Blue Pagans
Rita Moran is Chairperson of the Kennebec County Democratic Committee, and is attending the Democratic National Convention as an official delegate for the state of Maine. Rita, who runs a bookstore in Maine, was outed and stalked last year by a local conservative Christian organization. Since then she has dedicated herself to being an open and positive Pagan presence within the Democratic Party.
Ed Lachowicz is Vice Chair of the Kennebec County Democratic Committee, and a Maine Democratic State Committeeman. In addition, he is a regular blogger with Turn Maine Blue, a progressive state-focused blog that has been granted press credentials at the Democratic National Convention.
Together at http://bluepagans.blogspot.com/ they are offering a perspective on Pagans involved in the political process.
Not all Pagans are liberal. There are George Bush Pagans out there–even though Bush expressed the opinion that Wicca, one of the largest of the Pagan traditions, is not a real religion. Even though his Born-Again, End-of-Times mindset has played havoc with environmental policy and inspired misadventures in the Middle East. Many Pagans are not involved in the political process at all. But, according to Moran, “[T]he Democratic performance (percentage who say they vote Democratic on polls) of Pagans is higher than Catholics and mainline Protestants.”
–Not that the Democratic Party is courting the Pagan vote. Most Pagans–aside from their religious path–lead mainstream lives. Only minority would be considered to be living an alternative life style. But as Moran points out: “[M]ost mainstream Christians don’t understand us very well, and our overt support might well push center and right Christians squarely in the McCain camp.”
http://bluepagans.blogspot.com/2008/08/are-we-included-will-we-ever-be.html
Moran blogs about attending peace rallies and interfaith events. Lachowicz thunders about the current state of “politics as usual”: “Every time that that petulant son of a bitch up in the Maison Blanche (petulance is best expressed in French, according to the Republican Party) stamps His Mighty Feet, Democrats scramble for the quickest way to insert their heads as far up their asses as they can physically manage. The Republicans, meanwhile, manage that which we cannot- unity.”
Blue Pagans offers a lively look at the Democratic Convention–and a view you won’t get from TV or your local newspaper.
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