Why Pagan in the United States?

I think it is safe to say that the United States, out of all the Christian countries of the world, is home to the greatest number of pagans. On a visit to the Norwegian embassy, I asked the percentage of pagans in the country. The speaker looked at me funny and said “Why, less than 10%, I think. I've certainly met anyone who is pagan.” “Not even Odinists or Asatru?” I pressed. “Odinists, no. Asatru? Now that is an American thing,” he responded.

One would think that, in a country where Asatru originated, there would be a higher percentage that believed in the old religions. Why is there such a high concentration of people in a foreign country that believe in a traditional religion when few of the people in the original country believe in it?

I believe there are two answers. The first is what plagues the United States as a whole; the search for identity. As such a vast country with so many different people, one begins to see (after meeting so many people) that we are all effectively the same. There is a desire in the United States to be something more than an American, to have a unique perspective. Could be developed more. Sometimes this results in Americans calling themselves by other nationalties. It is not uncommon to hear an American in the United States to say “I'm Italian. My great-grandparents are from Italy.” In most other countries, it is sufficient to be simply of that nation but the United States values foreigners so highly, that people want to identify as foreign at any value. Foreign is interesting, mystical, and sexy. American is normal and boring. That is the general view that causes people to identify as a different nationality. Identifying as pagan, or any other religion than Christianity or Judaism (the two mainstream religions), is foreign. It has the mysticism and the appeal that it is different.

The two desires to be different, to be from a different nation and be a different religion coincide here. If someone is Asatru, that generally means that they can trace their roots back to Northern Europe (granted, there are probably some that just believe). Not only is identifying as Asatru different, but it also gives you a link to Europe. Those are two highly valued concepts in the United States.

The second desire also stems from the vastness of the United States. It is the desire to have a mythology and a history. The United States is such a young country, there are few solely American folk traditions. Most of the folk traditions stem from European traditions. There is a movement to rediscover a folk tradition in the United States but its difficult. There can be no creation stories, we know how the United States was created; there can be few stories about geographical phenomena, the United States has always been too science based to accept a fairy tale. Without a folk history of their own, the United States turns to other countries. Part of the attraction of a traditional religion such as Asatru is the folk tradition. There are traditional theories and ways that are attractive. As I'm not Asatru but rather Celtic, I can only speak to the Celtic way. In the Celtic religion, there is a focus on the community and that there is a spirit in everything. The focus on community is important, being that many Americans feel as if they are losing the community to the city. It is the tradition that there is spirit in everything that more pertains to the current topic. Believing that there is life in a living thing may not seem like a unique idea but in a fast-paced America, it is easy to forget. It is too easy to forget the beauty of nature, and that it is entertwined in everyone's life, inextricably. Additionally, there is a movement in the United States to become more green. Being more ecologically friendly is a heavy part of these traditional religions.

If these things are so good, especially the latter, why do the original countries not have a higher amount of people believing in these religions? Very simply, its because they still believe in a way. The folktales still exist in bedtime stories and the tradition of being ecologically friendly is still a part of life. Even the festivals still exist, in some form.

And this last thing is what the Norwegian ambassador's assistant intimated to my class.

What Happened to the Other Posts??

As if I had any readers... but, assuming I did, I'd explain why half the posts disappeared. An opportunity has presented itself for me to join the Navy after all, I deleted all posts that I would not want the Navy reading. Not that they were bad, just that I would prefer not to have to explain those things to my superior. I'd probably just take the out of "I was a stupid civilian at the time," but still. So I'm going to try to keep anything military out of this blog from now on, except occasional updates on how my quest to join the Navy is going. Here we go *is excited*!

Vague Plot Idea

Dedicated to my junior and senior year history teacher in high school, I came up with this plot on the bus last week. I was reflecting on life and my recent visit home, at which point I visited my old high school. I was walking around, looking for the teachers I knew, when I spotted this guy in Civil War garb. Who in the world would do this but that teacher? When a teacher says "I want history to come alive for my students," they don't do half of what this guy does. Not only does he occasionally teach class in American Revolutionary War/ Civil War garb (as in, the military uniforms) but he shows pictures during the class. Pictures he took while he was in Europe, visiting these places. My freshman year, he led a hike on the AT to raise money for animal shelters; my senior year, he rode his bike across the United States. Unique guy. So, I thought, how funny would it be if a real Civil War soldier would run into him while he was in the middle of one of these classes?



On the day of the South's surrender, there is a reenactment going on in that area. Through a crack in the time-space continuum, some of the soldiers are transported through time. Some of the original Civil War soldiers are transported forward (discovered after the surrender is over and people are counting those left on each side). One unlucky soldier ends up on a prep school campus hundreds of miles south of his cohorts. When he sees another person in Civil War garb, he gets excited, thinking there is someone else there with him. It turns out that its a history teacher who was wearing the garb during a lecture. The poor soldier doesn't get it and the teacher tries to get him back in time.

The teacher is successful in getting the soldier back in time...but he goes back too. He goes back to the revolutionary war. He tries to not let anyone know that he is from the future but, during one of the battles (probably the battle of Bunker Hill), he gets really excited and it slips out, polarizing the battle.

On the day of the English's surrender during the revolutionary war, the teacher is propelled from the battlefield yet again.


“Surrender is almost magical.”

WebComic!

So, my friend and I are starting to write a webcomic together. Obviously, I'm the author :P It takes place at a research University, the most prestigious in the country. A kid gets accepted because of his blog, which is so philosophical and analytical that the dean of the College of Natural Science admits him and backs him. The kid didn't get into any schools so he decides its a great opportunity.
I feel like I'm lacking some huge plot problem, though. Every good plot has a major underlying problem or...something. I'll have to meditate on it during Socy (which is Sociology 1000. My freshman year, I took Sociology 3xxx which counts as Sociology 4xxx here. Soo... yay. This should be a breeze. I don't look forward to Geography though. I'm already having nightmares about maps...x.x)

To class!

Living with Maine Coons

When my boyfriend and I decided to adopt two Maine Coon mix kittens, we had no idea what we were getting into. My cousins had had a Maine Coon and we both had significant cat experience, but since Maine Coons are one of the largest breed of cats they come with a unique set of needs.

Feeding:
Buy your Maine Coon a normal dish, no matter how many. Feeding is completely normal, with the only exception being the problem with the water dish. I don't know how common this is with Maine Coons (or if this is just some weird thing that happens in my house), but they love water. Which means they will dip their tales and paws in their water dish to drink. So clean the water bowl often.

Litter:
One of the most challenging aspects of owning a Maine Coon is finding a litterbox big enough. It sounds ridiculous for me to say "buy a huge litterbox" but I kid you not. My six month old Maine Coon kittens were too big to use a normal size litterbox, making do by scrunching up. You will feel crazy but your cat will thank you.

Grooming:
Brush often. As long haired cats, obviously they shed. I never had a problem with my allergies with them, as I do with my two other cats, but so help me god do they shed. If you don't regularly brush them and dust, your home will quickly be coated in cat hair. Again, I don't know if this water fascination is a problem with my cats or if its a Maine Coon thing but it is possible to eventually bathe a Maine Coon. If you see they have an interest in their water bowl (playing in it and stuff) and if they try to play with you while you're in the bath, gradually introduce them to flowing water and eventually a bath. They just need a rinse, no soap, and its more for the adorable wet cat look, and to brag to your friends that you can bathe your cat. It does come in handy if an accident occurs though.

Claws:
Maine Coons have enormous claws, in my experience with my kittens, and they must be regulary trimmed to keep under control. This wasn't observed by the shelter we got our kittens from so my kitten wasn't able to walk properly. His claws would stick to everything. Once, I opened the door to the apartment and scared him. He took all the bedclothes with him when he fled. Plus, trimming claws lessons the damage to furniture and carpets. Beware leather, though, and that goes for any cat. My poor leather chair...

Traveling:
Maine Coons are super smart. You can train them to walk on a leash; both my Maine Coon mixes are capable of it. Unlike a dog, you don't lead the cat but the cat leads you. This helps transport issues, as long as the harness is firmly affixed to the cat. They will be much calmer in the car if they're not caged, and that's a general cat note too. My cats actually liked going to the vet, after we leash trained them (well, they liked the waiting room with the other animals. the actual seeing-the-doctor bit is equally as bad). You should start gradually, first putting the harness on (and leaving it on) and eventually putting on the leash. I was forced to put my cats in a harness in the pet store parking lot. Bad idea. My kitten (its always my kitten that misbehaves, never my boyfriend's lol) tried to run into traffic (four times) before we wrangled him into the car.

As far as long distance travel, take heart for it can be done! A few weeks after adopting our kittens, my boyfriend and I had to drive across the US. We set the litterbox up in the trunk, with the backseat folded down so they had access. Put the food and water dishes in the cupholders. Put their leashes on, and set out. They only protested for the first 30 minutes and the last 30 minutes, which was quite impressive considering we were driving for about 16-18 hrs a day. They really enjoyed having a litterbox in the trunk and it made them much calmer, even when we went to the vet. Beware, though, and bring air freshner.

Questions?
Post!

There's Frosting on My Scone!

I can tell you why America is fat, I found the reason this morning. It was 6:30 am and I needed to find something to eat for breakfast that wasn't a granola bar. Which means going to Starbucks, unfortunately, since nothing is open at that time. Starving, I ordered a cheese bagel and scone. Cranberry scones are usually delicious, having the right amount of sweet and tart. After I ordered it, I realized it had icing. Icing! Its not even 7 in the morning, why would I want sugar like that? Besides, who needs the extra calories? Its delicious as is, leave it alone.

This fascination that Americans have with adding sugar to everything is probably at least part of the reason people here are fat. There is just no need for it, sugar just adds calories. At 7 am, something that sweet is completely gratuitous. It doesn't make it taste better except that people are used to having something that sweet and can't eat anything less. We should be weaned off sugar, or so, because it is a completely unhealthy habit.

A Song on My Mind

The original purpose of this blog was to theorize on topics, much like my friend's journal that she keeps to better her writing. I can't think of too many interesting topics because they mostly come to me through random conversation (although, I did just think of one. What makes a person gay? My boyfriend and I were talking about that last night). I do have one thing that I'd like to say. I have a story in my heart and a song on my mind and they're just not coming out! I've been sitting in this coffee house for HOURS these past few days but I just can't think of anything to write. My boyfriend offered to do characters for me if I did the plot. Come to think of it, I may make him do the characters and the plot and I'll put it together. I'm good at that. And the plot will change :D My problem is that I suck at characters. I have something to say and I want to just SAY it, not have to pussy-foot around. Its frustrating. WRITERS BLOCK.
What I am considering is writing some short stories on here, even though this is a philosophy blog. Since no one follows it yet, it really doesn't matter. The only thing I'm scared of is people ripping my stuff. It might be a good idea, just so when my computer crashes, I don't lose ALL my work.
I do have to say, though, that I just made the most wonderful shifter druid for Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition. Longtooth shifter, in case anyone is interested. PM me if you wanna see the character sheet :) (feel free to rip that). The character's name is Oak, and name is Ash. Totally not intentional. I wanted to name the character Ash but that's my name so :( second best. I think I'll go come up with a long, complicated wolf name for her. Ciaoooo!