Ok, I am sortof going off on a tangent with this one, but this is really bugging me.

A couple of weeks ago, when I was trying to get information on the Russian/Georgian thing on CNN, I had to sit through the endless babble about the presidential candidates and their christian faith. The impression I got was a credibility issue, apparently the more jesus they have in thier hearts, the better able they are to lead this nation. 

In a day and age when the credibility of America as a nation is in question and the whole world has come to see us as a materialisic, warmongering country, my vote is going to go toward the candidate that can pull us out our economic rut, heal our foreign relations, not put America in a dangerous position, and most important, treat all things related to environmentalism and global warming as a very serious issue.

How does an individuals religious beliefs come to play in this? They don't. And as I watched the duckspeak on tv I wondered what would matter to me as a pagan in this election, in the same contex as how christians relate thier faith to the candidates. 
For one, religion is very personal to each individual and should not be presented in the public realm.  I worry that the majority of the voters in this country are voting soley on how good of a christian Obama and McCain are.  Which also says to me that we are still hung up on the abortion/gay marriage thing.  What petty standards to hold our future commander-in-chief by.  We did that eight years ago, and look where it got us. 

For the other, and this is coming from personal experiences, most of the really bad stuff I see people do and have experienced myself have come from hardcore, fanatical christians.  The kind of people that think and act as if their path is the only correct one and everyone else must follow that path without question.  And they also use that faith to exploit and harm people for their own gain.  Ole' King George had made public many times he felt justified by his faith to continue with the war overseas and to fuel his "crusade" against terrorism.

I am tired of living in fear of someone elses beliefs. I am also tired to politicians basing their morality on a belief system that is highly immoral.  One does not need religion to moral.  And one does not need to be a christian to be a good leader.  To be the leader we need that person in question needs to remember what it means to be an average everyday citizen.  To solve the problems that we everyday citizens bitch about around the water cooler.  To remeber and act in a way that says the people are more important than anything else in politics.  Not only to the people in this country but to EVERY HUMAN BEING on the face of our wonderful home. 

I do have to say that not every christian is bad or evil and are very kind and do not use their faith as some kind of weapon.  And if there happens to be a christian reading this right now, then I have to say thank you for not being closed minded and accepting other beliefs and the people that follow them.  Paganism means so much to me, the highest is openmindedness and acceptance of others.  If I am correct, Jesus taught love, of others and your higher power.  He's cool with me, the vast majoraty of America' hate and ignorance is not. 

And thank you, reader, for sitting through this rant.  I welcome any comments and arguments. 

Since I am such a music junkie, and starting with last weeks Rush tune, Every week I will post lyrics from bands in my vast collection that are postive, insightful, and slightly pagan oriented.  Todays may or may not go along with my rant, but "Trick of the Tail" is one that expresses the outsider in a world of fear. 

Trick of the Tail

Bored of the life on the city of gold
Hed left and let nobody know.
Gone were the towers he had known from a child,
Alone with the dream of a life
He travelled the wide open road,
The blinkered arcade,
In search of another to share in his life.
Nowhere.
Everyone looked so strange to him.

Theyve got no horns and theyve got no tail
They dont even know of our existence.
Am I wrong to believe in a city of gold
That lies in the deep distance, he cried

And wept as they led him away to a cage
Beast that can talk, read the sign.
The creatures they pushed and they prodded his frame
And questioned his story again.
But soon they grew bored of their prey
Beast that can talk?
More like a freak or publicity stunt.
Oh
No.

Theyve got no horns and theyve got no tail
They dont even know of our existence.
Am I wrong to believe in a city of gold
That lies in the deep distance, he cried

And broke down the door of the cage and marched on out.
He grabbed a creature by the scruff of his neck, pointing out:
There, beyond the bounds of you weak imagination
Lie the noble towers of my city, bright and gold.
Let me take you there, show you a living story
Let me show you others such as me
Why did I ever leave?

Theyve got no horns and theyve got no tail
They dont even know of our existence
Am I wrong to believe in a city of gold
That lies in the deep distance, he cried
And wept.

And so we set out with the best and his horns
And his crazy description of home.
After many days journey we came to a peak
Where the beast gazed abroad and cried out.
We followed his gaze and we thought that maybe we saw
A spire of gold - no, a trick of the eye thats all,
But the beast was gone and a voice was heard:

Theyve got no horns and theyve got no tail
They dont even know of our existence
Am I wrong to believe in a city of gold
That lies in the deep distance

Hello friend, welcome home.

Performed by Genesis, written by Tony Banks