Act Locally

It’s time to start a new round of discussions in my study group. We’ll be getting together this coming Sunday, and we’ll be kicking off with ethical behavior within the Pagan community. It’s something that apparently doesn’t get enough attention. I would like to think that, as Pagans, we would be above behaving badly, but we are all human, and I know everyone makes mistakes from time to time. However, that doesn’t forgive outright deception.

That’s the thing that bugs me the most – people who call themselves Pagan and they go out of their way to cause trouble for others. Then they turn around and cry “foul!” when they get busted for it. One person in particular decided this area didn’t have any true Pagans when they were found to be misleading a large portion of the community and got caught. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I am guilty of being naïve and wanting to believe everyone really wants to be good and kind. And I would think Pagans would be the most trust-worthy of all the people I know. Yeah -- not so much.

So we will be discussing ethics – again. I am hoping we can touch on what it means to truly attempt to bring a community together and how damaging it is when just one or two people decide to take control through dishonesty and slander. I really think that’s the main problem with our community around here -- one person or one group will decide they know what’s best for everyone, and will go out of their way to gain control. What I have seen, more often than not, is an attempt at discrediting anyone in the community deemed a threat to their grand plan, thus creating a void in any local leadership. Like we have any local leadership around here….. Anyway, I’ve seen it more than once. I don’t understand it. And every time it happens, it splinters our community just a little more.

I sure would like to see us coming together instead of moving apart.

Let me pose this question to the general public – what could we do to bring our community together? What would help to heal instead of making the wound bigger? Can we find common ground, and if so, how do we do it?

I welcome your comments. Please understand, I am very serious about this.