I've been seeing it every day during this holiday season: Christians say they are persecuted because other faiths wish to say, "Happy Holidays." Non-religions say they are persecuted because Christians won't acknowledge their religion hijacked this time of year from them. The word "persecuted" has lost all manner of its true meaning over the last decade because people living in our country today have no real idea what it means to be persecuted.
Persecution used to mean being burned to death for accusations of witchcraft. Persecution used to mean being thrown into a lion's den to be torn apart and eaten alive for believing in Jesus Christ. Persecution used to mean being lined up, branded, forced to wear a tag, and gassed/shot/beaten to death for being a Jew. Persecution today in every part of the world outside of America means being burned and hacked to death for being Buddhist and Hindu. It means beheadings and shootings in the middle of the street in Egypt for Christians. It means being targeted in Europe for being a Christian and beheaded while others stand by and watch. It means being slaughtered in the street for making a joke in Denmark. It means being hung to death for being gay. It means being stoned to death for being raped. It means having acid thrown in your face for displeasing your husband. It means being raped, beaten, and sold into slavery for being a helpless child.
Persecution has never meant being told something you don't want to hear, and by owning that word as if you really understand it is a slap in the face to all of those who have died from it or are being tortured under it.
I believe we have taken the term to mean something so meaningless because it makes us feel more important in the face of adversity. It makes others support our cause when we use such an ominous, dangerous word. Who doesn't detest persecution? We gain more sympathy for saying we are being persecuted than if we were to admit we simply don't like being contradicted. One will garner sympathy while the other earns being told to "get over it."
We've been trained to feel we no longer have to deal with anything and work through the healing process, even if it's difficult. It's okay to wallow in self-pity. It's okay to let every negative thing we hear affect us badly and make us react in ways that hurt ourselves or others. If someone is being bullied, he becomes the victim when he kills kids at his school. If someone is spurned by their love interest, they are the victim of being emotionally teased and tormented when they open fire in an office building where their ex-lover works.
We are no longer expected to accept responsibility for our reactions to how others make us feel. We are no longer expected to control our anger, to learn how to cope with bad memories, to work through and rise above the wrongs we experience in our lives. We are behaving like rabid animals rather than logical and spiritual beings. This behavior is a direct contradiction to who we all claim to be. Killing others over words is not spiritual to the believers, nor is it logical to the non-religious. We take so much pride in our beliefs and argue so heatedly about persecution, but when it comes time to follow our path when dealing with each other, we throw it all away and behave as uncivilized cavemen jumping around with clubs.
Why have we reverted to our most base instincts? We know better, yet with all of our advanced thinking, we have become alienated from each other in an attempt to fight back against what we have convinced ourselves to be persecution of our beliefs and various ways of life. When did we become so paranoid?
I believe a deciding factor in how we behave today is because we do not communicate as we should in our society, and this has lead to hurt feelings, anger, intolerance, alienation, and an overabundance of self-centeredness masquerading as pride. Every one believes their personal opinions and convictions are constantly under attack because, in all fairness, they are under some sort of criticism or another at all times from those we purposefully push away. What do we think is going to happen when we alienate rather than welcome?
We see these attitudes the most during Christmas, sadly, so I think this is a great time to air out some truths to be heard and understood.
What I am about to say is not what Christians want to hear, and what I will say later may not be what my fellow pagans want to hear. When we behave as children with our hands over our ears, our eyes shut tightly, and our mouths chanting the repetitive war cry of rebelliously concealing the words of another, we only hurt ourselves and stunt our personal growth - the intellectual as well as the spiritual. In learning how another feels, why they believe as they do, and the rest of the "who, what, when, where, and how," we can understand our own issues with those things and let go of our negativity. Only when we let go of our intolerance over another's personal beliefs can we move on to better understand and improve on our own.
Every year, there is a battle surrounding Christmas carols, Christmas trees, and even just saying, "Merry Christmas." I am fortunate enough to be blessed with a unique perspective as I was raised Roman Catholic and my journey from the church and into Paganism allowed me into the hearts and minds of not only pagans but atheists and agnostics, as well. I chose, from the beginning of my journey, to listen to everyone from their points of view regarding their chosen paths, and to have an open mind to understand why they chose their paths and why they feel as they may regarding others beliefs. I tried never to make an issue of agreeing or disagreeing as I felt it more important to learn than to argue. Because of the way I have traveled my road, I have an understanding of this conflict that most do not. My intention, therefore, is to share that understanding and hopefully, add a ripple in the effort to bring the peace this time of year is supposed to represent.
It is true that most practices we see during the Christmas season are pagan in origin. In fact, how we celebrate Christmas today was forbidden for hundreds of years due to the pagan origins that Christianity wished to reject. Trees, wreaths, gifts, yule logs, feasts, lights, midnight prayer circles, and singing were once forbidden because they were traditional forms of celebrating the arrival of winter and the birth of the sun god. Those Christians who chose to celebrate this time of year using pagan traditions were imprisoned, beaten, shunned, cast out. Those non-Christians who tried to celebrate their ancient beliefs in these ways were hung, burned, and tortured while being labeled "witches," "demons," "Satan worshipers," etc...
Today, we find the same things our ancestors were tortured for being used by Christians, the very group who tortured and murdered our ancestors. The anger at Christmas celebrations, therefore, arises from the audacity of people who once forbid the celebrations under penalty of death now using those celebrations as if they were Christian celebrations all along. When we mention the pagan origins, we are ridiculed, called names, and ordered to "stop persecuting Christians!"
Does this help explain the hostility now?
On the other hand, while it is true all that Christians do was formed through paganism, attacking another's spiritual beliefs is not what our paths have taught us, whatever that path may be. We have evolved spiritually more so than those restrained within religion because we have permitted our spirits the freedom to explore all the ways to enlightenment. Why can we not share our ways?
Admittedly, our ways were "hijacked" by people who now believe only they have a claim to them, but is it really so bad that they use our ways to share their beliefs? We taught them and they hold our ways dear to their hearts. Is this not a good thing? Do we have to chastise them for it? Do we wish to make them hate our ways once again and once more attempt to banish them? We should be spiritually evolved enough that their attitudes matter little because it is their spiritual growth that matters more. As it is no one's right to force another onto a path not their own, it is our obligation to stand aside and allow the spiritual growth of others to develop.
This goes for all: The journey of another toward spiritual harmony and enlightenment is not ours to decide or dictate. The spiritual journey of another is not ours to claim ownership or demand gratitude if it was in any way influenced by our own. We don't own the path we are on. We simply travel it as many before us have traveled it, are presently traveling it, and will travel it for many years to come. No one owns spirituality. It is a journey and we will all come to it in our own time as all journeys lead to one destiny, the goal of enlightenment.
While we complain about our beliefs being "persecuted," attacking others for theirs is no better.
"et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis": "Peace on Earth to men of good will." We shall only find peace when we create it through our words, our deeds, and in our hearts.
