The Pagan Checklist

In a bit of an aside from the Pagan Values Blogject (I figured a rant/ramble in a PVB post wasn’t pertinent) I find it interesting that once again (as it was when I last participated) that the to-call-thyself-Pagan-or-not debate has apparently once again gone viral (or did it never go away, and I stopped paying attention?) and reared its superficial head.  Yes, I *really do* consider it a superficial debate–you don’t generally notice Catholics being so petty as to go stomping off, disavowing the term “Christian” because the Mormons claim it as well.  Instead they just disavow each other…something that is often ridiculed amongst some Pagans (evidently with more than some hypocrisy) .

What I *can* get behind, in the vein of the move to consider “Christianities”, is the concept of “Paganisms”, except that there is still a problem of what makes a paganism (big-p) Pagan, and wouldn’t that still make the practitioners of any (big-p) Paganism, well…Pagan?

To me at least, it all comes down to the idea of defining the term Pagan polythetically, a checklist sort of approach of the characteristics of many of the Paganisms (and I am not the only person that has thought of this concept), to describe what can be considered a wider descriptor of Pagan…because, at the very least, I don’t know many non-Pagans that want to read a dissertation or listen to an hour-long monologue about someone else’s religion in response to small talk along the lines of “What church do you belong to?”.  Lets face it, depending on the deliverer, that either makes us look like like a bunch of elitist jerks, or a bunch of flighty morons.

Even if we don’t agree on every point, having a univocal label gets more mileage in terms of recognition and respect (look at the VA headstone issue, now pentacles are allowed and there is a framework for the fair approval of symbols for Druids and Heathens any other path that is interested).  While individual practitioners may not care about respect or recognition, for those of us that have been in environments where we are an unknown, alone, and often disparaged quantity (like the military), where “in the closet” can literally mean that there is no where to go or practice (there is no such thing as “personal space” on-board a ship), having that greater term that covers all the bases, so to speak…that word means a lot, even as it often means so little.

Instead of stagnating the discussion of what it means to be Pagan (and more than occasionally sounding to this momma like a three-year-old in a temper tantrum), how about moving it forward?  Or as a friend of mine is fond of saying, “Start cooking with whatcha got, or get the heck out of the kitchen and order pizza…people are hungry and waiting!”

What criteria can you come up with that would both be inclusionary to the wider Paganism, while being selective and adaptable to individual Paganisms?

One Veteran’s View of DADT

I don’t normally talk politics on my blog….but there are a few topics going on in the news that I’m really not comfortable remaining silent on, because I think there is too much screaming, and not enough talking to be worth listening.  This is my rational, reasonable assessment over the failure of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) and why it should be repealed in favor of gay, lesbian and bisexual service members being allowed to serve openly.

The interests of the military are different than that of the civilian world.  The  institutions of the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force (the Marines are part of the Department of the Navy) operate on a different standard of individuality (mainly that you aren’t one).  To focus on DADT as a civil rights issue misses the mark on how military culture operates.  Never mind that the government should have absolutely no interest over what any consenting adults choose to do together in the privacy of their off duty time and that the refusal to allow them to do so openly is a mockery of the Oath of Enlistment… The repeal of DADT will never fly (even with the current court injunction) unless it is adopted based on its benefit to the military.  As such, DADT needs to be repealed because it encourages a degradation of the military command structure, because it is prejudicial to good order and discipline,  and because it endangers  the health and well-being of both heterosexual and homosexual men and women in the military.  Overall, DADT inhibits both morale and mission readiness for all branches of the military.

Within the military, nothing is so sacrosanct as the idea of Chain of Command.  I am certain that there are members of the chains of command of the various military branches that dislike the idea of “gays in the military”, DADT or not.  I am equally certain that there are far more in command that are concerned about keeping the peace and maintaining the status quo, knowing that there are service members that are vehemently anti-homosexuality in their ranks.  The problem with the former is that bigotry is not an acceptable trait for an individual in a leadership position–we certainly wouldn’t stand for it if *gay* was replaced by *black* or *Catholic*…and the problem with the latter is that it gives up authority to the appeasement of the masses (which isn’t the best idea in the military).  Both attitudes erode the level of respect necessary for the Chain of Command to be effective.  Additionally, the failure to include homosexual service members under Equal Opportunity (EO) protection allows for them to be discriminated against without impunity by members of their immediate Chain of Command. It also allows, as my husband observed at one of his commands, for the command to target an individual that they suspect to be gay, forcing them to either lie to stay in, or gives the command ammunition to have them dismissed from he military…and for those individuals that *aren’t* gay, it ruins their reputation and can create an environment of hostility and discrimination for them as well–for the rest of their military careers.

DADT not only permits, but in a “boots on the ground” environment, it encourages an openly hostile environment towards homosexuality and homosexuals. This attitude breeds hatred, bigotry, fear and resentment from within–hardly an effective way to maintain either the good order and discipline or the morale of the fighting forces.  From gay jokes and gay bashing to harassment and even abuse, men and women that are known to be or suspected to be homosexual, are consistently disrespected.  In an military that (usually) punishes racism and sexual harassment as violations of Equal Opportunity policy, homosexuality has become the tacitly accepted target for military members to vent their stress, frustration and hostility upon (never mind the overall failure of the military complex to teach healthy coping skills in favor of staying on topic).  And even for those that do not succumb to this behavior,  there is no ignoring it, and it makes them equally as powerless as the group being singled out.  I am ashamed to say that when I saw things that tweaked my conscience on the matter, I didn’t do anything about it…because there unfortunately wasn’t anything I *could* do about it.

Perhaps worst of all (because that wasn’t all bad enough), DADT endangers the health and safety of military members.  Sexual assault in the military is not just a heterosexual event.  I have heard accounts of and encountered more than one victim of same-gender assault.  Nearly all of these individual declined reporting the event because they were either afraid of the discrimination and harassment being “branded” a homosexual within their chain of command, or they were afraid and ashamed that the fact that they were homosexual had been used as an excuse to assault them, and they were afraid of being dismissed from the military.  Because victims of assault in these cases are afraid to come forward, we allow the perpetrators of criminal acts to continue to serve in our nation’s military without punishment or even prosecution.  Even worse, these victims cannot seek medical or psychiatric care without fear of their sexual orientation being exposed. The trauma from these events lasts a lifetime.

The military cannot continue to abide by DADT…and not just because of the injunction against it.  DADT encourages dishonesty and shame on part of homosexual service members, it causes the unfair dismissal of intelligent and qualified officers and enlisted persons, and it promotes bigotry as a military value.  All of this breeds resentment against both the Chain of Command and the perpetrators of these actions by both parties that are being victimized as well as those reasonable individuals that observe these events. It causes or contributes to the decision of eminently qualifies individuals to leave military service. If the military asserts that it protects and defends the Constitution of the United States of America, and that it is a reflection of the citizenry it serves, then the refusal to allow homosexual individuals to serve openly in their ranks is an unforgivable breach of integrity and purpose.  It is only through the appeal of DADT, the acknowledgement of gay, lesbian and bisexual service members as equal contributors worthy of equal opportunity, and provisions for the same protections that other minorities have, that the military can hope to restore morale and mission readiness and regain the honor it has lost.

Winter Holiday Post Mortem

I love Christmas, from LBJ (Little Baby Jesus–not Lyndon B Johnson) to mistletoe…

But taking our religions path into consideration, the mistletoe affinity is understandable and LBJ, not so much.  I sort of agree with the hubby’s assessment that the Christmas story is a “tedious (we differ on the tedium assessment) load of BS”, but really, the Christmas story no more a load of BS than any other myth. And the veracity of a story has never been the point of myth. Whether it is the celebration of hope fulfilled by one night’s oil lasting for eight, the hopeful promise of a baby boy, or hope in progress as we wait for the sun to rise from it’s longest sleep, the three holidays of Hanukkah, Christmas and Yule represent a similar theme: the celebration of man’s greatest gift (or according to my interpretation of another myth, one woman’s greatest gift to man).

To be honest, if I could celebrate any of the winter holidays, I think my preference would be for a Longest Night celebration à la Jacqueline Carey’s Terre d’Ange…drinking joie and reveling in masqueraded soirées. Too bad modern society has eschewed the fantabulous balls and glorious clothing of yesteryear…  Instead we have rampant commercialism, unabashed greed and a thousand different fattening foods staring you down at every turn.

This year we celebrated Yule at home with a simple meal, a simple ritual (because the kids wouldn’t handle anything else) and an early visit from Santa…because, if you think about it, Santa is the the ULTIMATE wizarly sort of fellow.  For the past two years, that has been the extent of our winter holiday celebrations…but now we have moved back home…and so, we celebrated Christmas Eve with my father and step-mother, Christmas Day daytime with my mother, step-father and brothers and finally Christmas Day evening at my aunt’s with the extended family.  Next year its the hubby’s family’s turn, so we will be taking an 8 hour roadtrip with the kids…and the dog.

I think I would just be thankful for something that didn’t include running a pair of toddlers around to a half dozen different locations and praying they A) don’t draw on someone else’s walls, B) don’t ruin their outfit between places, and C) don’t have a total meltdown from overstimulation. 

Add to that the massive cleaning effort for the New Year, and I need a nap.

…and maybe a maid–after all that trouble, the house is already messy, and I don’t have the urge to clean up after two kids, a dog and a husband AGAIN.

Cramps

Once a month (although, since I am on implanon, its more like every 6-8 weeks or so) I hate being female. Sure, I get how I should feel empowered by my ability to bleed, embrace my womanhood by painting with my menstrual blood and that I should just *know* that bleeding for 3 months out of the year makes me powerful.

Please, spare me the post-modern feminisim bullshit until I am no longer bleeding like a stuck pig. And while you are at it, you can keep the sappy magic of femininity/creator of life crap as well–been there, created two. Pass me a damn Midol, make me a cup of tea and let me wallow in my freaking misery. 

Luckily, I found this while digging thru my old PF posts yesterday…

Rice Sock Re-heatable Pad

(directions from one of babyfit’s natural parenting email newsletter)

1. Fill a large tube sock with dry, uncooked rice (Dig into your lonely mismatched sock basket, and give one a new life!). Add enough rice so that the sock is full, but still flexible.

2. Seal the loose end by tying or sewing it shut.

3. Place in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. Once heated, the rice sock will deliver heat for about 30 minutes.

4. Apply your hot rice sock to any area of the body to relieve muscle aches and tension. Or have your labor partner roll the sock up and down your back.

Sabbat Blogging Procrastination

Every time a Sabbat comes round, I promise myself that I will blog…and everytime, something happens that I stop midway, forget, get writers block, get busy, or whatever…

This Yule was no different.

I have half a Yule blog in my ‘saved’ stash…it will probably sit there till the summer…I’ll dump it when I think to myself “I should post for Midsummer”.

I think I have about a dozen half blogs…Samhain, one on ekstasis, another on the Charter for compassion, one that is a response to a friends blog…

Until I hit the publish button, there is even the chance that this one will end up there.