Wicca Wiccans Pagans and Free Souls.. live different.. be Neopagan!
When does civil unrest happen? Are Pagans able to join together?
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/06/20/iran.neda.anniversary...
I wanted to share this news article to make a couple of points. I was just writing in Cameron's blog - his article about why do Pagans disparage each other? And I was thinking about it and saw this article... In Iran there is a civil unrest which now seems to have gone underground... But it is an unrest based on huge issues of rights and beliefs and political views in a tormented country.
What does it take for a group within a society to bond together and realize common objectives and therefore set upon a new vision? I think this is a good example of how a group can join together, under extremely difficult circumstances, to fight for a cause that greatly would improve their daily life/culture/society - if they succeed.
In America the Pagans are basically invisible as an entity. In America the Pagans are disparaged greatly (too put it mildly). In America the Pagans have the constitutional rights to live and practice their worship as they prefer (generally - not isolating weird laws in any local area).
So, why is it that even Pagans are not at least supportive and then even more hopefully joined politically? Are all Pagans anarchists to the US political structure? Are they separatists to the point of being a-political? I would enjoy to know if there are any active groups that are seriously focusing on grouping together under Paganism and pushing forward democratic rights for their own good. Is there such a thing as a Pagan political action committee?
Also, while you consider that question, also consider that the Christians, Jews and Muslims are quite joined and active in politics worldwide, not just in the US. Regardless of how do you think that helps or hurts them - consider this perspective - as a comparison of Pagans in the US, don't you agree that the Christians, Jews or Muslims are more cohesive and therefore more effective on the political scene and therefore have been able to put forward their group interests in the culture and society more than Pagans?
I hope to hear from you....
I wanted to share this news article to make a couple of points. I was just writing in Cameron's blog - his article about why do Pagans disparage each other? And I was thinking about it and saw this article... In Iran there is a civil unrest which now seems to have gone underground... But it is an unrest based on huge issues of rights and beliefs and political views in a tormented country.
What does it take for a group within a society to bond together and realize common objectives and therefore set upon a new vision? I think this is a good example of how a group can join together, under extremely difficult circumstances, to fight for a cause that greatly would improve their daily life/culture/society - if they succeed.
In America the Pagans are basically invisible as an entity. In America the Pagans are disparaged greatly (too put it mildly). In America the Pagans have the constitutional rights to live and practice their worship as they prefer (generally - not isolating weird laws in any local area).
So, why is it that even Pagans are not at least supportive and then even more hopefully joined politically? Are all Pagans anarchists to the US political structure? Are they separatists to the point of being a-political? I would enjoy to know if there are any active groups that are seriously focusing on grouping together under Paganism and pushing forward democratic rights for their own good. Is there such a thing as a Pagan political action committee?
Also, while you consider that question, also consider that the Christians, Jews and Muslims are quite joined and active in politics worldwide, not just in the US. Regardless of how do you think that helps or hurts them - consider this perspective - as a comparison of Pagans in the US, don't you agree that the Christians, Jews or Muslims are more cohesive and therefore more effective on the political scene and therefore have been able to put forward their group interests in the culture and society more than Pagans?
I hope to hear from you....
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Rebecca (Community Moderator) on
-
A friend of mine, after reading this post, wrote me this:
"I kept on thinking about the forum about civil unrest... Why don`t Pagans get together? Maybe we are not as open minded as we believe and not so strong.I was wondering a lot about this. We all are Pagans but we believe in different things (at least, that`s what we think, in fact it`s all the same with different names and the practices have the same purpose).I think we forget the important fact that we all are the same, there are no rights and wrongs, just a variety of perspectives.
Apart from this, I believe that deep inside we are still influenced by society, and societies are ruled by other popular religions. In the written law we are free to practice any faith, but in real life, are we really free? Can I feel free when people look at me as if I were the devil himself? Can I speak of freedom when I feel discriminated? How many of us are still in the closet with our families? I don´t mean to answer, I`m just trying to understand the position of silence some have. When some of my friends learnt I was practicing Wicca, they disappeared from my life, they thought I was crazy, dangerous and that I worshipped Satan. It didn`t matter what I tried to explain, they chose to banish me from the group. I had to leave my home because my father was beginning to suspect there was something wrong with me. In my country, Wicca is not considered a religion, is not even considered a cult or sect. The Law is one thing, every day life is another thing. If people at work knew I am a witch, they would fire me quickly. It takes a lot of courage to stand up and fight, to demonstrate, to shout at everybody´s face "Hey, I`m Pagan". One can loose a lot. How many of us are ready for that? When I gave up the family`s religion, I lost everybody. Just my parents continue talking to me, the rest of them simply forgot I exist. Maybe I am wrong, but I think we are outcasts...Since Christianity took control, how many of the Pagan roots and history were erased from Earth? How many people were killed and tortured? They demonized us, they still do. They did so with everyone who didn`t follow their rules. But I believe some day things will change, the world is changing. Maybe we won`t see it, but it will. It did in the past, it will do again. Think about what happened to gays and black people not so long ago. For us, it`s irrational to discriminate someone for his sexual orientation or his skin, but it was that way, think about a homosexual or a black guy in the 50`s. Luckily it has changed, it took a lot of time, effort even blood but it changed. Someday, it will change for us too. "
-
-
And then I replied:
...yes, bottom line I think you nailed it regarding 'influenced by society'... We Pagans are much too fearful still. The position of 'silence' is based in fear.... It's one thing to be secretive or cautious about offering details of rites, specific personal writings or practices... that would be like a Christian telling you what they prayed about... private.
However, being fearful to tell what you are - Pagan etc... is not only bad for the individual but also for the group at large. Like it is for Gays.... before they were 'in the closet' and tortured internally, living a 'false' life.
Essentially we are doing that to ourselves. Perhaps we are not silent in all cases, but we are certainly not communal across Pagan/Wiccan/etc borders it seems. So I do liken it to a civil rights issue like you gave good examples of... look at women's rights or blacks... they did not achieve their expansion of rights by being silent, did they?
© 2024 Created by Founder.
Powered by
