19th century with the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, and John Burroughs.

Taylor includes this quote from Burroughs: “The forms and creeds of religion change, but the sentiment of religion – the wonder and reverence and love we feel in the presence of the inscrutable universe – persists… If we do not go to church so much as did our fathers, we go to the woods much more, and are much more inclined to make a temple of them than they were.”

In Thoreau, Taylor finds “themes that would become common in dark green religion,” including a life that is undomesticated and free, finding wisdom in nature, connecting laws of nature to justice, an ecocentric moral philosophy, and the interconnectedness of nature and a loyalty to it.

Amidst all the history and philosophy one overriding theme emerges, which to me is still best expressed in the speech attributed to Chief Seattle and quoted in this book:

We know the sap which courses through the trees as we know the blood that courses through our veins. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters. The bear, the deer, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the dew in the meadow, the body heat of the pony, and man all belong to the same family.

Given the environmental crises of climate change and unsustainable human population growth, Taylor wonders if dark green religion can become a civic religion for our times. The foundation is in place – he points to green themes in arts and entertainment and to increased environmental consciousness in individuals and even in corporations (I’ve worked for medium to large corporations my entire career – not all of them are soul-sucking bastions of evil). Such a civic religion would “underpin the social norms and behaviors of restraint that are necessary to achieve a sustainable society … providing a system of meaning that can span generations and foster a sense of transgenerational communal identity.” It is clearly possible, but Taylor does not speculate on its probability.

Taylor chose the term “dark” intentionally. Part of this was to emphasize the “deep green” feelings and commitment many have toward Nature. But another part was to acknowledge the shadow side of this trend – those whose love of Nature causes them to act in radical ways (frequently called “environmental extremists” by the politically conservative media) and those who are frightened by its philosophical differences with orthodox Western monotheism.

He thinks the risks are relatively low. While every religion has unbalanced extremists, “the main themes of dark green religion – which include the idea that all living things have intrinsic value – do not easily lend themselves to indifference to human suffering, let alone to virulent streams of religious, ethnic, or territory-based hatred.”

And while “most traditional religions could become green” – something already happening in many churches – Taylor concludes that orthodox theologies, doctrines, creeds and communities are “unlikely to wither away.”

Personally, I don’t care if you behave responsibly and sustainably because you believe the Earth is God’s creation or because you believe the Earth is the body of the Goddess or because you believe this is the only planet we’ve got so we have to take care of it. I just want you to behave responsibly and sustainably.

Taylor ends the books with his personal coda. He says: 

Even though I am a naturalist, in the absence of any compelling explanation for the universe as a whole or the life that is in and around me on this little blue planet, I can think of no better term than ‘miracle’ to describe all I perceive. Even the bizarre fact that I am here to perceive it, reflect on it, and share my musing strikes me as nothing less than miraculous … What I have been long looking for is a sensible religion, one that is rationally defensible as well as socially powerful enough to save us from our least-sensible selves.

He concludes, very simply and very humbly, that “dark green religion is a reasonable candidate.”

And I agree.

Morrigan

No, I haven't disappeared.  But both work and home life have been busy, and what little free time I've had has gone to reading Dark Green Religion by Bron Taylor.  I've seen it mentioned several times and wanted to read it for myself.  It's excellent and I'll have much to say about it, but I want to finish the book first and at the rate things are going, that will be sometime this weekend.

On Monday, Chad Clifton had this blog entry titled Idolatry as a Category in Pagan Studies.  He questions whether "idolatry" is a useful term for Pagans to adopts, seeing as how it has such a negative connotation in the Abrahamic religions.  He quotes a PhD candidate who recommends "materiality" as an alternative.  

Personally, I don't think of physical images as "idols," even though strictly speaking that's exactly what they are.  I think of them as icons, a term that while also loaded with Christian baggage, has enough contemporary non-religious usage to make it useful in a Pagan setting.  The statues I have help me to focus my attention on the deities they represent.  They also remind me that they are individual beings and not merely "aspects" of one God/dess.  

As I've mentioned before, I've been working with the Morrigan a lot lately - more from her insistence than from my requests.  I already have statutes of Danu and Cernunnos - last week, Morrigan let me know I should have one of her as well.  

So now I do.  And the timing is... curious.

Blessed be the Morrigan, Queen of Phantoms, Lady of Sovereignty, and for me, Divine Teacher.