The Wild Hunt (https://wildhunt.org/tag/democracy)
In an age where religious minorities — especially Pagans — already face real marginalization, suspicion, and in some cases, violence, Brooks’s carelessness, and by proxy, The New York Times’s carelessness for publishing it with little editorial concern, is irresponsible.
As I squirmed in the endodontist’s chair, trying to distract myself from the pressure and vibration of the metal tools – and the large needle – I realized that our nation, like my infected tooth, also needs a root canal.
I am often amazed by the way this country’s people have weathered the years since the 2016 election launched us further into the shadowlands of hatred, racism, misogyny, bigotry, and terror. I am equally amazed by how those years have weathered but not beaten us.
As we perform the enchantment of mythicization on our world, we lift people, places, and things from the mundane to the meaningful. The trivial becomes tremendous and the ephemeral becomes enduring. Myth, regardless of veracity, can have more power than any truth. This power is not always used for positive ends.
The idea of creating an iron wall between religious faith and participation in democracy is a dead-end. Karl Seigfried argues for the need for modern Pagans and Heathens to find how our religious values can inform a democratic worldview and action.