They might call it the Golden Rule but we know it as the Wiccan Rede. An’ It Harm None, Do What Thou Wilt. As long as you’re not hurting anyone, it’s no one else’s business what you do. Live and let live. That’s the One Rule by which we live. It doesn’t matter which particular path you follow, just that you are allowed to live your life as you see fit and let others do the same. It’s because of this one simple philosophy that I think it’s very important you consider your role in the future of this country.
Some things have happened lately that some of you might not be aware of: the USA PATRIOT Act, the Military Commissions Act, the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007, several executive orders and signing statements… I’m not going to try to educate those who don’t know about these things because I know you’re all smart enough to learn for yourselves. It’s what we do, right? And most of you have probably been keeping up on these things with a fear you’ve not known since you learned the monster under the bed was there to protect you.
The last time people were rounded up and put into pens it was the Japanese Americans. That was when nationality was top of the list of "Things To Be Afraid Of". Now it’s religion. So we have to ask ourselves: how long before they start to bring up the old lies about us? How far a leap is it from “Suicide Bomber” to “Human Sacrificer”? We’ve been persecuted for quite a while.
Some of you are registered priests and priestesses. Have you ever thought how silly it is to have to “register” to be a priest or priestess? Okay, maybe “insulting” would be a better word than “silly”, but you get my point. This is interference. But if you want to read Tarot in public, or do Chakra Readings or Aura Therapy or anything else that’s part of our traditions, you either register or you keep the disclaimer we all know and loath: “For Entertainment Purposes Only”.
And now the WHO isn’t just a pretty good band but an international organization that’s trying to tell us we can’t sell aromatherapy bath salts or incense or herbal teas as health goods. What are we supposed to do? “For Air-Freshening Purposes Only”? NAFTA, CAFTA, AU…
And then came a man. A lot of us have learned to fear monotheists because the belief in “One above all others” when it comes to gods translates into a belief in “one above all others” when it comes to people, too. But there’s a monotheist that actually understands the Wiccan Rede, even though he calls it the Golden Rule.
Get this for Dichotomy. He thinks abortion is murder but demands that the federal government stays out of it. He thinks marijuana is extremely bad for you except under direct medical supervision but that no government agency has a right to tell you what you can and can’t put into your body. That goes for any of the herbs or chemicals you use for any purpose. There will be no more fighting about “freedom of religion” when they can’t tell you what you can and can’t do. He’s a staunch Christian but thinks it's the wrong idea to let some government body control what two people do consensually with each other. And he actually thinks just like we do about marriage! It has nothing to do with governments or societies or anyone outside the couple, their friends and their religion. No more begging permission to say “I love you” in the way you want and to whom you want.
He believes that government control of the environment is both impossible and unethical. If your neighbor is poisoning your land, your water or your air, that’s a crime and should be dealt with as such. The government can’t “fix” the Mother, only those who work with her and have their hands and hearts in hers can truly protect her from those who would defile her. And he wants to give us the right and the power to do that.
A lot of us feel that government run schools are mind control. So does he. If we could afford it, we’d teach our own children. He wants to make that possible. How many of us have as one of our fondest dreams a “Pagan Parochial School”, a private school with faculty and staff run and operated by pagan parents for pagan kids? Imagine that being possible without any need for special permits or regulations. That’s what he’s already worked for and will continue to work for.
Nearly all of us believe that war is tantamount to mass murder on the grandest of scales. He does too. He’d bring all our troops home from Iraq immediately (as immediately as would be safe; he says they’d all be home in no more than a year). But he wouldn’t stop there: he wants all our troops home from all over the world. No more crusades. No more Saint George and the Dragon. No more death to the infidel. Just an extremely strong defense. How long has it been since the word “defense” actually meant “defense” and not “offence”? He wants to return it to the correct definition.
“Oh sure, but what does he want in return?” He wants us to vote for him. Dr. Paul – he actually is a medical doctor, specifically an OB/GYN, who never accepted Medicare but instead took care of patients for free when they couldn’t afford to pay – is a US Representative who wants to be President so he can return that office to its rightful place of service instead of rulership.
Do me a favor, please. Do yourself a favor. If you don’t already support him (as I expect most of us do), then please go to www.RonPaul2008.com and check out his stands on the issues. Find the records of his speeches before congress and the laws he’s voted on (both yea and nay) and sponsored. Research him. And research, really research, the rest of the candidates. Most of us are Democrats (or were) or independents. Most of us despise Republicans. He’s the exception to the rule of what Republicans are, though, so don’t let yourself turn off when you hear his party. When they hear we’re pagan, they write us off. We’re better than that.
Finally a man that the Three Fold Law holds up and bathes in light is running for President. Finally a person who will be President will actually carry a lantern instead of a rifle.
Yours in faith,
Reverend Jack Robin Winterset, a.k.a. Christopher Quick
December 15, 2007
