“I am not a Witch.”
There is something wrong with that statement.
I went to public school and private college, I can ask with authority if you’ll be having fries with that. I am not a constitutional scholar, nor am I gifted in the area of history.
Even so, I was under the impression that ‘round heads’ came to the shores of North America in order to have freedom of religion and to make money for themselves and pay taxes to their native countries.
We hear an awful lot about tolerance. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for it. What is so wrong with a religion that doesn’t recruit followers, whose main tag line begins with ‘Harm None’?
What is wrong with America? Have we all gone mad? We threaten to burn Holy Books and protest Faith Based Community Centers that are too close to the site of a mass murder? Then we make fun of one of the oldest traditions in human history.
“I am not a Witch.”
Maybe, since America seems to be sadly impaired and reluctant to show tolerance, we should simply work on accepting each other. The word tolerance implies there is something wrong with the other person or group to begin with. The act of tolerating comes across as a hardship, something we do in spite of something else.
Acceptance is a more passive word, but I think it is a good thing.
We don’t have to get all naked and blue nippled at a Wiccan Sabot or Esbat to accept the old ways any more than we have to get up at Sunrise on Easter Sunday or lay out our Prayer Rugs. We have the freedom to Not Do Anything.
Why does anyone have to stand up and renounce anything?
“I am not a Witch.”
Comments
7 responses to ““I am not a Witch!””
I’m spiritual but not religious. I firmly believe that god doesn’t care what you call him, as long as you call him regularly. And listen to what he tells you. 🙂
Hi Donald.
I’m not an American. I’ve read the Qu’an, lived and worked in Muslim countries, experienced Shariah and taqiyya, found the history of Mohammed fascinating and am an Athiest engineer with no grudges against any belief system.
You are right, knowledge is power, ignorance is inexcusable (but pervasive), and the loudest voices rarely represent the majority…they just get the most attention.
Ahh yes.. I remember reading something like this… she was a tea-party-ier or some such I think… which may account for the complete lack of response/outrage from witches, wiccans druids (now an officially recognised religion in England – way to go!)shamans and others who follow the old ways….. apart from feelings of relief and a “glad to hear it dear!” that is
Thank you David and Widder, I knew you’d respond.
What motivated me?
The television showed a young woman, running for some political office, who began the ad with “I am not a Witch.”
That seemed a perfectly acceptable thing to say. A Methodist would not be encouraged to say “I am not a Methodist” and if he did, you can bet some kind of outrage would follow.
It was the lack of outrage that motivated me.
All of the kind people who lean into earth based, old ways, wiccan and witches are on a spectrum for me and none of them should be shamed into the broom closet. None of them should go to bed with the idea that what they believe offends people so badly that if they are ‘outed’ they have to denounce it.
You can fill in the blank with other beleif systems and there will be some level of outrage, even small, but this declaration drew none.
Thanks Widder for Asking and Thanks David for commenting.
P.S. Sally, I’d be interested to hear what prompted you to write this post
I am not a witch… I’m a Shaman
… in response to Donald’s comment above… I would add that it behooves all of us, not just Americans :), to treat with respect the beliefs and spiritual practices of those who underline their faith with the concept of ‘harm none’… and yes, read about other belief systems, not necessarily the people who preach or promote them.
… and it seems that acceptance asks us to get out of our own way. Not an easy thing for some folk to do. What someone else does and believes (within the tenet of ‘harm none’) has got nothing to do with my spiritual beliefs and practices … and vise-versa
I agree with all you say about the Wiccans. But about Islam, I have my own opinion which I will keep to myself. I think, though, that we Americans should learn all we can about Islam. To know Muslims, one must know the Quran. That book is available in most all libraries, I think. We should study the history of Islam and study the biography of its founder, Muhammad.
Study the nations of the world where Islam rules, or where Islam is dominant.
Learn about the laws of Shariah and the principles of taqiyya.
Finally, try to seek out non Muslims who have lived in Islam-controlled countries, and listen to the accounts of their experiences.