Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Pagan
Setting The World Straight

Setting The World Straight

Last updated on: August 19, 2014 at 5:00 pm by John Beckett

Setting The World Straight 2014-08-18T19:50:56-06:00 John Beckett

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

statue of Thoreau at Walden Pond

In discussing Henry David Thoreau, mid-20th century American writer E.B. White said “Walden is the report of a man torn by two powerful and opposing drives – the desire to enjoy the world and the urge to set the world straight.” I am no Thoreau, but that statement describes my current conundrum quite accurately.

I’m a Pagan in part because I see the world as something to enjoy. Our world is not fallen, it is becoming. Yes, life can be hard, and suffering is never far away, but there is so much to experience and so much to learn. There are the joys of love and friendship, the spiritual fulfillment of communion with the Gods and ancestors, and the intellectual fulfillment of discovery. I am not a Wiccan, but the charge to “sing, feast, dance, make music and love” is a beautiful recipe for making our time in this life simple and pleasant.

But I’m having a hard time singing these past few weeks.

Thousands of refugee children have come into our country and a substantial portion of our population wants to treat them like stray dogs.

Israelis and Palestinians keep killing each other. Israel is winning the body count and losing its soul, while the Palestinians persist in fighting a war they cannot win.

ISIL (I refuse to call them ISIS – may Auset strike them down) is trying to exterminate the Yazidis, force Christians to convert to Islam, and enforce barbaric laws they claim are “God’s will.” At least we’ve finally launched a few air strikes.

And here in the land of the free and the home of the brave, we’ve had yet another young, unarmed Black man killed by a police officer. Journalists have been arrested and peaceful protestors treated like criminals by a militarized police force more interested in showing how big and bad they are than in finding justice and preserving the peace.

I could go on. And on. And on.

It isn’t that bad things are happening in the world – there are always bad things happening in the world. And it isn’t that 24/7 news and social media make them impossible to ignore. I don’t want to ignore them – I want to do something to fix them. And I can’t.

I’ve never been accused of being an empath. I’m closer to being a sociopath, although I’m pretty sure I’m right in the middle of the empath-sociopath continuum. Perhaps it’s more self-centered paranoia than empathy, but here lately it’s been hard not to see myself in the victims, to realize that if things were just a bit different, that could be me hauled off to jail for not obeying a police officer’s arbitrary commands fast enough… or killed for worshipping different Gods.

I want to set the world straight. And if I can’t – and I know good and well that’s beyond the capacity of any individual, much less me – then at least I want to be able to work for justice. I want to use the relatively safe position of privilege I enjoy to advocate for solutions that are compassionate, fair, and most of all, effective.

But what am I supposed to advocate for?

There are no simple solutions, much less easy ones. Spiritual leaders with far more depth and speakers who are far more eloquent than me have implored those in power to embrace tolerance, compassion, and reason to no avail. Nobody has the right to tell people with legitimate grievances to just let it go and accept continued injustice. And some people simply can’t be bargained with – I’m reluctant to use the term “evil” but I can think of no other way to describe ISIL.

Thoreau was a strong advocate for the abolition of slavery, but he did not live to see its end. If Henry David Thoreau couldn’t set his world straight, what chance do any of us have with our far more complex world?

I do not know if our lives are controlled by fate or if we truly have free will. I have always argued we are better off ordering our lives as though we have free will because such a belief causes us to make better decisions. Yet at times like these the distinction seems meaningless – the wrongs of our world seem so large and so entrenched they might as well be fate.

For many of our ancestors, such a conundrum was simply The Way Things Are. They had little control and even less security in their lives. But this did not cause them to despair. While they certainly admired those who accomplished great things, they judged themselves based on how well they embodied the virtues and values of their people.

Not whether you won, but whether you fought valiantly.

Cú Chulainn is remembered as a great warrior, but he is also remembered as one who went bravely to his final battle knowing he had no strength for the fight.

In The Earth, The Gods and The Soul, Brendan Myers quotes the ancient Irish wisdom texts describing the qualities of a good ruler:

let him be merciful, just, impartial, conscientious, firm, generous, hospitable, honourable, stable, beneficent, capable, honest, well-spoken, steady, true judging

These are qualities all of us can embody regardless of our circumstances.

Two weeks ago I participated in a Rite of Herakles – you may know Him as Hercules. Herakles performed many great deeds but also suffered many great losses, including a painful and untimely death. But because of His perseverance and His willingness to do what was right no matter how difficult, the Gods raised him to Olympus.

I can’t set the world straight. I can live virtuously and encourage others to do the same. I can honor my Gods and ancestors and encourage others to do the same. I can fight the battles that come to me and support those who fight the battles I cannot.

And occasionally, I can sing and feast.

Previous Post

August 17, 2014

Pilgrimage and Convocation

Next Post

August 21, 2014 In Praise of the Wheel of the Year

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Books Community CUUPS Druidry Foundations and Context Gods and Goddesses Magic Myth Nature Ritual Spiritual Practice Theology Travel Uncategorized Videos

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What language was the New Testament originally written in?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Greek Latin Hebrew Syriac