Tag: Pagan+Politics

Muse in Brief

Only the Dead: On Memory and History » Pagan+Politics

Alison Leigh Lilly

In my latest post over at Pagan+Politics, I explore the real origins and context of the quote, "Only the dead have seen the end of war" (commonly but falsely attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher Plato), and grapple with some of the deeper ironies surrounding the celebration of Memorial Day: "I know little about death and what our ancestors, the beloved dead, would say or do if they were alive today. I find it hard to believe that Plato would be anything less than horrified by the mechanisms of global warfare and violence that we have invented in the last century; I imagine that he, like Santayana and so many other philosophers of our time, would struggle to reconcile such sweeping violence with a belief that there is reason and structure within the chaos... Read more...

Muse in Brief

What Does Justice Look Like? » Pagan+Politics

Alison Leigh Lilly

In my latest post over at Pagan+Politics, I ramble on a bit about my reaction to the news of Osama bin Laden's death, what it means for the future of foreign policy in this country, and how these questions all lead me back to the larger questions concerning justice, reconciliation and peacemaking: "Has justice been done? I'm not sure. When I turn a reflective eye on my own reactions, I have to admit that I feel very little more than mild surprise. I don't feel relieved or happy about the news, but nor do I feel particularly sorrowful. I might even describe my reaction as curiosity, albeit a wincing, hesitant kind, that leaves me wondering, "What next?" After a decade of using bin Laden and the threat he represented as the raison d'être for so much of U.S. war-mongering and justifications for our violent, heavy-handed foreign policy — after three on-going wars, thousands dead, millions of civilians turned overnight into refugees — I wonder if the death of a single man can do much of anything to restore balance and see justice done. ...

Muse in Brief

Making Peace Out of Nothing At All » Pagan+Politics

Alison Leigh Lilly

In my latest article for Pagan+Politics, I explore the recent and fascinating scientific discoveries about the role that culture plays in the peacemaking and sociability of nonhuman primates: "For those of us whose religious practices are anchored in relationship with the earth and its many inhabitants, the scientific world has often seemed to lag behind in its recognition of the complexity and subtlety of nonhuman experience as we witness it on a regular basis. Studies revealing the intelligence and sensitivity of dolphins, elephants, corvine birds, honeybees and even trees and other plants, confirm what many of us have long known to be true..."