Though many would seem to think that the American Dream is all about money and its acquisition, the original American dream as documented in the Declaration of Independence was “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” and before America coalesced into a nation to fight the tyranny of the English empire, the American dream was simply freedom. Even today, people come to America in search of freedom, and people of America continue to fight for the freedom to think and believe what they will. Though some may insist that America is a Christian nation, that is just not so. The word Christianity does not appear anywhere in the Declaration or Amendments, but the separation of Church and State is made quite clear despite what many of our current leaders may believe about the public offices they fill. Freedom of religion is something everyone in America has the right to and this is the true American dream, to follow your beliefs without the intervention of people who think they know better.America is and perhaps always will be a work in progress. Let us not forget how the Christian settlers tried to wipe out the Native way of life, calling them savages and stealing their children to be indoctrinated into Christian culture through “schools” where they were not permitted to speak their own language or discuss their birth religions. Entire generations were made to feel ignorant and subhuman. There’s a reason substance abuse is so high among the Native population, and it’s not a genetic predisposition. Native Americans are still fighting prejudice today with court cases like the one concerning sacred mountains in the hands of developers who want to use waste water to make snow for a resort. Really, how disrespectful and materialistic can people be? Bad enough they won’t give the Native Americans back their sacred lands, but then they practically want to pee all over it too. What is that…. a way of marking their territory?Many other groups are also still fighting for their freedom and respect in American… Pagans, homosexuals, immigrants… American ideology has gotten just about as far as it possibly could from the dreams of our forefathers, even if some of those forefathers were hypocritical enough to endorse slavery and the genocide of the aboriginal peoples of America. Not to mention the freedoms which were taken away from the American people during the so-called “war on terror.” It was practically a return to Nixonian politics and the “red menace”… wiretaps and neighbors listening for the whispered T-word. The Bush Jr terms in office were practically a satire of the movie Canadian Bacon, if you can satire a satire with reality… But the most ironically prophetic quote from the movie:
Secretary of State: We were thinking, what could be a bigger threat than aliens invading from space?
General Panzer: Ooh boy! Scare the shit out of everyone. Even me, sir!
U.S. President: Jesus, is this the best you could come up with? What about, ya know, international terrorism?
General Panzer: Well, sir, we’re not going to re-open missile factories just to fight some creeps running around in exploding rental cars, are we, sir?
April 30th
This is the third day of Floralia.
The festival of Acca Larentia or Laurentia was held today. Like Ceres, Teilus, Flora and others, Acca Laurentia symbolized the fertility of the earth, in particular the city lands and their crops. Acca Larentia is also identified with Larentina, Mana Genita, and Muta.
It is difficult to determine exactly who she was. According to some, she was the wife of the shepherd Faustulus, and the adoptive mother of Romulus and Remus. She is therefore identified with the Dea Dia. Another tradition holds that Larentia was a beautiful girl during the reign of Ancus Marcius in the 7th century BC. She was awarded to Hercules as a prize in a game of dice and was locked in his temple with his other prize, a feast. When he no longer had need of her, he advised her to marry the first wealthy man she met, who turned out to be an Etruscan named Carutius or Tarrutius. After his death, she inherited all his property and bequeathed it to the Roman people. Thus she was allowed to be buried in the Velabrum and an annual festival was instituted in her honor, at which sacrifices were offered to the Lares. Yet another tradition ties her origins to Romulus and Remus again, stating that she was the prostitute “Lupa,” who left the fortune she amassed through sex work to the Roman people. Whatever her origins, it seems clear that she was of Etruscan origin and connected with the worship of the Lares, from which her name may or may not be derived. This relation is also apparent in the number of her sons, which corresponds to that of the twelve “country Lares.”
This is Oidhche Bhealtaine, Bealtaine Eve, May Eve, Walpurgis Night, or Cernunnos Dydd (Day of Cernunnos).
In 1990, the Brocken, the German witches’ holy mountain, was reclaimed by women’s groups.
May Eve is celebrated as the festival of the dead in Portugal and Spain.
Alexander Sanders, the ‘King of the Witches’ as he became known, was responsible for founding the Alexandrian Tradition of Wicca. He died on May eve in 1988.
Comments (5)
I think I should take Hercules’ advice and marry the first wealthy man I meet.
That case w/ the ski resort is interesting. First of all, who would think there would be ski resorts in Arizona??? LOL Like, some of the hottest spots in the US are in Arizona, but sure, I guess it could happen; although if this fake snow is an integral part of their business plan, I doubt it. It’ll be interesting to see how the case shakes out, though history is not on the American Indians’ side when it comes to winning court cases like this one.
Were you inside my head when you were writing this post?
I agree with everything you said here. Although now I’ll have to rent Canadian Bacon. Have you seen Wag The Dog? If not, I highly recommend it. (I think that I’m going to have to watch it tonight now.)
That’s shameful about that ski resort. May they get multiple hemorrhoids the size of softballs!
Wow, that is an interesting analysis. Canadian Bacon. I always thought of the 1950s whenever the question of the American Dream is asked. The idea of an American Dream really took off in the postwar era. Suburbia was being built and there was an ideal American family. This dream is the one which we are clinging on for dear life these days.
I came to your site through a recommendation from Broom_Service. Your post is very well written and I couldn’t agree more with what you say here. However, now I’m going to have to rent Canadian Bacon again
@heidenkind - Pfft, that advice is totally outdated. Get rich yourself and find yourself a boytoy.
You know you wanna.
I think playing the health angle (what if some kid eats the snow) and the environmental angle (how will the chemicals affect the wildlife and plants) would serve them better than asking for protection of the mountain as sacred. If I were a judge, I’d protect the mountains from the religious angle, but for the materialists and Christians, the first two reasons would probably have more weight.
@Broom_Service - No, I hadn’t seen Wag the Dog before, or I don’t think so. I may have seen parts of it. I’ll have to see if they have it at the local Blockbuster.
@WondersCafe - I think the “dream” gets revised every couple of years, but it always boils down to the search for freedom. Freedom of religion, freedom to pursue life, liberty, and happiness, freedom from slavery, freedom from racism, freedom from sexism, now (sadly) freedom to acquire money in any way possible.
@Bridonna - Thanks
Hmmm, video places are going to wonder… what’s this sudden run on Canadian Bacon. lol