In the first post in this series I posited that one of the primary reasons that Patriarchy became an institution was the concept that the male dominated Warrior class became revered in a world of consistent danger and upheaval. Along with the concept of setting our Warriors upon a pedestal followed the concept of Sovereignty that allowed such men to place more importance upon themselves than upon the people that provided them status. Of course, I recognize that this is a bit of oversimplification and if I decide some day in the future to devote an entire post to the subject you can bet that the ins and outs of such a project would take up far more space on the interwebs than the total word count of every blog post I have ever written, published or unpublished. Suffice to say, that is a lot. For now, I choose to use the wider brush strokes to illustrate my point and the point is this: Once the Warrior was seen as a person whose community was responsible to them rather than a person responsible to their community, people gave away their own sovereignty. In my estimation, this loss of autonomy is not unseen in nature, wolf packs are an obvious example of social structure that supports a leader among the population. Using that same example, the pack alpha also makes certain that the pack has it's needs met. They may fight violently to protect their status as leader but once a leader begins to become to weak to lead the pack as it once did, younger wolves step in and challenge the alpha's status until a new leader is appointed. The point here is that this is what works for wolves and other wild dogs because it is energy efficient and successful. It is a paradigm that can be seen in most social predatory species including humans. The difference is, that our rapid social evolution has precluded a slower adaptation of these instincts into something that fails the test of energy efficiency. When 100 people toil to support a single leader who lives in luxury while those that serve them remain in squalor, efficiency is tossed out the proverbial window. Alpha leaders in the wild hunt, with a few exceptions, hunt along with the pack. If we were to observe the same thing in nature that we do in humanity, we would see that the alpha wolf sits on a rock while the rest of the pack hunts down game and lays it before them. Here's a hint: that's not what happens. There can be little doubt that this is what happened in most early cultures at least to some degree and has been happening ever since. However, if the same held true today, Clan Chieftains would be more likely to be those whose business acumen was the measure of their contribution to their culture as opposed to martial prowess or the continued success of the Clan which is exactly what has transpired. Those same wolves, faced with a leader that did not, could not or would not lead the hunt, would no longer follow that leader then fight it out to see who would replace them. When we look at the history of the Warrior class and recognize that the sovereignty of the tribe was married to the sovereignty of the land (a common Celtic/Gaelic rite was when the newly appointed or elected chieftain literally married the land itself), then we see that common natural instincts developed in uniquely spiritual ways.
It is my not so humble opinion that the Warrior is a resource for the tribe and gives their service freely, without the expectation of recompense or reward. They do it because they feel compelled to do the right thing by their community and by accepting the title of Warrior, they understand that makes them responsible for defending and supporting them. It is an honor to be a Warrior among your people and the reward should only ever be that honor and nothing more. This is not to say that as a Warrior we would not enjoy the fruits of community labor but we do so because we are a part of that community as well. As a Warrior, if I am given any status within my tribe, I wish it to be a status of value to my community. An ear for troubles, a friend for advice, a trusted source of wisdom and an objective voice of balance and harmony. Notice that none of these things are something that I can provide without other members of my tribe recognizing their value. The value of my service is not what I make of it, but what the members of my community make of it. This is an important distinction. I happen to think I have many fine ideas and give good advice. There are times where I may take that advice to others and give it to them freely. If they do not make use of it, that is their affair. If they do, and that service seems to them to be of value, they may ask my advice the next time they encounter a crossroads and the value of my counsel is established. I also recognize though that there are limitations I must set for that involvement. There are always going to be people in every community that are negative, lazy or ignorant. They may not pull their own weight or fail to shoulder a fair share of the burden of being a member of a community. One thing I can say about Pagans is that everyone has at least a little baggage. The only difference I find between Pagans and more mainstream communities is that Pagans tend to "put it all out there" and in mainstream culture folks tend to want to bury it and pretend everything is alright. This is precisely why Warriors are so important. It takes a measure of intestinal fortitude to accept that you have baggage and Warriors help to create a safe space for that. The problem always comes when one or more person's negativity threatens to upset the apple cart. This is the place where the Warrior knows to step in and keep the balance, set the harmony and embrace the equilibrium. That sometimes means pissing people off. Sometimes it means those folks are just going to need to learn how to deal with their own baggage and recognize it is not the job of the community to carry it for them. If they reach out though, the community is almost always willing to lend them a hand.
There is more than one path to the goal of being a Warrior in your community. If I make myself available, the individuals of my community place their own value upon me if they come seeking my help or advice. It is my hope that many of the "battles" our descendants face will be battles that can be settled with words and wisdom not violence and bloodshed. It may be a vain hope but to me, a true Warrior does not need the smell of blood and the ring of steel to feel like a Warrior, they need only the peace after a well fought battle in whatever way that battle might manifest. It could be helping out another person with physical labor, a personal problem, good advice for dealing with something or even staying out of it altogether. It could be taking up the banner of a cause and making a change for the better in their community or it may be accepting that their community isn't ready for the change they see as necessary. Often, the battle is simply restoring balance to your own life. When your community recognizes that you are seeking balance, they will seek you out. The only manner in which they can recognize this is when we project that balance outward. This requires that we battle ourselves constantly, something that can only be done by being honest with ourselves. Recognizing others in your community that are not being honest with themselves can be very frustrating but you must also remember that not everyone is cut out to be a Warrior and the decision to walk this path is a difficult one to make and even more difficult to stick to. The victories of the battles we fight within ourselves is not to reverse but to establish harmony and victory comes in many forms, as does battle. Why then do we collectively seem to insist that violence is the only manner in which Warriors are allowed to settle problems? If we are to create traditions to act as guiding principles for our descendants so that they might avoid the mistakes we and our ancestors have made, does it not make sense that we should also cut through the hogwash that media has made into Warriors?
Responsibility to the community MUST be the first call of the Warrior if that Warrior is to have any value to their community. If the call of the Warrior becomes to act for reward, then the Warrior is not a Warrior any longer, they are a mercenary; a soldier in service to coin.
There are many cultures that have a practiced the concept of a "Life debt". Wookies in the Star Wars films and books practice this concept as well. The idea is that if you save someone, you are responsible for their life. I suspect, though I have not done any research to verify this, that "Life debt" came from a simple concept that if you save someone's life then everything they do from that point on becomes your responsibility. By saving them, you have enabled them to continue their path in the world. Why this became an inverse ratio of they are then indebted to you and often acted as a servant or companion until the debt could be paid (in some cultures) or remained with you for life (in other cultures) is a philosophical discussion for another time. In the context of this discussion though, the Warrior is someone who, by walking the path of the Warrior understands that they owe their community a life debt that can never be paid and yet will work to repay it anyhow. The manner in which they work to repay this debt can vary depending upon their own personal abilities and gifts but the common cause of community and harmony is always the goal. If a Warrior is an agent of balance for their community, they need to accept that the balance they seek and espouse also means that they must serve their community. Sovereignty is personal, not bestowed. Each of us is a sovereign individual capable of making our own choices. The Warrior as an agent of balance must seek a method of balancing themselves with the rest of their community. They cannot do so if they operate under the assessment that those in their community owe them something. When they feel they owe their community though, their works are done out of Love and fellowship. When I stop to think about the concept of "world peace" it strikes me how that lofty goal isn't necessarily about actually reaching that destination but in uniting for a common cause to reduce war and violence. This is something every Warrior should think about in the context of their own lives and the lives of their community. The wars we fight now over resources like oil are more to preserve our own opulent lifestyle than they are to ensure balance and harmony with nature and with ourselves. In that context, serving and sacrificing ourselves for our communities (the highest calling of the Warrior in my estimation) is not about taking the safest path, it is about doing what is best for the good of those you serve.
Servitude though can also come in many forms. Blind obedience is never a smart option for a Warrior because it reduces the Warrior's personal sovereignty and character as being tied to the whim of another for whom their skills are merely a tool to be used haphazardly. Such may not always be the case but eventually it always becomes the case. How many are the stories of good Kings having raised children who perverted their every good deed?
Responsibility to the community is the first and greatest calling of the Warrior. It does not mean that as a Warrior you are required to give up your autonomy and blindly follow the will of others. It means that as Warriors we must educate ourselves to aptly understand what our community needs of us so that we can aid each other as much in times of ease as in times of duress and of peril. We need not be the wisest or the most brilliant or even the most intelligent. What we need to be is in tune and in harmony with our community. To do that, we need to learn many things and unlearn many others which will be the subject of the next post in this series.
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