Greenhammer's Page

 s            

Topic: REDEFININGPATRIOTISM  

In 1918, my grandmother was twelve years old and working 12 hours a day in afactory. Meanwhile the company big wigs were at the country club clipping fatcigars and drinking martinis while they laughed at the workers who had to begto take a bathroom break. I remember the pain in her face as she recounted thistype of corporate cruelty.
Imagine that a really long time ago, in 1834, one of the first organized laborstrikes occurred. What I read is that child laborers went on strike to lower the work week to six days, and limiting theworkday to 12 hours.Factories and many other large companies  treated workers poorly. Our American ancestorsendured difficult, torturous working conditions. Still today,  many employees are pushed beyond their endurance,but they keep going and going. Have you ever seen a 7-11 at lunch hour whenthere is only one employee? This cannot be the life the Creator intended andit’s very sad that so many people freely give their lives to enrich the fewunworthy ones.
There’s no denying the extreme bravery of those in a war zone. But I askmyself, was it our victory in World War 1 (1916-1919) over the “Huns” thatimproved working conditions for my grandmother? NO! The child labor lawsenacted during the Progressive Era and their enforcement as years went on washow her life improved; these labor reformers are the real patriots to me.Fighting the corporations and eventually all this reform paid off with theprosperity of the 50’s and 60’s which the “greatest generation” primarilyenjoyed!
Are there other examples of patriots…..how about the suffragettes? For overfifty years they endured the criticisms and efforts to thwart them. But ofcourse they were right; half the country’s population was finally given a voicein 1920. Till then women were not allowed to vote. Talk about third worldconditions!
Civil rights protestors were fighting for basic rights. Fighting for rightshere in America, with no lifetime military pension as incentive either. No VAvan to come and take them to the hospital.
Do you truly believe we are preserving American freedom by the wars in Korea,Vietnam, proxy wars in Central America, and 2 wars with Iraq and the furthestaway of all, Afghanistan. War may help the Gross National Product and islucrative for people with stocks in weapon manufacturing companies, but itdoesn’t work in real life anymore. Try as they might to make mass murderacceptable and patriotic, deep in our collective American hearts we know it’swrong.”

B)·  Marxism in America 

Do we follow the 9th commandment ……or the 9th amendment of the Bill of rights constitution thingy? In the case of tea party ‘patriots’, the answer isneither. In the absence  of law the 9th amendmentsays we must use precedence and the spirit of our constitution to makedecisions. The Tea Potty has warped the meaning of this and this will be one ofour constitutional wrestling matches this year. The 9th commandment of thebible talks about bearing false witness and needless to say glennbeck willspend an eternity in hell just for what he has said demonizing progressives andthe deception and half truths from the neo-cons is the epitome of bearing falsewitness.
“We of the American Progressive Party seek governmentaccountability; an end to wars of aggression, a vibrant economy includingliving wage jobs, sustainable environments, social justice and constitutionalrights for all.” The American Progressive Party from Facebook.

The major plank of the Progressives in the breakawayBull Moose Party
in 1912 was to fight corporate corruption. “to disruptthe unholy alliance of corrupt business and corrupt politics,“it stated.

We anticipate the logjam of the Liberal-Conservativedebate to break soon and
new ideas, independent ideas, will burst onto themedia. A new culture has begun to rise up. It’s healthy greenery will grow acanopy over the dying, destructive, death dealing, war loving culture ofManifest Destiny. Call it co-operative capitalism, or Enlightened capitalism orsustainable capitalism, it’s how we will evolve out of this entirely corruptpredatory capitalist system.

The Populist-Progressive era of 1890-1915 is beingrevised for modern times but progressives are called liberals and I’d like totell you why that is partly wrong. One star of the Progressive era was TeddyRoosevelt, a populist conservative, who was often at odds with big business,although there also times when he was accused of coddling business. That wasn’toften and he was sincerely trying to be fair. He was one of the few in powerthat was brave enough to confront the predatory monopolies head on. He was alsoenough of a conservationist to have started the National Parks system and theNational Estuary Program. There was also Bob Lafollette, “fightin’ Bob’ and themuckrakers such as Upton Sinclair who wrote “The Jungle” exposing thedisgusting conditions in meat factories.
.
People like Phil Gramm and Cal Thomas, glennbeck,George Will, Billo Reilly,Anne Coulte, the great deceiver Rush Limbaugh andHalf-Truth Hannity truly define the phrase, “mean spirited.” They have becomethe elder spokespeople of this group of moral high ground hypocriticalcorporate apologists. They insist on trying to hold up the crumbling façade ofmanifest destiny and acting out the “white man’s burden.” Ann Coulter tells usthat god gave the resources of the earth for everyone to use. In a book calledThe History of Gardening, Neal Fairbairn quotes George Washington who said,"How much more delightful is the task of making improvements on the earth,than all the vain glory which can be acquired from ravaging it."

People are waking up to the fact that 30 Independentsin Congress and 10 in the Senate would keep either entrenched party fromholding a majority. Independents: be they Green or Libertarian or Progressive.Progressive independents can investigate corporate greed while on the otherside of the spectrum, Libertarian independents can root out government waste.

For now I still think Barack Obama will snap back tohis progressive roots and people will realize the 1,000 difficult decisions hehad to make have moved us forward unlike a John McCain presidency which wouldhave been a circus of incompetence. Like Adrian Peterson on the MinnesotaVikings who can carry 4 guys trying to pull him down and still make a 5 yardgain, Obama has tried to move fluidly towards solutions, although I am asstunned as anyone he has listened to the braying sycophants in the PredatoryCapitalist Industrial War complex in giving a tax break to those who have fartoo much anyways.

My mortgage holder, Sun Trust bank, got 4.9 billiondollars in the bailout, yet I get harassing phone calls every day and certifiedletters from them because I am late with my mortgage. They will get theirmoney, where is my equitable break? As Progressives we should demand aForeclosure Moratorium till all banks and foreclosures have been investigated.How many families would still be in their homes if that 4.9 billion went tohelp us make our payments?

Corporations will see how much shit the sheep willstride through silently, but something is going to happen this year becauseLady Liberty will call her sons and daughters to the fore. If a bunch ofreactionary gasbags on t heir medicaid scooters can change the landscape ofpolitics, then you ain't seen nothing yet if a properly aroused independentmajority decides to take the power back from "corporate persons".
The clotted nothingness of Democrats and the venomousspewing of conservatives actually represent only small slices of the AmericanPie, unfortunately, the only two that have a voice in the mainstream media.What about the independent or progressive or green party viewpoint? Theindependents have no steadfast, limiting ideology. We develop our ownviewpoints and philosophies. We are tired of coercive governments and corruptcorporations and if there’s any life left in us, we will be heard the next twoyears.

·   

The Florida Progressive Party

Written by John Almada 

Solstice

          Do you see what I am trying to say? Pagans were building fire altars, kissing images of the Mother Earth and forgiving past wrongs, but the Christian propaganda machine has you visualizing goat horned demons and bizarre rituals. The simple folk religion is harmless, respectful and exemplary. Romuvans may find I place most of the accent on the feminine aspect of their religion but I think that’s where the roots of it lie. A lot of pagan costumes and priestly rituals were created by the idle rich as time went on, and this goes for most religions.On June 6 2012, Venus will be visible crossing the sun. This is something that happens  twice per  century.  Curiously, they are always eight years apart and this is known as The Transit of Venus. This occurred in 2004 and will happen again on 6-6-12

                          JESUS AND VENUS 

I Binged  (star Bethlehem  Venus) and found what I was looking for. An astronomical event that involves a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus. I remember being able to see Jupiter with my dad;s simple telescope. I never knew much about Venus, frankly, and not until Dan Brown pointed out in his book The Da Vinci Code about Venus, did I even notice her movements.  The source of the controversial pentacle symbol is that the simple star and circle that it is, is inspired  by the journey we see that Venus takes through the night sky. It’s a long story about how in 8 years, Venus makes a star shaped pattern in the sky but I don’t want to bog us down.

        The Magi followed the “star” to find the birthplace of the divine superstar that was about to be born. After some divination they concluded that a very great event was about to happen, a sign of royalty  was seen with all these constellations and stars that somehow made a kings crown. Don’t ask me to explain it, but when they observed a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus as they set in the evening sky that June, they knew they had found the sign. The Magi began their journey and in September they observed  Venus and Jupiter  together  in another rare conjunction in the morning sky.

         The combination of two bright objects in the sky make them appear quite a bit brighter  and this bright star, the conjunction of planets that they knew about, then pointed north, seemingly over the Kingdom of Judea. The MAGI were Magicians, sorcerers and possibly a  type of Druid, but mostly their expertise was astronomy and astrology. These Magi were very knowledgeable about astronomy as proven by some texts that were found dated to 7 B.C.  They were  predicting a king would be born, a king of the Jews more specifically.

        Then you know this part of the story where the Magi naturally assume a son had been born to the local king. “A King is born!!!OUT rageous” Herod  stated loudly. According to myth, all babies were killed and everyone born the next year would also die. You Bastard! Flee to Eygpt the Magi insisted. Getaway from these bloodthirsty Romans and the corrupt dittohead Pharisees.

         “Flee to Egypt,” the magi insisted. Take him somewhere peaceful, teach him the mysteries and get initiated by a teleste. Introduce him to a peaceful religion. Forms of Buddhism had reached the homes of the Magi  and  Eygpt was marginalized politically but  still a spiritual place and the Mystery Schools were highly regarded forms of education. The Magi mad this three month journey from out near the Ukaine or something, almost out to India: so theoretically ,Jesus as the divine teen may have made some extensive voyages to that area as speculated by some.

          Very likely Jesus was born in September and I really have no problem with its symbolic celebration  and no one else should either. It’s the Christian persistent proselytizing that annoys peo ple not to mention the death sentence of our soul in this hell they talk about. Christians twist and turn complicated astronomy to fit in with what is written in the Bible. What I’m telling you is what I think and what researchers  and astronomers think. Saturnalia  and Solstice and Boxing day and Hannukeh and New Years. It’s the holidays, dude. It’s all gravy merry Christmas.

  13 vegetarian dishes and a flat wafer bread called Oplatka, the bread of love. The sharing of Oplatka bread symbolizes forgiving of past wrongs and a new beginning. Herbs are thrown on the fire to make smoke patterns and candle wax is dripped into glasses of cold water. The patterns and shapes of hardened wax could be interpreted with the help of the village babci or grandmother, an elderly wise woman, or tsarowinica; a witch                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      `I have a that the 

The United States: A Country founded on Paganism
by Pagan Jim
Originated: 20 March 2005
Additions: 17 Dec. 2008


Pagan n. 1. A person who is not a Christian, Moslem, or Jew; heathen. 2. One who has no religion.

--The American Heritage Dictionary

Although the common meaning of Paganism seems to imply atheism, a Pagan can worship any other god not common to the god of the Torah, the Bible or the Koran. This also includes those who worshiped gods before the advent of the Judeo-Christian religions. As Mortimer Adler put it: "Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and Cicero were Western pagans. The Western peoples of pre-Christian antiquity were all pagans in the sense defined. Many remained pagans during the early centuries of the Christian era; and from the 16th century on, the number of pagans living in communities that were predominantly Christian or Muslim has steadily increased." [Adler]

So if we wish to find the origins of a government based on Paganism, we must establish two things: 1. The lawful documents, symbols and mottoes of the founding government do not contain any mention of Christian, Moslem, or Jewish religions. 2. The documents, symbols and mottoes of the founding government describe Pagan deities and concepts.

Since the government in question involves the founding documents and symbols of the United States of America, we must satisfy the above two criteria with evidence for Paganism and a lack of evidence for Christianity, Judaism, or Islam.

This becomes evermore interesting in light of the recent religious-right movement in their attempt to convince citizens that the American government derived from Christian principles. The inspiration for creating this article came from deceptive claims by right-wing Christians about Moses and the 10 commandments depicted on the Supreme Court building and other state courthouses (more about this below). This article shows their error by examining the very documents establishing the United States of America (the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution) and the symbols and mottoes used by the early Americans. In every case, Paganism prevails and Christianity does not. In fact, Paganism reveals itself so predominantly that it should give the reader pause to consider the power of Christian propaganda to deceive and disguise these obvious facts for so long.THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BY PAGAN JIM'

The religious-right propagandists like to put emphasis on this period of American history because, indeed, these first European-Americans did live under Christian rule and it makes it seem as if these first colonists established the government of the United States. They did not.

Of course the first Americans did not practice Christianity at all. Native Indians lived in America thousands of years before the Christians invaded their land. These original Americans got dispossessed, slaughtered, or segregated to the will of intolerant Christians. Today's religious-right Christians conveniently leave out any mention of the original Americans, Pagan to the very core. Only a very brief period before the formation of the United States could Christians call America their land. The following gives a brief historical summary:

passes a similar law). In 1702 in Maryland, the Anglican Church gets established as the official church. In 1706 South Carolina also established the Anglican Church as its official church.

All of this occurred well before the establishment of the United States.

These early European Americans began to feel very suspicious of the growing encroachment of Christianity upon government and personal freedoms. By the mid 1750s, a few of the colonists began to introduce heretical ideas. Benjamin Franklin publishes Poor Richard's Almanac, and he begins to question Christian principles. More and more Americans become wary of religious and political impositions on their life. In January of 1776, Thomas Paine publishes "Common Sense" in Philadelphia which criticized King George III's allegiance to Monarchy, and argues for American independence. It becomes an instant best-seller. Paine, a Pagan deist would later write "Age of Reason" where he rejected Judeo-Christian tenets and scriptures.

Remember that at this time the colonies belonged to Great Britain.

Things had come to a head. The most influential American colonists rebelled against Great Britain and their taxes, institutional churches, and desired to form an independent government free from religion and Monarchies. On July 4, 1776, The Declaration of Independence (written by a Pagan deist) announced their independence to the world.

The Declaration of Independence, a Pagan document Although strictly not a lawful document, the Declaration of Independence, a pre-government document, revealed the first attempt by the American colonists to establish their own independence from Great Britain. The Declaration also mentions god where the religious-right of modern times have tried to use as evidence for their Christian god. But does the god of the Declaration speak about a Biblical god? No, not at all. Clearly the god mentioned describes a Pagan concept. Lets look at the Declaration's words directly:

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Thomas Jefferson thought of himself as a scientist more than he did a politician. Consider that the "Laws of Nature" describe a materialist viewpoint, many times referred to as Newton's laws in the years following Newton's discovery of the laws of gravity, light, and calculus mathematics. (Thomas Jefferson greatly admired Isaac Newton and anyone who visits Monticello will see the influence he had on Jefferson.) Clearly Jefferson intended "Nature's God," not to refer to the personal god of superstitious Christianity, but of a physical god of nature, the laws of physics-- Nature's God. In 1809 Jefferson wrote, "Nature intended me for the tranquil pursuits of science, by rendering them my supreme delight." Clearly Jefferson thought of Nature as God.

THIS IS AN ARTICLE BY PAGAN JIM THAT EXPRESSES WHAT i FEEL IS THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES
Jefferson, in his many papers and correspondences throughout his life expressed a Deistic view of religion. Deists did not believe in miracles, revealed religion, the authority of the clergy, or the divinity of Jesus. Jefferson regarded ethics, not faith, as the essence of religion. Of course Deists believed in a creator, but thought that the original Creator no longer lived or did not play any part in the world or influenced the lives of people. That goes to the very reason why the American founding fathers knew that they (We the people) had to form the laws of the land, laws based on human reasoning.

Although a Republic evolved out of past democratic governments, and our local governments retain some elements of democracy, the U.S. system relies on representatives to establish laws rather than through the voting public or imperial minded presidents. During the Constitutional Convention of 1787 no one supported a direct form of democracy. On the contrary, our founders feared pure democracy because it provides no checks and balances on the people themselves.


Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and conflict; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.

-- James Madison

Our founding fathers based the United States government on the Greek, Roman, and Anglo-Saxon ideas along with freethought ideas from the Enlightenment. Jefferson saw the Anglo-Saxons as originators of the institutions of representative government and trial by jury. The terms, "Life and liberty," "The pursuit of happiness," Self-evident truths," according to Mapp, "were not just glittering ornaments to brighten somber discourse. They were terms specifically defined in the writings of the Scottish Enlightenment to which Jefferson had been introduced by William Small and which he continued to study with great avidity." [Mapp] Of course the Enlightenment went against the grain of Christian, Jewish, and Islamic thought, and by this standard, meets the requirements of Pagan thought.

Of course the ancient Greeks, Romans and Anglo-Saxons practiced Paganism and thus our form of government derives entirely from Pagan ideas.

Founding Fathers Pagan grave sites

For those who wish to grasp the Pagan nature of our founding fathers, just examine their grave markers. A grave and its markings reflects the legacy and personal views of those who have died. You will find that our American fathers paid little heed to religion during their life or at their death. To the chagrin of the religious-right who attempt to distort history, most of our founding father's graves omit any mention of Judeo-Christian religions, a rather odd feature if, indeed, they thought of themselves as Christian. The following describes just six of our most influential American founders grave sites.



Benjamin Franklin's Tomb

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) Statesman, inventor, and the greatest American scientist of the period.

Although his tomb sits on the property of the Christ Church burial ground in Philadelphia, his modest tomb had no references to Christianity. This shouldn't surprise anyone considering that the deist Franklin criticized Christianity.

Note the pennies thrown on the grave for good luck (a Pagan practice that persists to this day).



Thomas Paine's Pagan monument

Thomas Paine (1737-1809). Political Philosopher and Advocate of freethought and free expression. Perhaps the single most important person to influence Americans toward independence. He authored Common Sense, The American Crisis, Rights of Man, The Age of Reason, Agrarian Justice, Dissertation on First Principles of Government, and much more.

Because of his attacks against Christianity, Christians accused him of atheism and denied him burial on "consecrated" grounds. They buried Paine at New Rochelle on 10 June 1809. In 1819, William Cobbett dishumed Paine's bones and took them to Liverpool where they remained until Cobbett's death in 1836 as part of the property of his son, who became bankrupt. The bones were last heard of in possession of a Mr. Tilly in 1844. A monument erected at New Rochelle in 1839 [photo at left] cites Paine's own words.

" ~ my country is the world, and my religion is to do good ~ "
Rights of Man, part 2, 1792

As a Deist and freethinker, clearly Paine's life and death reflects a legacy of freethought Paganism.


The Pagan Goddess of Justice

Our Justice system also derived from Pagan Greek and Roman concepts. Courthouses throughout America honor our Goddess of Justice with magnificent statues.

Justitia, a Roman goddess of justice symbolizes the fair and equal administration of the law, without corruption, avarice, prejudice, or favor; goddess of divine justice. Sculptors often portray her as evenly balancing both scales and a sword and wearing a blindfold (but often times without one). She sometimes holds the fasces (a bundle of rods around an ax) symbolizing judicial authority in one hand, and a flame in the other hand, symbolizing truth.

The ancient Greeks referred to her as Themis, originally the organizer of the "communal affairs of humans, particularly assemblies." Her ability to foresee the future enabled her to become one of the oracles at Delphi, which in turn led to her establishment as the goddess of divine justice. Classical representations of Themis did not show her blindfolded (because of her talent for prophecy, she had no need of a blindfold) nor did she hold a sword (because she represented common consent, not coercion).

The ancient Egyptians also had a goddess of Justice referred to as Ma'at and often depicted as carrying a sword with an ostrich feather in her hair (but no scales) to symbolize truth and justice. The term magistrate derived from Ma'at because she assisted Osiris in the judgment of the dead by weighing their hearts.


The Spirit of Justice statute (also referred to as Minnie Lou) stands in the Great Hall of the Justice department building.

She also represents the Goddess of Justice in Art Deco style. Unfortunately, John Ashcroft (a right-wing Christian pictured in front of the statue) felt offended by her naked metal breasts so he had the statue covered, thus insulting American Pagans countrywide.

So whenever you serve jury duty or happen to need the services of a U.S. court of law, give reverence to the Saxons and Romans, and pray to Justitia our Pagan Goddess of Justice.

United States Pagan currency

None of the first currency minted in the United States contained any mention of God; no godly images, no religious mottoes, nothing.



First American Coin

The first coin minted in America did not use the motto "In God We Trust." Instead we find Benjamin Franklin's motto, "Mind Your Business." Even the Pagan references appear hidden. However the sundial, invented by the ancient Egyptians suggests its Pagan origins.

Not until the late 1700s do we finally find any image of a deity on currency and medals and what deity do we find? An image of Allah? The god of Moses? Jesus Christ? NO! Instead we find our Pagan Goddess of Liberty!



"1776" Libertas Americana medal

This 1775 early American medal showing a woman with flowing hair depicts the Goddess of Liberty (also called Lady Liberty) and refers to the Roman Goddess Libertas.

Benjamin Franklin conceived the idea of the Libertas Americana
The 1794 American half-cent, above, shows the Goddess Liberty on one side and a wreath on the other. The wreath depicts a Pagan kotynos, an olive branch worn by Olympian champions and Pagan Roman emperors. The Greek ambassadors of peace, in order to indicate their intentions, offered an olive branch to their interlocutors (an olive branch also appears on the American Great Seal). The idea of putting the image of Goddess Liberty on coins comes from the ancient Romans who depicted Gods and Goddesses on many of their coins throughout the Roman era.

Of course our Goddess of Liberty appears in many forms including the Statue of Liberty which stands proudly in the New York city harbor.

Although we call it the Mercury dime, the official designation refers to it as "Winged Liberty Head." It actually depicts Goddess Liberty wearing a Phrygian cap (typically worn by freed slaves during the Roman Empire), symbolizing freedom of thought. The "In God We Trust" motto (put on coins long after the establishment of our government), must then refer to our Pagan deity Liberty!

The United States Trade dollar depicts the Pagan emperor, Vespasian. Vespasian ruled (AD 69-79) during the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem and had charge of the suppression of the Jewish Revolt, which of course put him at odds with the Jews and the Christians.



The Great Seal (a Pagan symbol)

On the dollar bill we find the Great Seal which depicts a left eye over an unfinished pyramid with 13 steps. No one knows exactly what it means and many theories exist. Freemasons claim it as a Masonic symbol, others say it represents an occult symbol, others yet say it describes a Satanic mark (the Evil Eye), etc. But one thing no one can deny: the pyramid. Pyramids, of course originate from the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptian's also had their Eye of Horus. And because Egyptian pyramids came from Pagans, no one can deny that this symbol represents a Pagan symbol.

The Latin term ANNUIT COEPTIS does not refer to the Christian God as some Right-Wingers want us to believe. Gaillard Hunt, the Department of State's first publisher on the seal in 1892, took official notice .... Hunt described Annuit Coeptis as an allusion to line 625 of Virgil's book IX of the Aeneid, "JUPPITER OMNIPOTES, AUDACIBUS ANNUE COEPTIS," (All-powerful Jupiter favor [my] daring undertakings). To translate the motto, the translator must supply the subject of the verb and the tense. In his 1892 brochure, Hunt suggested that the missing subject, in effect, represents the eye at the apex of the pyramid ... and he translated the motto-in the present tense-as "it (the Eye of Providence) is favorable to our undertakings." Regardless of how you translate it, the eye can only refer to the eye of the God Jupiter, the Supreme God of the Pagan Romans.

The illustration [left] depicts the opposite side of the Great Seal. The front side shows the familiar American Eagle holding an olive branch (a Pagan Greco-Roman symbol) in one claw and 13 arrows in the other claw.

Medal of Honor, an award from the Pagan Goddess

General George Washington created the Badge of Military Merit on 7 August 1792 but it fell into disuse after the Revolutionary War. Not until the Civil War did the medal come back in the form of the Purple Heart and a medal of valor called the Medal of Honor. On 17 February 1862, the Senate authorized the medal for the Army and followed the pattern of a similar award approved for Naval personnel in December 1861.

The Army Medal of Honor depicts the head of our Goddess Minerva, the Roman Goddess of wisdom, invention, the arts, and martial prowess. The Navy and Marine Corps' medal shows Minerva, personifying the United States, standing with a left hand resting on a fasces and Her right hand holding a shield blazoned with the United States arms. She repulses Discord, represented by snakes (the insignia also known as, "Minerva Repulsing Discord"). The Air Force medal insignia represents our Goddess Liberty, modeled after the Statue of Liberty.

Note also the star pointing downward (inverted pentagram), a symbol used by Pagan occultists. The inverted pentagram so infuriates Christians that they accuse Pagans of Satan worship, which of course has no validity whatsoever. Satan describes a Christian concept and Satanism represents an inverted form of Christianity, and has nothing to do with Paganism at all. [3]

So whenever you honor and salute our brave Medal of Honor recipients, give thanks to our Pagan Deities for giving them the courage to defend our nation.

The Ten Commandments subterfuge

The Christian hullaballoo concerning the Ten Commandments and the U.S. comes mainly from the very few references to Moses and the tablets that appear on the Supreme Court building (and a few other state courthouses). Deceptively, Christians will trot out the image of Moses without the context from which the statue sits (it always amazes me how Christians love to accuse others of out-of-context ploys when they, themselves, always get the context wrong.). By using this subterfuge technique, political Christians want you to believe that, somehow, Moses and the tablets on the Supreme Court building represents proof that U.S. laws derived from the Ten Commandments. Nothing could stand further from the truth.

In the first place, Moses does not sit alone on the Supreme Court Frieze. Christians don't want you to know that Moses sits next to two Pagans-- Confucius and Solon:


Confucius, Moses, and Solon

This sculptural frieze appears on the back of the Supreme Court Building (the east side), not the main entrance, where you would expect him to appear if the sculptor intended him to hold a special place. Moses sits next to Confucius and Solon holding two blank tablets. These fellows represent three lawgivers from the East, thus they appear on the east side of the building. Characters from the fable of the Tortoise and the Hare also appear on this frieze (go figure).

Moreover, Christians don't tell you that figures of 17 other lawgivers appear on the Supreme Court building. Notorious pagans such as Hammurabi, Menes, Lycurgus, Draco, Augustus, and Justinian also appear among the lawgivers. Even Mohammed holding the Koran appears on the building! (Can you imagine the uproar that would occur if U.S. Muslims declared that Constitutional law derived from Allah and the Holy Koran?) Friezes appear on all four sides of the building and on the inside. The Moses statue appears no larger than any of the other lawgivers. According to the Curator's office, Weinman designed for the Courtroom friezes, a procession of "great lawgivers of history," from many civilizations, to portray the development of secular law. (bold characters, mine).

Also in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court building, one will find ornamental metopes which include some our beloved Pagan Gods and Goddesses (Minerva, Zeus, Mercury, and Juno). Not a single Judeo-Christian God appears anywhere. And the display of these Pagan gods, my dear Christians, blatantly violates at least one the Ten Commandments ("You shall have no other gods before me," or "You shall not make idols").

As for the main entrance to the Supreme Court, Moses does not appear there at all. Instead, we see on the main door, relief panels that depict Pagan reflections such as the Shield of Achilles, the Justinian Code, the Magna Carta, Etc. (Click here for graphic details).

And what do we find on the main entrance frieze to the Supreme Court building? This:


(Image source: Album: Washington DC)

No depictions of Moses or the Ten Commandments appear at all, at all, on the main entrance. The three central figures describe Pagans that represent Order, Liberty Enthroned, and Authority. The other figures represent American justices and the sculptor of the pediment, Robert Aitken. The Supreme Court literally reeks of magisterial Paganism. Here's a photo of the entire entrance:


Supreme Court Main Entrance (Click onthe image to see an enlarged view)
(Image source: Raich v. Ashcroft Gallery)

Now here comes the kicker: nowhere does the image of Jesus appear on the Supreme Court building nor anywhere else in our government symbols! Since Jesus represents the lawgiver for Christians (remember that, according to Christian beliefs, Jesus replaced the laws of the Old Testament, with the New Covenant). Moses represents a Jewish figure and the Ten Commandments represent Hebraic laws, not Christian laws.

And no matter how much a Christian wants to read the Ten Commandments into U.S. law, not one of the commandments appears in the U.S. Constitution either explicitly or implicitly. (See, "How the U.S. Constitution violates the Ten Commandments")

To make matters worse for the Christian argument (not to mention embarrassing), the Supreme Court building came into existence between 1932 and 1935, long after the establishment of the United States government. It can't possibly represent the founding principles of the U.S. government, simply because it got built well after its formation. Nor should we use the art of obscure sculptors who's aim went toward establishing historical references for artistic sake only, as a bases for our law establishment.

Of course the observant reader will also recognize that we can't use it to establish a Pagan origin for the same reasons, but this essay represents satire, and if Christians insist on using anachronisms for evidence, then we Pagans insist on using the very same unreliable methods too.

Conclusion

As I have shown, the intent of our most influential American founding fathers constructed our government based on Pagan ideas. Even their graves reflect Pagan inscriptions and design. The first political document, the Declaration of American Independence, describes Nature's God, a Deist Pagan concept, not the God of Jesus , Moses, or Mohammed. The United States Constitution reflects an exclusion of religion with no reference to a Judeo-Christian god at all. Yet it does indirectly refer to our Pagan Gods, Janus, Mars, Sunne by using the calendar words "January," "March," and "Sunday." American currency symbols reflect Pagan gods and goddesses with references to the Goddess of Liberty, Goddess of Justice, Minerva, and Hercules. Not a single early American currency uses the motto "In God We Trust." American buildings reflect ancient Greek and Roman Pagan architectural design with many references to our cherished Pagan Gods.

In virtually every case, the thoughts of our most influential American founders consisted of Pagan freethought. So why do Christians claim America as a Christian nation? Because unbeknownst to them, they refer to God symbols put on coins and pledges placed long after the formation of the U.S. government. Sometimes they refer to the words of political Christians like Patrick Henry who proposed a tax to help sustain "some form of Christian worship" for the state of Virginia, or to pious Americans who had little influence on the government. These early Americans who fought for a Christian presence in the American government lost the day. Instead the Pagans prevailed and they won by a large margin with its crowning glory, the Constitution, the American document that serves as the Pagan Law of the Land. Right-wing Christians will also dishonestly (or through ignorance) use quotes from early Americans who wrote in their youth but had not yet changed their minds against Christianity (this especially holds true with the Christian raised Franklin who strongly criticized Christianity in his later life).

So for those of you who have believed incorrectly all these years, you can now reconsider your beliefs and come home to the truth of the matter: the United States of America stands on a foundation of Pagan ideas. Praise Goddess Libertas!

A small revelation

The astute reader will realize that I wrote this essay as satire against those Christians who go around claiming America as a Christian nation because of the few Judeo-Christian symbolic references found on various artifacts ("God" on coins, 10 Commandments in front of court houses, etc.). If we use mottoes, pledges, and pictures of coins as a means to determine our founding principles, then the Christians will lose by a large margin considering the numerous pagan references that far outstrip the number of Christian references.

Although I have attempted to present an accurate history of pagan references above, I have purposely hidden the secular reasons for the founding principles of U.S. government. Our founding fathers never intended our country to reflect religious pagan or Christian principles. They formed a secular government (the first in the world) in order to separate religion from politics which includes the separation of pagan, and Judeo-Christian religions. Yes, indeed, American founders founded our government upon pagan ideas, but not on pagan religious ideas.

The references to pagan deities do not violate separation of church and state because the religions of these deities no longer exist. Through force, Christianity and Islam virtually wiped out all the European and middle-east pagan religions from the 4th century onward by labeling them heretics, burning them at the stake, and destroying their sacred texts. Our founding fathers used pagan symbols to represent the ideas of liberty and freedom, not to promote pagan religions. The use of "God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and on currency, on the other hand, got put there precisely to promote Christianity. These uses of a monotheistic "God" points to an existing religion, and for this reason, violates separation of church and state.

In this tongue-and-cheek historical lesson, I presented myself as pagan, but of course I don't really practice pagan worship any more than I do Christianity or Judaism. Nor did any of our most influential founding fathers. I find no offense in using dead pagan symbology, but the use of monotheistic Christian symbols certainly offends many freethinkers, atheists, or the polytheistic religious.