Health Care Reform As Xenia

I have been following the unethical shenanigans by a certain political party (GOP) and their willfully ignorant followers (T-Baggers) over the much needed reform of health care in this country. In any economic system, if one area of the economy takes up an extreme percentage of that economy then the entire system may be subject to collapse. This is one of the main reasons that the Soviet Union actually collapsed -- too much of its economy was taken up in military spending. We were able to SPEND them into the dust because our economy was much more diversified.
We are also only as strong as the least of our citizens; and, if our citizens cannot get preventive health care then our entire society is weak as a result. The United States, the country looked up to by most of the world, is in 37th place in health care! Canada, Western Europe, etc. all have better health care systems than we do. Yet many people in our country continue to deny that there is nothing wrong.
Ultimately this does come down as an issue of ethics and VALUES. Yup, folks, VALUES. The virtue of Xenia (hospitality) seems to have been lost to many vocal people in this country, Yet, these shouters are just a minority. They believe that something they have is going to be taken away from them by someone "not deserving," ie. different ethnic background. Let us call it by its proper names: selfishness and hypocrisy, not behaving to your neighbour like you would like them to behave toward you, xenia.

Thoughts on Caprica

I have been watching the new SyFy series Caprica, the prequel to Battlestar Galactica. As many of you are probably aware, polytheism is the major religious understanding of the humans. The developers of the series specifically utilize the Hellenic and Roman names for the Gods. However, some of the mythoi/practices are far different (Athena's Tomb? human sacrifice for Hekate?).
The really interesting thing about Caprica; however, is the explanation of how the Cylons became monotheistic. And, of course, the answer is Dualism/light vs dark/ultimate good vs ultimate evil -- all of which is a false paradigm latched on by a troubled adolescent who thinks that there is an ultimate capital-T truth. She thinks that a virtual world is the same as the physical world. Sorry, little girl, there is no such thing, never has been, never will be. The virtual world of your head-set is pornography, a very one-sided, jaded, psychopathic vision of someone who is very twisted. So, you are murdered by your friend who has become a religious terrorist for the One, the ultimate good. BAH!
However, your Father does not understand that he is NOT a God and decides to bring you back. He finds your virtual recreation. However, this recreation has all the adolescent stupidity of the original, even though you were "brilliant." His hubris in not letting you cross the Styx will bring almost utter ruin to humanity. Is THIS what you REALLY wanted, little girl?

The Wing-Nuts Are In Charge Here, Too

I never thought that I would ever say this: Yes, Virginia, there are wing-nut Hellenic polytheists. Even though there have good people on the Olympianism Yahoo! group, the owner has become entranced with orthodoxy. I am resigning from the list and I know others who have in recent weeks. My last straw was the slander and calumny from the owner of the list to the Hellenistai forum.

Super-Recon Does It Again

Well, Super-Recon and his acolyte have hit the Olympianism list! I really, really know I should ignore him; however.....
Seems Super-Recon thinks we can -- and probably should -- codify how many sacrifices, devotions, etc. we should be doing over the course of a year in order to be considered "true recons" and not some fluffy-bunny sub-species. How else could a person interpret his definition of Orthopraxy? I also think that his variety of Orthopraxy has become a form of Othodoxy for him. I only figured this out after I stopped responding to his insults. Yes, he actively insults people and tries to make out that he "can't understand" what we are writing about. That we are too "airy." Obviously, I believe that he has trouble with reading comprehension.
All this said, I DO NOT recommend his website http://www.hellenismos.us as a good source or the fora he hosts there. Please visit http://www.hellenion.org and the following Yahoo Groups for good information: Hellenion_Chat and Hellenic_Recons.