Autonomy: Various

This is the last of a series on autonomy.

"The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government." - Thomas Jefferson

In this last post on autonomy, I want to briefly cover two hot-button issues. 

Masks

Ever since the pandemic’s start, the government’s power to mandate the wearing of masks has been the subject of debate. While most people see no controversy in the government mandating masks, there was a noisy minority who balked at this. Leaving aside the misinformation about masks, some insisted that the government didn’t have the right to mandate masks. 

Masks were not some form of puritanical dress code or sharia law. Masks have been proven to reduce the spread of disease, specifically Covid-19. Mask mandates are saving the lives of others and preventing the national hospital system from being overwhelmed.

Therefore, since wearing masks reduces the chances of harm to others, either directly or through the impact on services, the government has the right to override the autonomy of someone and require individuals to wear masks.

Gun Rights

According to the website sandyhookpromise.org "Each day 12 children die from gun violence in America." This doesn’t include the mass shootings like what occurred in Uvalde, Texas, in May of this year. These examples show a simple fact, firearms’ sole purpose is to kill. Indeed, there are sporting events with firearms, but that’s secondary to their primary purpose.

Because firearms are by nature designed to cause severe harm, an individual’s autonomy to own one can be restricted by the government.   

Conclusion to This Series

Dark Paganism teaches us that autonomy is the default nature of humans. Therefore, restrictions on our autonomy can only be justified when there is a risk of harm to another. In most cases, such as gender identity, sexual preferences, and reproductive rights, the individual’s autonomy cannot be regulated because there is no harm. However, in cases where there is harm to others, such as the spread of disease and weapons, a person’s autonomy isn’t absolute and can be regulated.

Autonomy: Reproductive Rights

 This is the third in a series concerning autonomy.

“The state controlling a woman would mean denying her full autonomy and full equality.” - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, US Supreme Court Justice

On June 24th, 2022, in a shocking decision, the US Supreme Court reversed Roe v Wade, which had protected a woman’s right to an abortion for nearly half a century. This threw the power back to the States to decide the legality of abortion.

In Roe v Wade, the Supreme Court focused on the Due Process Clause found in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The Due Process Clause prohibits arbitrary deprivation of “life, liberty, or property” by the government except as authorized by law. The Supreme Court determined that the Due Process Clause provides a fundamental “right to privacy,” which protects a pregnant woman’s right to an abortion.

For the purposes of this blog post, I’m looking not at privacy but at another consideration in this debate, autonomy.

 

I’ve mentioned several times that the only time the State has the right to restrict autonomy is when there’s harm or its potential. The argument by anti-abortion groups is that the fetus is a human and entitled to the human right to protection from harm.

Let me mention what’s not for consideration in this post, the view that “life begins at conception.” This view is based on the idea that a soul enters the body at conception. This is a purely religious belief and therefore is irrelevant when discussing government laws and regulations.

One claim by anti-abortion activists is that a fetus is living and human. Yes, a fetus is made of living material, and yes, it’s genetically human. However, that doesn’t make it a person with rights. Just because a zygote, the one-celled product of the union of sperm and egg, has 46 chromosomes and is made of human tissue doesn’t make it a person. Nor does the zygote’s potential to become an autonomous person make it one. You have 46 chromosomes in each skin cell, which is living human material. Theoretically, this skin cell could be used to clone a human, but that doesn’t make a skin cell a person. 

In the last few years, anti-abortion activists have used what appears to be a heartbeat at six weeks to claim that a fetus is a person with rights at that time. There are two problems with the heartbeat law.

First, a heartbeat isn’t possible at six weeks gestation because there are no heart valves to create one. What’s being detected is the electric activity within the embryo. The ultrasound generates the illusion of a heartbeat from that electrical activity. 

Second, heart cells will automatically respond in each other’s presence. Scientists found that heart cells will beat in unison in a lab dish. But that doesn’t make that clump of cells in the lab a person.

I will grant that an argument could be made that at 24 weeks, a fetus may be considered a person because, at that point, it may be able to survive outside the mother. One might say that it has become autonomous. This is why in Roe v Wade, the Supreme Court determined that abortions during the third trimester could be limited. 

It should be noted that third-trimester abortions are rare and only occur when the mother’s health is in danger. 

Bottom-line conclusion: because there is no harm to another, the government does not have the right to restrict a woman’s choice of abortion, except for the third trimester.

Autonomy: LGBTQA+ Issues

 This post is the second part on the topic of autonomy.

“Gender is between your ears and not between your legs.” - Chaz Bono

Before diving in, I must clarify how autonomy relates to Dark Paganism. Dark Paganism’s focus is on honoring and cultivating the Self. Since autonomy is a characteristic of the Self, it’s vital that we understand autonomy and what supports or restricts it.

 Gender Identity and Transgender Rights

We all know the nursery rhyme. Little boys are made of snips, snails, and puppy-dog tails, while little girls are made of sugar, spice, and everything nice. The root of this nursery rhyme is the mistaken belief that gender is binary, with male and female being the only options. This binary view is based on the assumption that gender is determined by anatomy. It holds that male genitalia equates to the male gender while female genitalia equates to the female gender.      

Reality is much more complex. It’s now understood that each person has a gender identity based on how they feel and who they know themself to be. Sometimes the gender identity matches their anatomy, but not always. Gender identities include the classic male and female (‘cis-gender’) along with transgender, gender-neutral, non-binary, agender, pangender, genderqueer, two-spirit, third gender, and all, none, or a combination of these.

Sexual Orientation

We shouldn’t confuse sexual orientation with gender identity. While gender identity is about how someone knows themselves or how they feel, sexual orientation is about who you’re attracted to and to whom you want to have a relationship. Sexual orientations include gay, lesbian, straight, bisexual, demisexual, pansexual, and asexual.

Similar to the mistake that gender is binary, a mistaken belief is that sexual orientation is binary. In this error, it’s thought that men are naturally attracted to women, and women are naturally attracted to men. Anything else is thought to be aberrant and unnatural. A more progressive belief holds that a person is either gay or straight. However, this is still erroneous, for it’s still binary thinking. It’s now understood that sexual orientation is a spectrum, not a binary state.

The Question: Is There Harm? 

The critical issue here is whether there is harm to others if someone identifies and expresses themselves as other than cisgender or as something other than heterosexual. 

The answer is simple. No, there is no harm.

Critics try to generate controversy and claims of harm where none exists. Usually, these arguments are wrapped in religious language (“God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve”) while others manufacture non-existent victims. Critics claim that allowing children to know about transgender issues and different sexual orientations somehow causes them harm. Or that women are somehow harmed by trans-inclusive language. And allowing people to use public restrooms based on identity rather than birth certificate somehow poses a danger of predators, they claim.

However, under close examination, all of these claims of harm fall apart. The religious argument is irrelevant, of course, in the modern secular society. Plus, this knowledge does not harm children. Nor or women’s rights harmed by trans-inclusive language. And transgender using public restrooms based on identity threatens no one.

Is there harm to the individual if the State restricts the expression of gender identity or sexual preference? There’s a lot of evidence that those individuals are harmed. Violence against the LGBTQA+ community is substantially higher than against the cisgender/straight. Workplace discrimination is much higher, as well. And suicide rates among transgender youth are at a shocking rate.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there is no harm to society by allowing the LGBTQA+ members of society to live their lives as they deem fit. However, there is significant harm done to the individuals when the State tries to regulate and restrict in these cases.

Autonomy: The Issue of Our Times

 “The deepest problems of modern life derive from the claim of the individual to preserve the autonomy and individuality of his existence in the face of overwhelming social forces, of historical heritage, of external culture, and of the technique of life.” - Georg Simmel, German Sociologist (1858 – 1918)

This blog post is the first of several about autonomy from a Dark Pagan perspective.

Different issues are associated with different ages. World War II defined the 1940s, the Cold War dominated the 1950s through the 1980s, and the events of 9/11 along with the Iraq War dominated the first decade of the new millennium. In the second decade of the 21st century, autonomy appears to be one of the defining issues. Specifically, how much power should social institutions, such as the government, have over an individual’s autonomy?

Autonomy issues are all over the news, especially here in the US. Gender identity, transgender rights, sexual orientation, mask/ vaccine mandates, contraception, gun rights, and abortion rights are hot-button issues. These issues all involve attempts to decide where the individual’s freedom ends, and society’s regulatory power begins. 

It should be noted that autonomy means different things to different people. For this blog post, I refer to Gerald Dworkin, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of California. In his book The Theory and Practice of Autonomy, he described autonomy as the capacity for someone to define their nature, give their lives meaning and coherence, and allow them to take responsibility for themselves. 

From a Dark Pagan perspective, autonomy is the default nature of humans. It’s a natural characteristic of the Self. Autonomy, like the Self, is the product of complex interactions between biology, environment, and cognitive activity. 

One of the misconceptions we have about autonomy is the belief that it’s absolute. There’s a belief that we can always overcome social influence by simply using our willpower. While personal autonomy is powerful, such thinking is unrealistic. Yes, some amazing people have overcome extreme odds to achieve greatness. However, life is complex, and it’s not simple or easy.

The default aspect of autonomy provides guidance as to when society, especially the government, should regulate it. Because autonomy is a person’s default nature, society must defer to the individual’s autonomy except when it endangers the autonomy or life of another. 

I’m reminded of the words of Thomas Jefferson. Although he was writing about religious freedom, it applies here as well. “It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” In other words, if personal autonomy does not harm another, the general rule is that the government should not interfere. 

Applying the above might sound easy, but it’s far from it. I’ll address some ideas about the practical application of personal autonomy in future blog posts.

Blessed Be,

Frater Tenebris

American Spirits

When they think of American supernatural entities, many people probably think of Neil Gaiman’s great fantasy novel American Gods. Since today is the American holiday of Independence Day, I wish to write about two actual American spiritual entities.

The goddess Libertas and the Statue of Liberty

Libertas is a Roman goddess and is the personification of liberty. She’s associated with freedom, especially the freedom of enslaved people. The Statue of Liberty was inspired by the goddess Libertas in not only name but appearance.

The Sigil of Astaroth

Astaroth is a sub-lunar being. Generally labeled a demon (Christians slander Pagan spirits or daemons by labeling them all evil), Astaroth is the patron entity of the Americas according to the Grimorium Verum. Astaroth’s name was derived from the goddess Astarte, the Phoenician name for the Sumerian goddess Inanna. Astaroth can grant knowledge of past, present, and future as well as of sciences and occult knowledge. 

Blessed Be,
Frater Tenebris

Unboxing The Empath’s Oracle

I’m a big fan of card divination. I’ve worked with the tarot for a long time, along with various oracle cards, and I am constantly amazed by the insight I’m given. So I was excited when I learned that Raven Digitalis had created an oracle deck. 

For those that don’t know, Raven Digitalis is the author of the dark pagan classics Goth Craft and Shadow Magick Compendium. A second edition of the latter will be published soon, titled the Witches' Shadow Magick Compendium. 

Raven Digitalis’s newest creation is The Empath’s Oracle, which I recently purchased from Amazon. The first thing I noticed when it arrived was that it came in a lovely box with a magnetic lid. I opened the box and found the instruction book on top, with the cards underneath. An elegant ribbon allowed me to remove the book and cards easily. The oracle cards had a nice sleeve around them that kept them together.

Konstantin Bax made the artwork for the box, book, and cards, and the art is beautiful. It’s bright and colorful. There’s an organic feel to the artwork that has multiple layers. It’s easy to get lost in each card.
Each oracle card is numbered with a title. For example, card number 1 reads, “Establishing Emotional Boundaries.” The deck has a total of 40 cards.

The directions book isn’t one of those little white books that often comes with tarot decks. Instead, it contains an excellent paperback book containing straightforward, easy-to-follow directions by Digitalis. The book provides details about each card, such as Essential Themes, Imagery, Deeper Meanings, and Suggested Actions.    

I am enthralled with Digitalis’s The Empath’s Oracle. It would be a great addition to anyone’s collection, and I highly recommend it. You can purchase it through Llewellyn Worldwide and Amazon.

Blessed Be,
Frater Tenebris