It is no secret that I believe the American Empire is failing. I do not believe (though I once did) that this will be the result of some major meltdown or Earth shattering apocalyptic scenario either. Instead, I believe that the arc of our culture is tied to the massive quantities of cheap, abundant energy provided to us by the extraction of oil from the Earth's mantle. In essence, whether it is tomorrow or 300 years from now, it is a fact that we will eventually run out of oil. It is not a renewable resource on the time frame we would need it to be under the best of circumstances. I rather believe the forecast that Oil will be all but dried up in 20-30 years though I won't deny hoping that estimate is wrong by several hundred. Despite the timeline, we use oil in increasing demand for everything. Anytime we assess the value of something we need to assess what our lives would look like if it suddenly disappeared and without oil our lives take on an entirely different set of values. It would be a great disservice to my tribe and community to make the assumption that "they" (whoever the mysterious "they" happen to be) are suddenly going to pull something out of their asses that is going to provide the same level of cheap energy that oil does. Like all civilizations, the fall of empire is predicated by the availability of whatever resources led to it's rise. There is no doubt that the rise of American empire is tied directly to the flow of oil and that flow is waning.
The point of all of this is to indicate that whether it is immediate or long range, our culture will be shifting down the slope of decline at ever increasing speed as the future unravels. As this happens, we can expect that decentralization will occur at relatively the same pace. When the military can no longer afford to fuel it's tanks they can no longer roll them into neighborhoods and point them at people in a manner threatening enough to convince them to stop growing their own food. That level of decentralization will return us to smaller communities and trade will likely occur between people, not people and banks.
There is little to suggest that we will once again live in wattle huts and act as hunter gatherers but communities will likely need to pool resources together in a manner that benefits all and this is where the Warrior will once again find their place as the protector and supporter of the community culture. In the context of a long decline, most communities will likely have the opportunity to slowly adapt to the changing paradigm of their time. Future generations will likely never know the bounty that we have now and therefore have nothing to compare it to their own years upon the Earth. It is therefore imperative that we create traditions now that will help our descendants to honor their own ancestors (of whom we number) in a way that gives them information enough to avoid our same mistakes.
In the complex cycle of human existence we have many common experiences with our ancestors. It has been shown many times that the rise and fall of human civilizations follow a similar course and no doubt there will be more civilizations in the future that look much different than those we have experienced and yet have a similar set of common experiences.
It is not enough to me that we look around us and gift our descendants with the folly of our throwaway culture. Oceans mired in trash; wildlife sick with radioactive waste; fields fallow with chemical residue, all because we allowed a handful of people to make decisions that benefit them financially while allowing us to shop at their big box stores for food that made us sick.
That is not the tradition I wish to hand down to my descendants and I doubt that anyone else would disagree with me save, perhaps, for those who have made a good deal of money by pillaging the Earth of her natural resources. It is here of course that my Pagan spirituality truly raises it's head and begins breathing fire for the traditions handed down to us by more mainstream religions have been perverted into the acceptance and tolerance of disassembling nature for the heady pursuit of financial gain. When it is told to you by your God that you needn't worry about the state of the Earth for you will be rewarded with a glorious kingdom after death in which there will be no pain, no suffering and no trash littered upon the streets of gold then there is nothing wrong with destroying the Earth, after all, the rapture awaits. However, it is the Earth based spirituality of Pagan nature that honors the ancestors and seeks to create new traditions to pass down to our children that are centered upon the rhythm of balance and harmony that nature proffers all things that to me, makes the most realistic sense of the world.
Of course, I am very biased since I am a "Pagan" myself. However, it seems to me even from an objective point of view that those who honor history through their ancestors and those who honor the earth through spiritual practice are more likely to pass down the relevant information to their own descendants that will encourage future generations to avoid the same mistakes we have made. I say encourage because in point of fact, our species should have learned it's lesson now many times but has failed to do so. On the other hand, hope springs eternal.
What our "Traditions of the future" need to incorporate for the Warriors of tomorrow is a conscious embodiment of responsibility. As I pointed out in the last post, violence creates limited outcomes and so the Warrior cannot allow themselves to be constantly backed into that one single corner no matter how much modern context wishes them to portray violence as the primary tool by which Warriors complete the tasks they take upon themselves. We must teach that being a Warrior is a philosophy, a responsibility and most importantly, a series of actions intended for the benefit of the community.
As a Pagan, I celebrate the 8 major holidays of the wheel of the year. Saimhain, Yule (Winter Solstice), Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Lughnasadh and Mabon. While the celebration of these holidays can be esoteric in nature, each of them represent an important point in the passing of the solar year as it relates to our biosphere. In fact, many of the older holidays celebrated by our ancestors held traditions that had a practical as well as spiritual element to them. At Saimhain, the weaker animals of the herd (Cows, sheep, etc.) were killed off and stored for winter food. The stronger animals were run between two bonfires so close that it would singe their hair, thereby killing parasites without truly harming the animals. With herd animals packed in tight over the winter to conserve energy by sharing warmth, it makes perfect sense that you would want to avoid having them riddled with parasites that might jump in between the animals and make them sick. If you ever have time to review the cattle raid stories of Irish mythology, you may begin to understand the immense value placed upon these animals. Cattle represented life for the tribe.
This is an excellent example of how our traditions must reflect practical applications to the way our descendants will live in the future. The tough reality is though, that we really have no manner of knowing how they will live. We can project ideas about what that will look like but we cannot really tell what that may actually look like. So we must also create traditions that can be extrapolated and modified for the changing times that our descendants will encounter.
As I believe I have mentioned before, I have a young son. While he was still floating around in his mother's womb I had the idea that we should create a family tradition of creating something for our family members to thank them for being a part of our lives. It has always struck me oddly that on our birthdays we are the ones who receive gifts when in practice, we should be thanking others for the impact they have upon our lives that makes each added year so valuable to us. In my minds eye, I imagine a future where this tradition has taken root in a fantastic way, where people receive gifts from one another all throughout the year, to thank them for the indelible and positive impact they have had. It's a wonderful dream even if it seems a bit overwhelming at present to think of all the people I would need to make gifts for in the next 16 days if I were to begin now. However, that is not to say that it cannot be done. In fact, I may get started after this post is completed.
The example above, while not in active practice, gives an idea of what I am going for here. Our traditions should also consist of ways that help to tie our community together. The birth of a child is a gift to the tribe. It seems important that a child recognize that they rely on the tribe for their survival and therefore thank them for their support. Of course my idea has it's flaws but I like it nonetheless. I do however doubt that my parents will ever sign off upon not spoiling their grandchild on his birthday. That said, to begin a tradition like this it might best to begin small. My family could make small gifts for everyone when it was time for their birthday that they could give out as a thank you. Something more than "Party favors", these could be gifted to people in a way that makes them understand that they are a special and important part of our lives.
So, to recap: Traditions should begin simply so that they are capable of growing organically to meet the changing needs of the future; traditions should embody the responsibility individuals have to the community; traditions should foster a sense of community among individuals; and they should also have a practical element to them.
I am sure that there is much more to it than these four simple tenets and as this is an evolving concept I am sure that in time (perhaps with the help of others in my community, *HINT, HINT*) we can create traditions that will last down through the ages. One tradition that I have recently become involved with is the Pagan Weaving, the experience of which I wrote about in an earlier post. A yearly ritual, this is a way for Pagans all over the State of Maine to come together and share thoughts and ideas for the future of our community. In time, I hope to create similar traditions a bit closer to home for others in my community that cannot make the trip south. It is experiences like this that are needed to underscore our community and bring us together in word and in deed. It is just this type of community experience that will help to draw us together as resources continue to wane. If those resources do not evaporate as I expect they will, our community will be that much closer and that much more resilient which is not a bad thing no matter how you look at it.
Tradition will become an important part of any future regardless of limited or unlimited resources. Let me give you a hint, there is no such thing as the latter but that is beside the point. The most important tradition that a Warrior must respect will be traditions that underline the responsibility of taking the path of the Warrior in the first place. Responsibilities I will discuss in the next post.
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