The theme for this year’s PantheaCon is Gaia and the Spirit of Activism. We hope to have more discussion of how people can get active in the coming year of elections. [This essay is the opinion of Glenn Turner and does not imply that it is the opinion of the whole pagan or PantheaCon community.]
Now is the time to wake up and get politically/spiritually active. We are going into the year of political elections. It is crucial that we be part of the voice of discontent with the Bush administration and the call for peace, healthcare and justice for the poor as well as for the rich.Speak out against the sad lose of lives, the impoverishment brought on by this unprovoked war and the deep debt with which it has saddled our children and grandchildren.Work to halt the ever expanding prison system, the largest in the world. Prisons should not be our mental health hospitals or rehab for drug offenders.We will suffer for years from the Bush regime. We must be involved to right all the wrongs committed by them.And all our lives we must struggle to rid the earth of all such crimes.So BE HEARD. Step up to vote. Work for good candidates who care about people more than about profits. Remember complacency becomes compliance.You may think your actions are meaningless and that they won't help, but that is no excuse, you must still act. -- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
“Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of leaders…and millions have been killed because of this obedience…Our problem is that people are obedient allover the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves… (and) the grand thieves are running the country. That’s our problem.”
-- Howard Zinn
