Jul 22, 2006
If I were to claim this episode was about ethics and morals, you'd have a pre-conceived idea. To some, "ethics and morals" brings to mind the image of a schoolmarm or Sunday school teacher wagging a finger, or perhaps a nun with a brass ruler aiming for your knuckles. For others, it sounds like an opportunity to have a juicy debate over some point that is probably either obscure or far-fetched.
To me, this concerns how to get what you want or need with a clear conscience and no bad karma.
Let's take a real-life situation and see how it applies.
The US Department Of Veterans Affairs has been "in the process" of approving the Pentacle as a religious symbol for grave markers for nine years. During the same time period, several other faiths had their symbols approved. Of course they know better than to deny the applications, because that would be a religious version of "Jim Crow." So, they simply keep it "in the works". In the meantime, Sgt Patrick Stewart, a hero who fell in Afghanistan, is one of many who are waiting for the recognition which would have been theirs as a matter of course if they had not been Wiccan.
There are doubtlessly Wiccans on the VA payroll who are unfortunately not in a position to act on this. And would we want to phrase our prayers in such a way as to affect a Wiccan nurse in a VA hospital? But it would be nice to have our power felt by those who can and should act.
I cannot presribe answers for you, but I can show how I arrive at answers which meet my needs. That process is one of the secrets which are hidden in plain sight.