My birthday was on the 19th of this month, but it was on the 20th that I got my real present. On the 20th of this month, a new president was inaugurated into the highest office of this country. Barack Obama, our first black president. And yes, I said black not African-American - I am not a creature of political correctness. At last, for the first time in 8 years, we again have a president that was voted into office. But that isn't the greatest part of why I consider this man's ascension to the presidency as a personal birthday present.
A year ago at Xmas time I posted this. And in the spirit of that post I returned to a nest of vipers that I had left (along with others) in order to give them another chance to show me that there was a way to avoid the cultural war mentioned in that post from turning ugly. I'll be frank - I was of the opinion that, given time, this country would face another civil war, with the lines being drawn mainly by religious affiliation this time. A silly idea? Perhaps. But I doubt many can honestly look at the heat of the rhetoric on both sides and honestly tell me that such a thing is completely out of the realm of possibility. Likewise, I defy any of my (non-existent) readers to tell me that concentration, err re-education camps are totally outside the realm of possibility in the long term if the likes of Palin were to take the presidency and continue Bush's methodical demolition of the Constitution.
So, with hope of finding a way to co-exist or reason with the other side of the cultural war, I went back to the web of deceit and arrogance known as ExWitch.com. In case you're wondering gentle reader, I was not looking to save the world here - I am well aware that one website and my meaningless babble have precisely zero real effect on the world. No, this was more of a social experiment, to see if that two larger groups could indeed avoid the outcome I foresaw by examining the matter on a smaller scale. Regardless, I didn't have high hopes, having clashed with most of the moderators in the past and knowing their methods (self-righteous censorship, arbitary bannings, and good old fashion lying, not to mention gaslighting and other amatuer attempts to "persuade" their audience). However, I wanted to give them a chance to prove me wrong. The experiment lasted til May. To be fair, yes I was banned (temporarily at first I think, but permemantly due to pressing the matter) for "bad behavior". I guess demanding justice - ie that others are not banned arbitrarily for no good reason - and calling out the moderators on their hypocrasy and lies if bad behavior in such circles. In any case, they failed, and proved me right.
I did learn an important leason from the Jesus Nazis there however - one cannot reason with a fanatic, especially in groups, especially when they are in power. One need not be a genius to see what this lesson means on a larger scale.
BUT...as it often does, reality surprised me. On November 5th, a clear majority of this country's population joined together in rejecting the dogmatism, intolerance, greed, and insanity of the Religous Right (in their unholy union with the Republican party), and instead chose tolerance, compassion, diversity, and pragmatism by electing this man, Barack Obama, to the presidency. And so, two days ago, I received one of the greatest birthday presents anyone could have ever given me.
Hope.
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
So This Is Christmas
The first year of World War One, the British and German troops in some places on the Western Front made their own peace - a bit of truce, a bit of humanity amidst the war. It started by singing songs, and (at least in one place) by one brave German risking his life to bring a Xmas tree to the British in the opposite trench.
Why am I talking about this on Christmas Eve? Because I wanna be that German. Any other time, I am, as you can tell gentle reader, something of an amateur culture warrior. I oppose both Christianity and Islam, and the expansion of either, and I am very much a liberal (generally speaking). All this culture war crap is necessary - vitally so in my opinion - because by debating such matters on the internet (and elsewhere) endlessly to the point of nausea we as a culture can hopefully keep the conflict on an intellectual level, and keep it from becoming something worse. Hopefully. But this is Christmas. Peace on Earth, goodwill to men, and all that. Regardless of our beliefs, for tonight and tomorrow let us have peace, let us make our own private truces. We can go back to the trenches in due time.
Peace, everyone. Please.
Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year to all!
Why am I talking about this on Christmas Eve? Because I wanna be that German. Any other time, I am, as you can tell gentle reader, something of an amateur culture warrior. I oppose both Christianity and Islam, and the expansion of either, and I am very much a liberal (generally speaking). All this culture war crap is necessary - vitally so in my opinion - because by debating such matters on the internet (and elsewhere) endlessly to the point of nausea we as a culture can hopefully keep the conflict on an intellectual level, and keep it from becoming something worse. Hopefully. But this is Christmas. Peace on Earth, goodwill to men, and all that. Regardless of our beliefs, for tonight and tomorrow let us have peace, let us make our own private truces. We can go back to the trenches in due time.
Peace, everyone. Please.
Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year to all!
Thursday, November 1, 2007
When Samhain And Halloween Meet
About a month ago, Anita (a Christian friend from a couple of the forums I haunt) asked me what Samhain means to me. Now that the buzz of the season has calmed, the rites and divinations done for another year, I have some time to put metaphoric pen to paper and ruminate on that question.
Ever since I was young, I've loved Halloween - the costumes, the trick-or-treating, the horror movies, and most of all the faux spooky atmosphere that surrounds the modern holiday. But the atmosphere that modern commercialism has surrounded the night - yes night, because Halloween is not about the daylight hours - with wasn't the only thing that I loved about it. I always vaguely sensed an undercurrent of otherworldly ambiance on this night, something real behind the mask if you will, and even though that current seemed scary at times I still craved it with the curiosity of youth. A trait I never really lost over the years.
Fast forward to the present. To me, Halloween isn't a single night but rather the month of Samhain. It starts on October 1st (Octoberfest in the area I live) with the barest of hints, anticipation of things to come. Throughout the month, day by day, the energy rises and rises until finally the week of Halloween arrives. And then the celebration for me begins.
October 29th, Anton's Day. Back when I first left Christianity and finally the grip of my teachers, the writings of Anton LaVey earned a special place in my heart (why I'll explain at another time). LaVey died on October 29th 1997, and out of respect for the man and his work to this day I raise a glass to honor him and endeavor to perform some act of personal improvement or hedonism (or both) on this night.
October 30th, Devil's Night. A night of pranks, perhaps with a sinister undertone (in Detroit in times past at least). I don't so much do anything in particular on this night (save for the semi-tradition I have of watching the Crow) but rather consider it something of a dress rehearsal for the night to follow. The energies are high enough and the ambiance is so right that any preparatory magical work I may need for the next night finds a home here rather than the daylight hours of the next day. Of course, if someone is irritating me, a prank of some sort is not out of the question. Although this year I was the one who was pranked (some...individuals...have an odd sense of humor).
October 31st, Halloween/Samhain Proper. "It's time again." That simple line from Halloween 3 sums up this night best for me. During the waning daylight hours, I love to be home where I grew up - I like handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters and seeing their costumes. I may be too old to participate, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the spectacle. But that's just the appetizer. As darkness falls a couple horror movies fill the last few hours til the real show begins. Because on this night, of all nights, the energy flows strongest, the walls between here and there are the weakest, and the weird becomes much more possible than in the garish daylight of the rest of the year. Midnight, magic hour, and the show begins on this night of power, between times. After the rites and magical work de jour are done, the quiet hours that follow are for divination and remembrance. Looking forward, looking back, contemplating the meaning of things - as I do now - and waiting out the night till dawn brings an end to it. Not out of fear, least some suggest that, but out of reverence. Almost like waiting at the bedside of a dying friend.
November 1st, All Souls Day. A relic of my Catholic upbringing - one of few that remain - November 1st is special for me in the same way the day after Christmas is. Not for itself, but rather as a sort of aftermath. The tide has crested and broke as the sun rises, and all that's left to do is remember the year before and lay plans for the year to come. And feast, a replacement of sorts for the candy trove of childhood.
So there you have it, a short overview of my tradition of Samhain. A blend of pop culture festivities, neopagan religious beliefs, and occultism with a distinctly dark and slightly sinister undertone. Many of my neopagan compatriots would object to this - some more strenuously than others - but for me all of these elements are inextricably linked. It cannot be otherwise, nor would I have it be. It seems though that I've failed in a sense to tell what all this means to me, but then in truth it's not something I can truly explain in words I find. It must be experienced.
Ever since I was young, I've loved Halloween - the costumes, the trick-or-treating, the horror movies, and most of all the faux spooky atmosphere that surrounds the modern holiday. But the atmosphere that modern commercialism has surrounded the night - yes night, because Halloween is not about the daylight hours - with wasn't the only thing that I loved about it. I always vaguely sensed an undercurrent of otherworldly ambiance on this night, something real behind the mask if you will, and even though that current seemed scary at times I still craved it with the curiosity of youth. A trait I never really lost over the years.
Fast forward to the present. To me, Halloween isn't a single night but rather the month of Samhain. It starts on October 1st (Octoberfest in the area I live) with the barest of hints, anticipation of things to come. Throughout the month, day by day, the energy rises and rises until finally the week of Halloween arrives. And then the celebration for me begins.
October 29th, Anton's Day. Back when I first left Christianity and finally the grip of my teachers, the writings of Anton LaVey earned a special place in my heart (why I'll explain at another time). LaVey died on October 29th 1997, and out of respect for the man and his work to this day I raise a glass to honor him and endeavor to perform some act of personal improvement or hedonism (or both) on this night.
October 30th, Devil's Night. A night of pranks, perhaps with a sinister undertone (in Detroit in times past at least). I don't so much do anything in particular on this night (save for the semi-tradition I have of watching the Crow) but rather consider it something of a dress rehearsal for the night to follow. The energies are high enough and the ambiance is so right that any preparatory magical work I may need for the next night finds a home here rather than the daylight hours of the next day. Of course, if someone is irritating me, a prank of some sort is not out of the question. Although this year I was the one who was pranked (some...individuals...have an odd sense of humor).
October 31st, Halloween/Samhain Proper. "It's time again." That simple line from Halloween 3 sums up this night best for me. During the waning daylight hours, I love to be home where I grew up - I like handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters and seeing their costumes. I may be too old to participate, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the spectacle. But that's just the appetizer. As darkness falls a couple horror movies fill the last few hours til the real show begins. Because on this night, of all nights, the energy flows strongest, the walls between here and there are the weakest, and the weird becomes much more possible than in the garish daylight of the rest of the year. Midnight, magic hour, and the show begins on this night of power, between times. After the rites and magical work de jour are done, the quiet hours that follow are for divination and remembrance. Looking forward, looking back, contemplating the meaning of things - as I do now - and waiting out the night till dawn brings an end to it. Not out of fear, least some suggest that, but out of reverence. Almost like waiting at the bedside of a dying friend.
November 1st, All Souls Day. A relic of my Catholic upbringing - one of few that remain - November 1st is special for me in the same way the day after Christmas is. Not for itself, but rather as a sort of aftermath. The tide has crested and broke as the sun rises, and all that's left to do is remember the year before and lay plans for the year to come. And feast, a replacement of sorts for the candy trove of childhood.
So there you have it, a short overview of my tradition of Samhain. A blend of pop culture festivities, neopagan religious beliefs, and occultism with a distinctly dark and slightly sinister undertone. Many of my neopagan compatriots would object to this - some more strenuously than others - but for me all of these elements are inextricably linked. It cannot be otherwise, nor would I have it be. It seems though that I've failed in a sense to tell what all this means to me, but then in truth it's not something I can truly explain in words I find. It must be experienced.
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