I love being a pagan!!! I really do….but…I didn’t start out that way….and my annoying past seems to have followed me…far….far from home. I love the seasonal holidays/festival/holy days….whatever you wish. I feel that there is great power and meaning in these days. Even as the Church tried to co-opt them and as Public Relations and Marketing has tried to do the same….just as they have left so much chocolate…hollow inside.
On such days….I seem to be possessed by a spirit of fun, joy, play, and generosity. I love to buy stuff to give others on these days. Recently I really had fun buying a whole whack of chocolate eggs for friends. In the small hours of the morning…maybe it was even at 3am! 
I snuck around and left these little bags of chocolate eggs for my friends. In one situation. I left eggs to two neighbours. One family is Filipino…basically Roman Catholic..if anything….and they have moderate muslim neighbours from South Africa. Apparently they ended up having quite a conversation after discovering these eggs. The father of the muslim family was familiar with “easter” customs…such as giving kids chocolate treats…but he had no idea of it’s current “christian” status…let alone it’s more accurate historical roots. Apparently the father of the Roman Catholic family and he had quite a conversation over it. The R.C. may have ruined it for the Muslim. 
I think the Filipino guy…told him some story about the importance of making coloured eggs to them…in their traditions…and they seemed to be drawing that “christian” connection…..which is …in case you are unaware….is a rather unfortunate innovation on a great tradition. You name the Holidays….I’ve always loved the pagan traditions….without knowing it…sure I came to love singing the hymns…but in my heart was a rabbit spirit of fertility….ready to hop towards the next opportunity to spread my eggs.
+ Robyn Graves +
Filed under: Art, Misc., Politics, Society | Tags: Canada, Peace, Political Parties, Politics, The Conservative Party of Canada, The Liberal Party of Canada, The New Democratic Party of Canada, USA, War
Greetings Folks!
There are a lot of exciting developments in North American Government and Politics. Well….I predicted the huge win by Barack Obama and am certainly very excited about his forthcoming presidency. I even applied for a job…. you can too if you so wish at change.gov But…he had to mobilize a huge grassroots movement to pull it off. If he had depended on the regular voters for support than we would be likely to see John McCain sworn in on January 20th, 2009. It was a remarkable Revolution….Americans were mobilized….particularly the young and disenfranchised to push their nation into a new direction. I think this was a renewal of democracy in the U.S.A which was absolutely vital to it’s future…without it…it surely would have lurched further towards fascism. I just hope that President Obama will be able to effect enough change so that a truly new direction will occur…a new tragectory will be gained and maintained in the following elections. Failing that…the know-nothings will support Sarah Palin or someone even worse and there would be great risk of a Fascist State….as social order would likely disintegrate under their policies.
Meanwhile in the Great White North, Canada had it’s own election. And Canadians have a much greater variety of choices for their vote. In their election…like in the previous 2…no political party had enough seats to form a majority government….and so…The minority government of Stephen Harper, of the Conservative Party, appeared likely to continue…however…..the political landscape has evolved a lot in Canada in these last years. After only recently having the election….Stephen Harper seems to have over played his hand. He recently has not preposed any new stimulus projects for Canada in spite of the current global economic turmoil…but…he has preposed trying to destroy his political opposition….by preposing an end to government financing of political campaigns….a very cynical…machiavellian ploy to try and turn his political minority into a majority by forcing repeated elections on the other parties until he had turned off enough voters that he would have gained enough seats to form a majority government. Canadians have been very hesitant about giving him a majority government….and with good reason…his policies and philosophy seem much more at home in the Republican Party of the United States….than in a Canadian Conservative Party…..the last Canadian “Conservative” Party….also had the word “Progressive” in it’s name…and Mr. Harper doesn’t seem to reflect anything like Mainstream Canadian Life….he’s anti-multiculturalism, anti-arts, anti-social programs, anti-parliamentary,….pro-business, pro-small government, pro-republican, pro-life, pro-bible thumper…as I say…completely at odds with Canadian Mainstream….but he has tapped into frustrations over the traditional parties and garnered alot of support…but clearly not enough. He’s just too ideological and not predisposed to working with other parties. And to get back to my earlier point on the recent election…although the Conservatives ended up getting more seats in the House of Commons….they received less votes than the last time. Hence we have a historic moment in the offing. Two of other parties in parliament, the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party……appear to have forged a coalition alliance to bring down the current government and offer the country a truly historic government for Canadians….a Coalition Government. This will be the first time in Canadian History that a truly Coalition government will exist. It shows the tremendous evolution that Canadian Politics have gone through….moving from an essentially two party political system….with a third on the margins….to a truly multi-party system in which…a once inconsequential NDP party will apparently take up a quarter of the cabinet positions. The Liberals have the most to lose from this…if they waited long enough…then they probably would have been able to unseat the Conservatives…..but this coalition gives the most opportunity to the NDP. The NDP, Canada’s Premier Social-Democratic Party, has had mixed results in Provincial Politics and has never had the opportunity to be part of a Federal Government. Even if this coalition fails….the NDP will have gained for it…as they will be seen as having been trying to serve it’s constituents, while the Liberals would likely be seen as desperate to return to power. It seem the Governor-General is no longer the powerless rubber stamp of our Queen…but in deciding on giving this coalition an opportunity to form a new government will surely be exercising a truly monumentuous act of political enpowerment. Canadians overwhelmingly voted for parties other than the Conservative Party….I’m excited to see this evolution have revolutionary consequences…The Political Parties of Canada will now be under even greater influence by the people of Canada. If it’s a choice between the American Style 2 party system and the European style Multi-Party Coalitions….I’ll take 500 years of Peace and the cuckoo clock versus 300 years of War and the Atom Bomb any day.
+ Robyn Graves +
It’s been a truly remarkable thing to watch the progress of this man Barack Hussein Obama over the past year. There is something truly remarkable about him…..magical. I remember being touched by the speech that he gave at the Democratic Convention in 2004…and how the people ought not be divided up into “Blue States”(Democratic Party) and “Red States”(Republican Party). I appreciated the idealism….but at that time….it seemed so far removed from the political realities on the ground. But in the fullness of time……it has become more and more clear how the Neo-Cons and extreme…whacko conservatives have pushed things to such an extreme….it of course is predictable enough that the younger generations would react to that and rebel against it…but few generations get an opportunity to do something positive with all that frustration that they have with their system.
In the previous few hours Barack Obama has won important contests in Nebraska, Washington State, Louisiana, and in the U.S. Virgin Islands. With these wins….he unquestionably becomes the front runner in terms of elected delegates in the nomination process for the Democratic Party. He also reduces the distance between himself and Hillary Clinton in terms of the so called “Superdelegates”. If he maintains this momentum….then….he may be on his way to landslide victories in the remaining states. As a kid I remember hearing about the civil rights movement, women’s movement, etc….I never really had the opportunity to see my generation really get passionate about politics. How sweet it is. I guess in a sense I should thank the nutcases of the conservative fringe in the U.S…..because they took things so far one way…it stands to reason that there would sooner or later be a big reaction to it. He calls upon the highest ideals in American Tradition. He calls upon them…and clearly will take the U.S. in a completely different direction. A direction which will embrace diversity, creativity, and in the best pluralistic traditions….will accomodate people of different beliefs…or non-beliefs. I’ve never seen a politician so boldly call for respecting everyone regardless of religion….or doubt…..gay or straight, black or white, male or female. He’s boldly taking the aspirations of idealistic liberality and charging off…not trying to merely recapture previous victories…..but daring to go completely against the establishment…by fundamentally tapping into the open mindedness and generosity of spirit available from them(This new generation)…when they feel that everyone is being considered….and not only some special groups worthy of political correctness. His health care plans show the striking contrast with the old typical american liberalism. Hillary Clinton’s Universal Health Care programme will force everyone to pay for health care….and if they don’t…they’ll be fined or have their wages garnished. Obama will reduce the prices and provide for those unable to afford it the incentives and assistance needed to achieve the goals of Universal Healthcare…putting the owness on government and insurance to find a way to do it….rather than depending on the people to pay for it. You see….it’s politically savvy enough to recognize that mandates on getting healthcare will not help them get any closer to achieving it….it may only provide something to fight over. Just this past day I heard about a guy working and living in Massachussetts…who doesn’t have the money to pay for their state run and enforced medical system. He’s being fined for not buying it….and…he still doesn’t have healthcare. Next year the fine will increase…..and he still won’t have enough money to afford healthcare.
+ Robyn Graves +
Hi Folks!! Happy New Year!!!
Well…I may be a political junkie….but….WOW!!!!!!! Here we are on the the eve of a big victory by Obama in New Hampshire! The votes haven’t started being counted yet….but the winds of “change” are clearly blowing! The people of New Hampshire are turning out in record numbers…I heard figures of 85% of registered voters or more turning out in some areas! The young people and independents have been activated in a way that seems truly historic. Well…it stands to reason…with every action…there comes a reaction…..the frustration of people has been building up over alot of years…..I’ve followed every major “outsider”/”underdog”/”populist” politician over the last few years. We may be on the verge of something which comes along so rarely….and yet can be so important in changing the direction of nations….it may seem like hyperbole…..but…I mean….. Lincoln, JFK, RFK, MLK……their contribution to change in America may pale in comparison to what this new individual might accomplish….you see….now…with the internet….24 hour news….a truly mythic, heroic, idealistic figure may have stepped forward. The descendent of both slaves and slave owners! Americans are by and large completely fed up with politics as status quo….they overwhelmingly believe that their nation is on the wrong track. Any other year….in a normal cycle Hillary Clinton would have easily taken the Democratic nomination for President…the numbers of people activated by them were winning numbers…but Obama has arrived! Someone who truly speaks deeply to those ideals that so many Americans believe in…have tried to believe in….and almost completely given up on….a new spark has appeared in the darkness. Republicans are becoming Democratic and voting for Obama….they were running out of ballots today. I’ve spent quite a bit of time reading American History and deconstructing the historic figures of the American Mythos….of course they were all faulty and never fully lived up to their promise. I must caution myself and others….that things that are too good to be true….so often are….but…some days….I doubt my doubts. Everything about this gentleman tells me….that at the very least he could do a great deal to repair America’s divisions…and help it to find a more healthy place in the world. Whatever he may lack…he is full of idealism…courage….and hope. I truly hope he will be able to take it the distance and will avoid being corrupted by all the money and power that he will have surround him…especially now….as I expect he will defeat H.C. very strongly in New Hampshire.
+ Robyn Graves +
