REASONable PAGANISM

Hello guys, I know I haven"t been writing much here lately, thanks to the holidays and also because well, I personally have just needed a bit of a break from the whole writing/thinking/obsessing process that I have been immersed in for the last six months.

Recently I have been bothered by some things I have seen and read on the Net, especially when it comes to Paganism and lifestyle. Particularly the interference of soci-politics into the realm of paganism. I just do not understand this, and some of the trends I see are troubling to me.

Anyone who knows me by now has probably realized that I am a liberal. But it seems to me that the word liberal has become mixed up with tag words like "green", "hippie", etc. especially when it comes to Paganism. It is troubling to me. I see so many neo pagans who seem ready to jump on the bandwagon when it come to any alternative medicine, organization, and other idealistic campaigns which at times are violently anti-science, and anti-reason. I think this is a poor decision for pagans,and personally I feel it only furthers the gap of understanding between pagans and those of mainstream religion.

Take the movements against proven beneficial science, such as vaccination. Now of course "proven" is always a subjective term. But is the beneficence of vaccination pretty self evident? I personally never knew an individual of my own generation who suffered polio, measles, scarlet fever, etc. Yet it seems every time I read an article or explore a pagan site nowadays, I am reading some backwards "factual" article about how vaccinations are poison, dangerous, or cause mental retardation and illnesses. What always fascinates me about these articles is how they spout of questionable conclusions and evidence without mentioning the single most benefit of inoculation. That being that many diseases are virtually unheard of now that would have crippled the population only a century ago.

Now there is no doubt that big pharm companies are less than reliable. I think there is evidence that much medication now is created for the sole purpose of making money, and much is unnecessary. Yet that in itself does not negate the fact that medication exists which sustains life and works to purpose. Any chemical can be abused, be it by the producers or the consumers. Any chemical that is not natural in the body is going to have side effects. Since when did it become hard to understand that it's a matter of risk v. benefit?

Anyway, the point is that blind trust in alternative or holistic medicine is just as foolish as blind trust in modern medicine. And just because one may ascribe to alternative religion, does not mean that you are in some way required to spout ridiculous crap about how harmful "science" is, or belief that holistic medicine is the preferred choice of pagans.

Being pagan should not devolve into ignorance of REASON. Pagans should be able to think for themselves, rather than jump on any bandwagon. I guess I simply have taken it for granted that being pagan indicates a willingness to know oneself and examine the world critically. In truth it seems like being pagan is like any other religion. A few intelligent people and a sea of idiots.

So yet another instance that supports my personal belief that the majority of the human race is not worth my time. I just do not understand most people and never will, and that's ok.

The glass remains half empty at the Bussey hermitage.

In Frith,
Cena