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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 16933
[Pagan]
Date Posted:
12/24/2006
2:58:53 pm EST
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Views: 5,232
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Comments: 10
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Fallen Wiccan Soldier Due Honors Of His Faith
Author: Joe Soucheray Source: Pioneer Press (MN)
Title: FALLEN WICCAN SOLDIER DUE HONORS OF HIS FAITH
It's something I never really stopped to think about, but we have American soldiers in the line of fire who happen to be Wiccans. Last year, Sgt. Patrick Stewart, a member of the Nevada National Guard, was killed in Afghanistan. He is, or was, a Wiccan. We had Wiccan soldiers in the Korean War and in Vietnam. For all I know, Wiccans have been taking up arms for one side or the other since the beginning of time.
The reason I know this is because I have been following the story of the difficulty the Wiccans are having with the government. The government will not allow our fallen Wiccan soldiers to have the pentacle on grave markers issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The pentacle is a five-pointed star within a circle that, according to Wiccans, represents earth, air, fire, water and spirit. I guess to some people, like the producers of horror movies, the pentacle has been used as a sign of the devil, just as the Wiccans themselves have been associated with flying broomsticks, bubbling kettles of toil and trouble, and evil spells cast under the moonlight.
If Wiccans could really cast spells, we wouldn't be talking about this. They would have taken care of it.
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Community Thoughts: There are 10 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Don't Ask, Don't Tell | Dec 27th. at 2:57:39 pm EST
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Terry (Irvington, Virginia) - Email Me - Web
How many troops were discharged in recent years for being Wiccan, or other forms of pagans?
How many troops were discharged for being gay?
By that comparative standard of institutionalized bigotry, military pagans are being treated well, even if certain military and related political leaders are at times clearly violating law which preempts their discretionary conduct in some matters, such as rather arbitrary Federal Regulations for approval of veteran grave emblems being misused as if to allow religious discrimination.
A Pentacle is a symbol, no more, no less, and has very different meanings when used in a Hollyweird movie versus when adopted personally to represent theological values of a religious path. One of the larger and underlying issues to this headstone emblem mess is not lack of organizations to sponsor its approval. Some of the other approved emblems represent splinter religious sects and small organizations, no more universal among all xtians or other approved paths than the Pentacle exists in only one form, or would replace a Druid's sigil, Asatruar's Thor's Hammer, or other single sect or broadly used pagan icons. Were that a serious issue rather than a straw man bureaucratic abuse of power, several of the now approved grave emblems would not exist on the VA's list. ATC and other well established pagan corporate organizations would appear to meet every VA test for sponsoring organizations but one.
Don't ask, and don't tell, if it disrupts traditional expectations of bigotry. What a pathetic way to pretend UCMJ or Constitutional law are being obeyed. Females had far harder fights than Wiccans have yet conducted, while gays are a target who've yet to find the tactics this St. Paul, MN afternoon radio talk show host's editorial is misrepresented by being called news, as it suggests Wiccans are somehow substandard by not acting like large Abrahamic organizations related to millions of Muslims or Jews. The odds are there are far more military gays than there are Jews or Muslims, and possibly as many gays as there are actual Christians, not to be mistaken with dominionist doctrinal Paulist humanistic frauds, or religiously confused, who identify as a religion different from what their actions or espoused beliefs would seem to be.
Outside of times with military drafts, several of the existing approved sectarian emblems would likely not reflect many individuals who would voluntarily enlist in the US military, as the use of it by US political leaders has not been justified more often than it has been under either or both of religious non-aggression beliefs or international law. To this list or approved sectarian emblems [Web LINK] a Pentacle would when added represent more current troops than some emblems now present. Unlike most now approved emblems, the Pentacle would represent a move in two directions very much revolutionary and challenging to the instutional top down power structure concept most military leaders, or retirees in the VA, compulsively hold as the only acceptable world view.
Approval of the Pentacle would open the military to a serious issue of disparity among pagans, where there are deep splits among us as to how best to deal with issues of privacy, secrecy, and corruption of religion by its commercialization. The very process of requiring a corporate organization to file for emblem approval violates Constitutional tests for religious rights, which hold that the choices of any individual even if associated with such sects trump any institutional interpretation or doctrinal specifications. "Because I said so" as a core legal test for the most sincere legal obligations of government institutions is outside the world view of many military types, even if their legal obligation to accept and reflect in VA and other government policy. The Lincoln Park high school Pentacle case a few years ago adopted just that legal test to trump school gang policies, while it's similar to tests found in SCOTUS case law cited in EEOC regulations (29 CFR 1605.1) , or in a PA Buddhist vegan's prison diet case, or the "celebrity pie guy" win against LA county holding his personal veganism was legally entitled to religious rights protections, and not accommodated by a standard kosher diet. Relative to those tests based on US Constitutional law and societal fact, many military leaders with their institutional hierarchy "power over" world views are raving lunatics, unable to "get it" how non-institutional pagan paths linked to corporate ones meeting VA rules for Pentacle approval can exist. The fact is, we do exist, and those government officials have a case of craniorectal inversion relative to the facts. So does Joe Soucheray, by suggesting in his commentary a pathology espoused by some pagans, and strongly opposed by others among us, that we should tamper with our religious paths to comply with Abrahamic perceptions of society and their instituions of bigotry, rather than stand firm that law and government is obligated to deal with us as we are, some forming pagan institutions, others strongly opposing pressures to do so. Applying equal religious rights then calls for revolutionary upending of bureaucratic systems which fail to deal with that reality. That reality includes the Flying Spaghetti Monster as a serious ideology at the same time as joke, as well as Rev. J.R. "Bob" Dobbs' church, or the Service of Mankind Church "Essemian Sanctuary of the Darkside Goddess". [Web LINK] [Web LINK] SMC's Hindu derived Kali FemDom logo might raise legitimate VA emblem technical issues, as it's far more detailed graphic content wouldn't engrave well on stone without artistic changes, but that kind of issue is a neutral legal one of production technology which could be addressed by a legitimate VA approval process. [Web LINK]
The other major slap in the face to existing military culture approval of Pentacles would reflect is the nature of Wicca for many pagans to be closer to left-libertarian ideals or the Wicca based Pansexual Peace Party platform than to any doctrines or policies which could support illegal wars for political predation like Korea, Nam, or Iraq, among others, or many related and separate black ops our country may pretend it never did, despite many medals issued to Nam vets for rather ambiguous official reasons (usually signifying bombing missions or black ops in countries where the US has officially never conducted military operations) . The Pentacle then to some pagans represents values and ethics which would treat military pagans as part of the problem to the extent they've failed along with other troops to "defend against all enemies, foreign AND DOMESTIC". That means obeying the aspects of Constitutional and international law reflected in UCMJ as calling for taking out one's own chain of command, and not obeying illegal orders, such that the presumed deity infrastructure of military leadership power structures are further collapsed were it to become more heavily influenced by pagans less likely to now be in the military. Further formal recognition of pagan religions with non- or anti-institutional values and practices could leave military officers used to using xtian based tactics to motivate troops feeling like they were herding cats raised by Humpty Dumpty, where "a word means what I want it to mean", as reflected in religions of personal interpretation paths rather than institutional doctrine based ones. That might be a very desirable change to military culture, to the extent it could disrupt and prevent some violations of superior domestic or international law by corrupt regime leaders like Bush et al, but it would be a far beyond bitter pill for existing military power structures to swallow, not to mention those relatively few pagans now in that system.
This radio DJ color commentator writing on the side as if a "local news" reporter doesn't get any of that, except for the smallest and simplest of issues, that religious discrimination and abuse of power in the VA emblem approval process is ethically and legally wrong.
But, so are the actions of troops to engage in direct and indirect genocides against nearly 3% of Iraqi civilians, or illegal wars of aggression to tamper with foreign political targets. In that sense, some of us as pagans might prefer the "NION" ideals (not in our names) shared with US citizens of many liberal xtian and other nonsectarian paths, and view all US troops engaged in or logistically supporting such illegal wars as more deserving to die for their wrongful actions than any Iraqis. From that perspective, a dualistic result is preferable to flying home corpses and arguing over how to "honor" them. The VA is legally obligated to include Pentacles and many other symbols alongside the 38 now designated, so long as it manufactures headstones for any veterans. But, the actions of those now being exterminated by Iraqi freedom fighters don't deserve to be "honored" for serving any country, and in fact dishonor and embarass the USA at home and before the world.
We'd don't need decades of overwhelming new national debt (called tax reduction and small government by GOP spin-meisters) to defend the USA. Simply starting with the power structures along Pennsylvania Avenue and at domestic military bases could do it, and wouldn't require trillions in contracts with Halliburton, Blackwater, or other nepotistic and criminal front co-conspirators in actions which simply demand being ended if not prevented from starting. The troops who risked death honoring their military service oaths by those defensive actions would deserve our thanks, and to be honored in history.
Find More info -- HERE
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| Its Not Just Any Symbol | Dec 27th. at 12:25:28 am EST
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Lasombra (Columbus, Ohio) - Email Me
Wiccans/Pagans are asking for the *same* respect the other religions have (with approved symbols) . By not approving our symbol there is an implication that our religion is not approved!
This is about RELIGIOUS DESCRIMINATION and nothing else.
Nothing is baring the VA from approving the pentagram except bigotry.
BB
Lasombra
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| A Bit Late But Better Than Never | Dec 26th. at 1:28:48 pm EST
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The Circle at Flying Dragon Farm (SWC) (Wakefield, Virginia) - Email Me
Greetings from one of those Cheif Warrant Officer, Combat Veteran types who wasn't afraid to be called a Wiccan in the Army. It is truely nice for folks out there who don't have much to do with the US Military come across an article on one of our issues and take note. It is not true however that our magic is not working. It could juse a few more participants from everyone however. After holding the first "legal" Open Wiccan circle on Baghdad International Airport in 2003, our numbers as Wiccans and other Earth Based religious types has grown tremendously. Today we have at any given time, 4 active circles in Iraq alone. They could use a bit of support as well, so send out your positive energy to this imbalanced world to help those in harm's way be safe and to those who have made the ultimate sacrific, give them the power of this country, a letter to your national representatives. If they don't know we are out here, they will not care to make things better for us. Love in the Light, Rev. Marcia Drewry, Director of Military Affairs, SWC
Find More info -- HERE
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| His Heart Is In The Right Place | Dec 25th. at 11:43:55 am EST
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Burgandy (Dallas, Texas) - Email Me
Yes, the article in tongue in cheek and it made me smile. He did mention some of the more positive stereo types for Wiccans. Come on people learn to laugh at yourselves.
Obviously he did not do enough investigation into the issue because he is clearly unaware of the Pentagle Project, Lady Liberty League, and the Wiccan and Pagan Alliance. And he is correct in saying we suffer from bad press something we have been fighting these past few decades. But all that really matters to me is what lies in his heart. He supports our cause but I do not think he is necessarily blaiming us for the ignorace of the VA. It is just like he said, if someone is willing to take a bullet for our country then they should get whatever the heck they want on their grave marker. Personally, I think that says it all.
Blessings!
Burgandy
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| Since When... | Dec 25th. at 10:16:54 am EST
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bigcat (peoria, Illinois) - Email Me
is magic needed to take care of every problem? While many no doubt
have gathered into circles to ask for the strength and intercession needed into this, we are doing more than merely throwing curses at the VA. We are doing what any normal American would do. We are taking the bull by the horns to demand something that -by the rules already written for every other recognized faith should be ours by right, but has somehow been overlooked-- or neglected on purpose. And Lord and Lady knows right now that strength is needed to move something as intractable as the VA! If it says Wicca or Pagan on your dogtags then that's what your marker should read if you get killed overseas, along with the appropriate symbol.
If the VA are bending to Fundy groups then they deserve all the shame that they should get. Because then they are NOT representing anything but the discriminate self interest of a few.
While I do agree the tone is rather tongue in cheek concerning Wiccans and Pagans, at least he agrees with the fight. A step in the right direction at least.
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| Not Sure | Dec 25th. at 5:51:57 am EST
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Clio the Seeker (York, Pennsylvania) - Email Me
what to make of this.
His tone seems way too tongue-in-cheek and disrespectful to me.
And it puts me off, even though he agrees with the fight,
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| Poor Marketing? | Dec 25th. at 12:40:13 am EST
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Greenman (Columbus, Indiana) - Email Me - Web
The commentator blames Wicca's woes on "extremely poor marketing" on our parts. He mentions Selena Fox, but isn't aware of the Pentacle Project.
It seems to me, if he'd done just some minimal investigating, as in asking Selena Fox a few questions, he would have learned about the Lady Liberty League-- which actually does many of the things done by CAIR of the Muslims and the AntiDefamation League of the Jewish folks.
I appreciate the reporter's concern for Wicca. We can do better at "marketing" ourselves and presenting a positive image of our religion, but, it seems to me that this article's reporter may also need to rise above "extremely poor" investigating skills.
In the last 10-20 years, Wiccans have made great strides in American culture. We may never make everyone tolerant of us, but we can demand to be taken seriously.
bb,
Cernowain Greenman
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