The Wild Hunt (https://wildhunt.org/category/perspectives/opinion/page/2)
We stand, as we have for so long now, at a crossroads. What kind of society do we want to be? What will be our legacy for the future of this country and for the world? Will we be a society that practices empathy, striving to care for our citizens and embracing our differences? Or will we regress into a Christofascist ethno-state, where we demonize our neighbors and strip them of their human dignity?
How many speak, work, argue, and have the courage to live fully here because of the promises given in the Constitution? The answer is many. However, we forget that for all of that freedom there is a grim reality: what has been taken for granted can be so easily taken away. The erosion of our freedoms has begun.
In direct contrast to the supposedly universal “golden rule” and the “turn the other cheek” message of Christ, Odin teaches that we have no responsibility to be love our enemies. That particular Heathen teaching is a large part of what leads someone like me to be uncomfortable with some of Martin Luther King’s principles, but it does not mean that the embrace of violence is the answer.”
We choose how we relate to the deities of our tradition. Our choice is not made for us by ancient poets, modern practitioners, or academic scholars.
When disasters come from all sides, where can we turn? Where do we direct our best efforts, and where can we find solace? At a time when questions are many, when words can no longer contain my shock and disbelief at events once believed impossible, I think of my father’s advice from years ago: T-R-Y.