Would you be willing to die for your beliefs?

Its a scary proposition. I don’t know about you – the individual reading this – but I certainly have no desire to step beyond the veil into the Afterlife. I know it will eventually come, as it does for everyone, but there’s so much to life that I wish to experience.

However. I hear the words that the Gods whisper. I have noticed how different things have begun to look in the world around me. How people are moving more to the extremes in various areas. Politics. Beliefs. Racial tension. Open defiance of governmental control. Governments reaching for more power and control than the established regulations allow (and done in the name of freedom, no less).

Take for example the following clip from the movie Braveheart. Yes, before anyone points it out, its a fictionalized version of the life of William Wallace. I’m not really interested in what is right or wrong, historically, with what is shown here. Its what is being depicted that is more to the point.

Wallace has an understanding of what freedom means to him. That he should bend no knee to a king that has essentially invaded his country. He could have capitulated, and remained alive. He could have ignored the cause and continued to live under the rule of the English. Instead, in the movie, he chooses to take a stand. And he does not waver from that.

Make no mistake about it. If you are not of an “established” Christian faith, do not espouse to the politics of a particular party system, have progressive values, are of a racial aspect that is not part of the “ruling class” – you are likely to find yourself in the crosshairs at some point in the coming future. Are you willing to stand by what you hold dear and value in your life? Or will you capitulate, just for the sake of surviving.

For readers of this blog, its no surprise to you – I am a Pagan. To borrow the phrase again (simply because I believe it is a very accurate depiction of who and what I am), I am a polytheanimist. I won’t back down from that description. Would I be willing to go through something similar to that of Mel Gibson’s William Wallace portrayal? Yes. Yes I would.

But its not for some romantic notion that there would be stories told of how I stood up for what I believed. Hardly. I would go through such torture and torment over my beliefs because I am not going to deny who and what I am. I spent many of my adult years as a Pagan, hiding what I was from my family, from my employers — leading a double-life (hat-tip to Styx). I am who I am – and those that cannot handle that, fuck off.

As I recently told someone that could not handle the brutal honesty of dealing with me – I am not on this planet to make you feel comfortable. I have tasks and responsibilities that I have pledged to accomplish with the Gods and Goddess that lay claim to my life. Yes, I believe in the Gods and Goddesses – and the life and connectivity that is all around me in this world. To deny that, even in the face of violence, bodily harm, and death — that would be denying who I am. Essentially claiming my life to be a lie.

Medicine Wheel (Wyoming)

The storm clouds of a very turbulent war are on the horizon. The thunder can already be heard. You only need to open yourself up to realize its out there. And much like before the rain arrives, you can smell the humid air already, feel the wind starting to pick up, and feel the clamminess on your skin. As I stated before – my staff is for more than supporting my weight while walking.

What about you? Are you prepared to stand up for who you are? What you are? The rights of others to do the same – regardless of their faith compared to yours? I certainly am.