Imbolc-The Page Of Swords

Imbolc is the time to recognize and celebrate the fragile beginnings of the promise of spring, when grasses, plants, and vegetation begins to regrow, though still at an intermediate stage of development, much like the sun increases it's presence over the earth through lengthening of days. It is a time for protecting, for nurturing, the promise of tomorrow. Many light multiple candles in order to herald the increasing length of days. It is a time for optimism.

Admittedly, we don't have much to be optimistic about. We are always deluged with bad news, even during better times, because that's what sells print and advertising time, but these days the harsh news is ever more sobering, and while a recent retrograde Mars might well be adding to the harsher manifestations of pessimism on some deep level, it's only a planet. While it may have contributed to the recent horrible spate of bad winter weather, when the snow thaws, it's not going to leave behind a brighter sense of purpose and optimism.

Yet, throughout all the tragedy and turmoil afflicting us, there is always a ray of hope somewhere. Some people though are at opposite ends as to how best to achieve that hope, whether it is a liberal approach of greater government involvement in the economy and things like health care, or whether you prefer the tea-party approach of less government interference and emphasis on individual liberties over special interests or identity politics.

Although I was wary of the Tea-Party movement when they first got started, I make no secret of where I stand on the political end of the spectrum. Government is a servant of the people, ideally, but when you give that servant ever growing power and authority, it becomes a usurper. That is just the natural order of things. Even the most well-meaning and benevolent of tyrants is still, at the end of the day, a tyrant. Herod the Great was actually quite liberal for his day, while Augustus, for all his greatness in some regards, would cut throats with the best of them if he felt compelled to do so.

And that's just the case. When you give government too much power you make it too easy for them to enslave you. No matter how well-intentioned one generation of rulers might be, there is always the next, and the next, and the next. Once you have given them your authority, that is it. Your options are over. One day you have a relatively beneficent Augustus. The next thing you know, Caligula takes the throne, and you have paved the way for what comes next.

I guess that's all there is to say. You can give up your freedom and liberty any day. Once you give it up, you can't just ask for it back.