Sarah Palin and Witches

This morning I was reading a news article about Governor Palin's church in Wasilla, Alaska. Seems to be quite the conservative, Pentecostal, "we must convert you in order to save you" kinda place. In fact, as Governor she gave a speech to a class of newly minted missionaries (you know, those who are destined to go forth and convert the rest of the poor world to their one and only TRUE religion) telling them "that our leaders, that our national leaders, are sending [soldiers] out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure that we are praying for -- that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan."



Well, I suppose it's reassuring to some to think that this unwarranted, illegal mass murder going on in Iraq is God's plan. That then makes it all okie dokie and we can sleep well at night knowing we're only murdering in the name of God ....... oh yes, and to keep us safe from those nasty Iraqis (Muslims, you know .... can't trust 'em).

Now don't get me wrong here ...... I have absolutely nothing against praying, meditating, concentrating or just plain giving life a lot of focused thought. As far as I'm concerned, their God IS my God in a roundabout sort of way ...... even though I see spirituality in a bit of a different light. You see, my Goddess does not tell me to go out and murder people. She doesn't speak in tongues (unless you consider the loving sounds of nature to be tongues) and in fact has never instructed me to go about any type of violence. Given that, perhaps my God is a different Goddess from theirs. At least her attitude is different.

But I digress, as that discussion will be a different BLOG.

What I got to thinking about this morning was the far right wing fervor over this Pentecostal Mrs. who was chosen as the Republican running mate to "the maverick." What makes us in any way assume that her (and her church's) type of thinking is anything but WAY over the line, off the board, and into The Twilight Zone any less than say, the Moonies (remember them?), the Hale-Bopp Comet followers (I hope they're up there somewhere) or our Haitian neighbors who dance with snakes and stick needles in dolls? The difference is that there are more of the Evangelicals ....... many more.

Before you jump to conclusions, know that I believe that there is validity in almost every choice of religion. I believe that there is a high power. For me that power is nature itself. Can you imagine anything which is at the same time much larger than any one of us and yet still reactive to the actions of all mankind?

Mama Nature amazes me every single day. Today I am loving her choice of gentle rain, dark skies and contemplative mood. She tells me what I can do on any given day (if I don't wish to get soaked): work in the garden, stay indoors and read by the fire, sweat like a marathon runner or bundle up in my fuzzy knee boots. On the other hand, we have made her quite angry and she is reacting in response to our overuse of modern day technology by giving us warmer temperatures, increased rain, more tornadoes, flooding and more and harsher hurricanes. Yes, I am willing to take responsibility for our part in this weather transition and think that THIS is what our leaders should be talking about: the reality of the world's climate change and what we can do about it, rather than leaving it to our children and grandchildren to fix once nature's wrath has gone to much higher levels and they are left to suffer the consequences of our actions.

Once again I digress. Here's my point (and thank you, Ellen, I do have one). What if we put a nature-based believer into office. Someone you might call a Pagan or a Wiccan or a Witch. Someone like me who believes that there is a higher force in everything: within every human being, in the animals, plants and every living thing. How would this person be received by the masses? Would we find ourselves with another Pope Gregory IX, burning people at the stake because they did not believe that the Christian God was the ONLY God allowed? Just how enlightened are we today, I'm left wondering, if our separation of church and state is so defunct that we have this Evangelical Christian running for the second highest office in the country and thinking that the Iraq war is "God's war"?

I am scared by this woman. You may laugh, but it's true. I am scared by anyone in a potential leadership position who wants to tell me what God I should believe in, what God is telling us to do, and what choices I need to make with my very own body and soul. THAT is terrifying. THAT is what we came to this country to escape, is it not? Well, that and drinking tea and paying taxes all the time.

We already have the taxes, which will increase substantially in order to pay for this debacle of an Iraq war. Do we want to add a Religious Dictator to the mix, also?