First World Privilege

Having read an article talking about white, hetero, male, cis {add whatever stupid  label you wish} privilege, I thought the privilege that ALL Americans share which is First World Privilege.  Yes, First World Privilege, the privilege shared by those of all faiths, creeds, color, socio-economic class, gender, orientation and so forth, to complain about their lives being “oppressed” (while not suffering the consequences of what a truly oppressed civilization and people endure, I mean just ask a North Korean or a citizen of Eritrea). An oppressed, truly oppressed, nation and people do not enjoy such privilege. Lets also tack on the access to the plethora of available high tech gadgets such as cellphones, computers, gaming consoles, flat screen TVs and such.  A poor nation does not have this privilege.  Most citizens in poor countries barely have running water let alone access to the internet.

So, next time someone wants to lecture others on their supposed privilege remember, remember to check your First World Privilege.

This goes Right and Left, none of you are oppressed….except in your minds.

Mirroring the Supposedly Uncomfortable Mirror: Part 2

So, with that background in mind, let’s return to the question. Am I attempting to initiate a witch hunt or red scare?

Once again, it’s an issue with usage of language.  People in general are turned off by those who attempt to posit that they are more enlightened than others.  Please, check your privilege at the door, no one is more or less enlightened due to them agreeing with or disagreeing with your views.

 

The extreme rhetoric regarding me or this piece is obscuring a much larger issue. As I noted at the beginning of this essay, the information page was presented as a supplementary resource to the article about Augustus Sol Invictus, a known Fascist and New Right candidate who shares much of the same theology and practices as some of the fiercest critics of my piece.

The extreme rhetoric you are receiving is your fault because of your usage of language and the fact that you seemingly did not consult others outside of your boxed in perspective.  f you had, people would have told you, “This piece is a bit condescending, might wanna tone it down.”  There’s no problem with exiting your box and thinking outside of it.  It helps create a peaceful dialog for that I too believe is important to discuss, but not when it seems like an attack instead of an invitation.  This is why the United States has an abhorrent racial problem is because both sides of the issue are being condescending towards each other which does nothing but shy people away from the discussion.  It’s either their views are treated as Truth or else you’re publicly shamed as a racist/white genocide sympathizer.

 

There are some deeply difficult questions that we need to ask. Do the gods want us to return to ‘tribal’ societies, do the gods demand we war against Muslims and Atheists and Leftists, do the gods demand we institute strict hierarchies and authority-relationships between priests and the rest of us? And did those gods happen to notice those are the same ideas of the New Right?

You’re assuming that the Gods interventionists in human affairs.  Some of us assume that they aren’t interventionists while others believe otherwise.  I use the term “assume” because no mortal being can actually “know” what the Gods are thinking or want for us.  I assume they just want us to figure human issues out for ourselves and not have the hand of Divine Governance dictating what we should do.  That no longer implies freedom, but totalitarianism.  The Gods may call, but they can’t dictate want the ultimate outcome of humankind should be.  When those believe we are being called to dictate to our fellow human being that the Gods will must be done, then we have a theocracy and theocracies never turn out well.

While I disagree with Rhyd WIldermuth on his execution of the article he wrote, both the original and the rebuttal, I do respect his beliefs and believe his heart may be in the right place as long as he isn’t some infiltrator/witch hunt provoking tyrant.  I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt and state that Rhyd WIldermuth isn’t any of the above, but rather a person with a kind heart being vigilant of those who would tarnish the beautiful religions of Paganism for political opportunism.  And I am be wrong, who knows?  I don’t him to come to any guaranteed conclusion, but until then I stay with my belief that Rhyd is really a good guy who needs to consult more different people to look over his work.

Hail!

Is Paganism Conservative or Liberal?

Conservative – believing in the value of established and traditional practices in politics and society : relating to or supporting political conservatism

Something I’ve been pondering for a long while especially when stumbling the internet a slew of blogs titled Conservative Pagans: Yes We Exist (which unfortunately no longer exists), that the modern stereotype by conservatives themselves is that pagans tend to be liberal.  I believe that’s not an accurate assessment, I believe many pagans tend to be Libertarians or center due to our inherent knowledge of history and how the more oppressive a government becomes the more prone it is to force everyone to adhere to the regimes system of belief.  However, I want to explore the idea that paganism is conservative in nature, not politically but traditionally.

What we pagans are trying to do is to revive the indigenous religions of Europe and all over the world.  These were the original religions before monotheism ran amok converting those they feel were worshiping false Gods.  In the attempt to revive we have brought back a majority of the practices of these old religions which is the definition of conservatism.  Now we’ve pretty much done away with animal and human sacrifice due in part to Christianity and its influence, but that’s about it.  We have been using texts that have survived the ages of destruction and burning as our guides into the insights of the old religions.  Through this endeavor we have conserved the old religions in modern books and on the internet.

So, basically we pagans tend to be a bit conservative, but not entirely because in modern parlance conservatism is relegated to the Judeo-Christian Conservatism rather than in the sense I’m talking about.  A great deal of us pagans believe in the scientific validity of evolution (which does go along with the idea that we are all birthed from the Earth like in many of our creation stories), some of us are pro-choice (or don’t care either way which I tend to swing, I don’t have uterus to make such a decision), and some of us believe in equality for all (I myself being pro-gay rights).  So this swing us into a center/Libertarian grouping as opposed to full on conservatism.

Of course, this is all my own pondering and nothing more.  I don’t speak for all of paganism nor wish to.  I just like to throw ideas out there to other minds churning.  Through civil discourse new ideas are born into the world, some good, some bad.

The Rise of the New Royalty

As Americans are divided daily along socio-economic lines, racial lines, gender lines, orientation lines, religious lines, in the background of all of this is the consolidation of the power of the new royalty.  Who is this new royalty?  It’s not some foreign force with their hands in everything our government does.  The new royalty coming to power are the Democrats and Republicans and any other political party.  They are also the tech companies that addict us to their new innovation simply because they know we like the newest and fanciest flashy piece of technology.  The tech companies are the new prophets and magicians that keep us subdued by distracting us from the real world and it’s slow collapse into oligarchy and despotism.  The tech companies willingly sell their soul to the Higher Royalty (Government) in order to secure the whims of the Higher Royalty, namely authoritarianism while the tech companies, the Lower Royalty, secure their place in the new hierarchy of oligarchy in this country and eventually the world.

I’m not much of a conspiracy theorist, but the evidence is there if you just look around you shaking off the modern haze of smartphones and reality shows.  The more ignorant we are, the more divided we are the more easily we can be controlled. Control is the ultimate end game for all political parties whether they are Left or Right wing, both simply despise the freedom of our will.  If we think individually and without regret then they lose that control, but once they pigeon hole us into “correct” thinking then they can control us absolutely.

Educate yourselves on the reality of our society.  No longer be a sheep following the herd.

Behind the Gated Walls

For years, the dwellers of gated communities, chiefly those who the run the country, keep making decisions on OUR behalf that ONLY affect us.  From ObamaCare to shipping illegals who may or may not be violent, diseased ridden or all of the above, into OUR communities the elite in power don’t care about their decisions and how it affects us.  That’s because they feel absolutely safe behind the walls of their gated communities.  And that is the crux of the problem, they are cut off from reality, they are cut off from the ordinary people they rule like kings over.  We are in the middle of the new serfdom where the oligarchs tax us and say it’s for our benefit.  Of course, in the course of taxation they pad their pockets with our money and give themselves raises for doing hardly anything worth while.  The Republicans and Democrats are both fascists cloaked differently in order to prop up the illusion of democracy in this country.  This isn’t some conspiracy theory nonsense, hell I don’t even like Alex Jones, it’s simply common sense backed by observation.  Just observe the actions of the politicians from both sides of the aisle and you will see in plain sight the similarities between the two heads of the fascist hydra currently residing in DC.

Instead of the People realizing this and uniting against the fascism in this country the oligarchs pull our strings and make us dance to their whim whether it’s the class warfare cry or racial instigation to keep us thoroughly divided.  If we can’t unite beyond petty differences like race, religion, political ideology and whatever else then the elitists in power have no fear of losing their grip on power.  So, for now the elitists who behind their gated walls conspire to keep us complacent subjects by promising things they can never deliver, but that’s part of the illusion anyways.

A much as I believe that any Third Party that gains power will simply do the same I do believe as well that a Third Party candidate defeating a major party candidate will send shockwaves to the elitists that they are no longer safe from the consequences of their decisions on our behalf.  I think the Libertarian Party, Green Party and whomever else willing to confront the oligarchs will rile up DC and get them realizing something: that they aren’t invincible.  Oligarchs need to be reminded where the true power lies and it’s definitely not with them, but with us the common folk.

Those of us clamoring for a leader towards the future of Liberty and the vanquishing of fascism in this country need to become leaders ourselves.  If no one else is going to step up to the plate then it is our sacred duty and honor to take the lead.  We can’t wait any longer for a new George Washington or Ronald Reagan, but to become those people ourselves.  We must look inside and find that leader in each of us and to create not followers, but new leaders.  We must not ever become a nation of followers, but a nation of leaders.  Followers progress us nowhere but towards tyranny.

Lead, Do Not Follow.

Materialism and the Looting in Ferguson

One looter who came out of a QuickTrip told The Washington Post that he was proud of what he was doing.

“I’m proud of us. We deserve this, and this is what’s supposed to happen when there’s injustice in your community,” DeAndre Smith told The Post.

Here we have the classic example of today’s humanity, where destroying another persons business based on the mindset that one “deserves” something and that something material somehow in some way satisfies that persons anger and pain.  It’s as if that everything today, everything materialistic from the new gadgets that blink to the technicolor wonder of 3D screens tries satisfy that hole that resides in our very souls.  People binge shop or eat when the daily stresses of life overwhelm them.  What did our ancestors do?  They prayed to the Gods, they stepped out into Natures embrace, and the most radical of all, spent with family when life became a pain.  We have become arrogant, materialism creatures who post our daily lives on Facebook, as if people gave a damn.  It’s that sense that we are living like celebrities with our entire lives being spewed into the faces of our “friends”.  Why?  Why do we feel the need to keep buying stuff we truly don’t need enlarging our personal debt not only in financial ways, but also spiritual ways.  We’ve lost the connection between Nature and ourselves and with that we have also lost our connection with each other.  With the almost magical wonders technology has bestowed upon us we have attuned ourselves with the cold and callous aspect of the binary code of our gadgets.  We look at analog, natural things, with contempt because it isn’t perfect.  We see this with the rise of the practice of injecting botulin toxins into our flesh to smooth away wrinkles for a temporary period of time or enlarge breasts with silicon bags. We are no longer human, but rather husks that shame our ancestors daily with our actions.  We want more and we want it now!  That’s the message of Ferguson these days.  It isn’t about how we should respect each other as human beings or the plight of suburbia becoming crushed under foot by the marauding beast of poverty induced by an inept President who has an agenda that isn’t about making America better for all people.  No, the message being thrown in our faces is, “Materialism makes us feel better when we’re downtrodden.” and “We want it now!”  And in the greed and selfishness of the overly materialistic Ferguson looters is the drowning out of the more important aspect of all this: the death of a human being by the gun of another human being that objectified him rather than regard him as a human being.  You see, when we label ourselves black, white, brown, red, yellow…etc….we become objects, not humans.  Once you’re labeled you’re easily categorized aka stereotyped and with that stereotype comes the objectification of a human being.  Once you see a human being as nothing more than an object and NOT as a fellow human being, a person with a huge ego backed up with powerful weaponry and a sense of authority will treat them callously like an object that can be tossed into the garbage bin.

The looters say enough is enough with police brutality?  Well, I say enough is enough with the race labeling and the materialistic attitudes of our society.  Once we denounce race for what it is, a barrier between us and true unity of humanity, we will see an explosive growth in innovation, peace and prosperity on this gorgeous planet of ours.  Once we start respecting each other, we’ll finally get back to respecting Mother Earth for the life she has given us.  Utopian, perhaps, but not unreachable.  It’ll just take human beings being respectful of each other and letting go of the pride and ego that has held us back.  So, what’s your excuse for not being the change you wish to see?  It begins with you.

I end this with a quote from Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, because it makes sense even though it was said by a fictional character.  The truth behind this statement rings louder than anything I’ve heard.  We have become greedy monsters that are willing to destroying our whole world for stuff that can not possibly go with us when we pass on from this life.  Look at Robin Williams, a man who had an amazing career with tons of money, but yet he suffered depression.  He has proven that money and materialism is not the source of happiness.  A cold and callous object like money does not identify with the human soul.  It simply can not.  They are absolutely incompatible.

The humans… the humans have forgotten the gods, destroyed the earth, and for what? Parking lots? Shopping malls? Greed had burned a hole in their hearts that will never be filled! They will never have enough! – Prince Nuada from Hellboy 2

The Slaughter of Christians

The evil currently manifesting itself in the Middle East concerning the wholesale slaughter of Christians is sickening and disheartening. While this same evil tactic was used on pagans back in Christianities infancy it was hardly in the scale of genocide currently being seen in the MidEast by Islamic lunatics. Perhaps, given the technology of today being employed, Christians might have reached that level of inhumanity. However, we can sit here and debate what might’ve been, what could’ve been but none of that matters in the Big Picture. We are seeing evil rise up without worldwide opposition and that is disheartening because it means we have become callous, cold hearted creatures due to the fact of who the victims are.

So, non-Christian and Christian alike are probably wondering exactly why I would give a damn.  The answer is simple, since we pagans believe that everything is interconnected it isn’t far fetched to say that their liberty, especially religious liberty, is interconnected with our own liberty.  If Christians are cut down and their faith is outlawed then it won’t be long until every other religion is being trashed and outlawed as well.  We need to understand this and be vigilant against those willing to destroy religious liberty without conscience.

We pagans need to forgive the Christian for what they did to our pagan ancestors and during the Burning Times.  It’s time to put aside our difference in beliefs and stand shoulder to shoulder in defense of freedom and the Constitution of the United States of America.  If we are all to be victorious against the tyrannical usurpers in DC than we need to unite together on common ground.

We need to speak out against the wholesale slaughter of Christians, Jews and moderate Muslims throughout the Middle East.  We need to remember what our ancestors went through and come to grips with how wrong this is no matter that we don’t share their faith.  They are human beings and they need to be defended against the barbaric actions of militant Muslims.  It’s time to stand together and form a shield wall against these vile inhuman creatures.

Media Frenzy

This is the state the media gets into when they dig their claws into the fleshy entrails of a potentially ratings incurring news story such as the Ebola issue, the Israeli-Palestine conflict and whatever else that distracts us plebs from the ineptitude of leadership from Obama, the Democrats AND the Republicans.  Seriously, the category I put the Media, Obama, the Democrats and the Republicans under is called: Scheiss Gruppe or Shit Group in English because that is what they are nothing but useless piles of feces spread out throughout America stinking up the country and being nuisance every step of the way.  However, we should blame ourselves for this over abundance of crap that we have leading and informing this country.  We accept the filth that spills from the toxic mouths of the media and our politicians without ever questioning: what is their agenda.  Everyone of these sordid creatures has one so who is to say that what they conjure up in the bowels of the cesspool processing machine called the Mainstream Media isn’t backed up by an agenda? 

Agendas, like assholes, are owned by everyone in power.  The agenda is simply social engineering and control of an entire people without regard to free will and critical thinking especially in this digital age.  I mean just look at how some dating site and Facebook tried to skew peoples motives by either pairing two people who had nothing in common and manipulation of newsfeeds.  If the fact that two web based corporations experimenting on people without prior knowledge isn’t the epitome of agendas then I have no idea what is anymore.

So, what are you? A drone to be ordered around by the elitist oligarchs in power or a human being with the power of free will?  Will you succumb to the odious attempts by the Mainstream Media and the political powers that be (remember these are Obama, the Democrats and the Republicans) and pick a dubious side that really dehumanizes the supposed opponent or will you employ critical thinking and realize that the media and the political oligarchs are nothing but the biggest group of shit stirrers around just using you, the people, as pawns in their version of Game of Thrones?

Wake up!

Politics and Political Ideologies Are Dead Fish

These days I find politics and political ideologies to be as cold and lifeless as a dead fish sitting in a grocers display case.  The eyes of political ideologies lack any sign of life and soul. There’s nothing you can find in them that is full of life anymore.  It’s a stagnant morass of wannabe revolutionaries (whether it’s the wannabe American revolutionaries or the wannabe Bolshevik Revolutionaries) looking for a fight they possibly could never go through with unless they were die-hard killers.  That’s why I remain and always will remain politically unlabeled and unaligned.  You will see me contribute money to both Tea Party groups when the Constitution and freedom are threatened and to Socialist/Labor groups when workers rights are threatened.  I believe in a perfect balance between the two in order to have a better and thriving society.   I find both sides of the political spectrum are useful to the maintaining of our country.  No one one side should EVER have complete and absolute control.  It’s wrong and immoral.  Many will disagree, but that is your right to do so and I will fight to the bloody death in order to secure that right from wannabe revolutionaries looking to establish the next Dictatorship of the Bourgeois or Dictatorship of the Proletariat.

Why I Believe What I Believe

At times I become so apathetic towards politics that I simply slip away for months without ever looking at a news website, watching Glenn Beck or even writing in this blog, but recently my girlfriend and I plan on having a child and thus has become my duty to become vigilant when it comes to politics both here in the US and abroad.  As our society becomes more globalization helped along by technology it’s prudent to stay on top of current events such as the Crisis in Iraq and Common Core because the long-term ramifications for our future child will be poignant.

So what exactly do I believe?  It’s better to just list my beliefs:

I believe in gay marriage
How exactly do two people of the same gender marrying affect me?  It seriously doesn’t much like Brittany Spears and other celebrities who abuse the institution of marriage for their own attention whoring.

I believe in the 2nd Amendment
The right for people to own guns should always be upheld because it ensures that the government will always be afraid of it’s citizens because they can and will always be armed to the teeth.  That’s how it should be, the government fearing its citizens rather than citizens being fearful of their government.

I believe in religious rights
Christians today are taking a pounding by secularists maybe for good reason, but bashing an entire religion on the merits of a few really is silly.  Plus, banning things like a cross erected 5 decades ago bought and paid for by ordinary citizens is even more silly.  Leave it alone, it’s a memorial to the dead.  Also, a Christian business should be given the right to put their business at risk by denying patronage to gay couples.  In the end, they’ll revoke their own ban due to low amount of customers patronizing their business.

I believe Common Core is evil
Common Core reduces competition between good and bad schools by leveling the playing field.  It also brings with it strange ways of doing math for example.  The new way of math makes it harder for parents to their duty as parents and help their children scholastically.  It makes schools more dependent on the Federal government as opposed to local communities and the people who fund those schools with their tax money.  Taking examples from totalitarian and failing countries is not a good way to reform our education system.

I believe in Universal Healthcare
Obamacare is the biggest foul up ever to grace our country.  I believe in Universal Healthcare, but I think it needs a more 21st Century revision in order to make it work effectively without putting peoples lives at risk.  It needs to take the Hippocratic Oath to the fullest extent.  It doesn’t need to be the rationed out healthcare that Conservatives are afraid of.  With brilliant minds and innovation we Americans could make it work better than the European brand of Universal Healthcare.

I believe in School Choice
Every parent should be able to choose what type of school their child goes to whether it’s public or private or even home schooling  and have it be affordable as well. The misplaced fear in George W. Bush voucher program was nothing more than Liberals wishing to subjugate parental choice.  This to me is treasonous in that Liberals are forgoing a childs future for their own political gain.

I believe in being environmentally friendly
Lets face it, no one wants dirty air, polluted waters or to have the beautiful scenery that Nature bestows upon us to be blotted out by vast concrete and asphalt strip malls and parking lots.  So, it is our duty as sentient beings to want to take care of the environment and make sure no more animals go extinct because of our existence.

I don’t believe Socialism/Communism is the answer
Now, I’m sure the naysayers will be quick to point out that my support of Universal Healthcare is hypocritical, however I don’t believe so.  I can accept one component of an ideology without supporting the entire ideology itself.  Communism/Socialism just simply does not work when applied to the real world.  It lacks factoring in the fact that it’s usurping rights from people and human nature itself.

I believe Capitalism does need to be reformed for the 21st Century
The current form of capitalism is based off the Industrial Revolution, which has long since withered away to allow the Information/Digital Revolution to flourish, so it’s without any doubt that capitalism needs to be retrofitted for our 21st Century reality.  Factories and other industries are slowly but surely giving way to automation and having capitalism still holding on the ancient remains of the Industrial Revolution does nothing to help people and in fact gives the Communists/Socialists credence in their ideology that capitalism is slowly dying.

I don’t believe in amnesty for illegals
As someone who is the son of a legal immigrant from Latin America, giving amnesty and all these amenities to illegal, law-breaking immigrants is a slap in the face to those who went through the process of citizenship the legal way. If these illegals want citizenship then they need to go about it the way everyone has.

I believe in a secured border
We need to secure our border and even put up an extensive wall along our border in order to secure our nation from illegal immigration and from intrusions from Mexican drug cartels and the Mexican military.

I believe political correctness is wrong
People need to really grow a thick skin and stop being offended by every little thing that comes out. What kind of life is it to find offense at everything around you? You don’t have the right to not be offended. Welcome to reality.

I believe in a non-racist, all inclusive nationalism
I think its important that all legal American citizens regardless of race, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, religion and political ideology to express pride in their country. Since pride in country tends to run contrary of the internationalist beliefs of most Left leaning ideologies the opposing idea is of course nationalism. Nationalism isn’t inherently racist in nature and especially with a diverse country such as America nationalism can not be racist.

I support the 10th Amendment
The idea of giving more power to the states and the people and restricting power given to the Federal government is just common sense. As we can clearly see the power lust that Federal government has is a clear and present danger to American citizens. We need to get back rights for the states to choose what is good for their state and not be bullied by the government to accept things the Federal government wants to impose like Common Core.

There’s more things I can bullet point that I support, but it tends to be a long list so this gives you an idea of why I believe in what I believe and why I have a problem simply sticking to any party line. I’m just some person stuck in the center of politics and find the Left-Right rift to be ridiculous.