The Odinist at the Splash Pad

It’s always a fraught moment when somebody recognizes my necklace, which I realize is strange – the point of wearing a Thor’s Hammer is to publicly identify oneself as a Heathen, after all – but I’m still caught off-guard every time it happens. I’m forced to make a swift evaluation of my surroundings and my social context. Who is this person? What assumptions are they making about me? What assumptions do they think I will make of them?

Opinion: The Responsibility of Sacrifice

To sacrifice takes courage. In our ethics, to put others or our values above the desires of the individual means to appeal to the better parts of our nature.  How often do we teach our children or say to each other that we should “do the right thing”?  How often do we applaud words or deeds that demonstrate this higher form of sacrifice precisely because it is so difficult for many people and it is not what most might do if we were in that same position.

The Queen of Roads recognized by UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization has recognized the Appian Way as a World Heritage site. The Appian Way, sometimes called Europe’s first expressway, was a major strategic and commercial route for the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire, and houses many sites sacred to Roman deities along its path.