Whispers from the Myth Teller

After jumping through a few hoops, I found myself invited to speak on a panel at Can-Con in Ottawa this past weekend. The panel wasn't exactly what I expected, especially since the topic of it had changed from what I had originally agreed to speak on to a topic I knew virtually nothing about. Rather than bolting, I figured I could wing it just by listening and eventually adding my own two cents, although I had the distinct impression I was flashbacking to my CEGEP days in Seminar class when I hadn't read the material that was to be discussed.

So the topic had changed from "Paganism in Canada Today" to "Pagan influences on Speculative Literature". I know... quite the shift in focus, eh? The panel was to discuss how pagan culture and themes had influenced modern sci-fi and fantasy literature. Of course, we had to spend a good 20 minutes defining paganism, which if we had not reigned it in, could've taken over the entire hour and maybe even part of the next day. The worst part of that panel was when on of the panelists turned to me to ask "So Hobbes... who are your favorite pagan fiction authors?" To this, I completely blanked (although I was tempted to say Gerald Gardner and Aleister Crowley, just for the shock value) and babbled that I didn't read fiction based on the religion of the authors or if the book had pagan themes in it. I could see the audience questioning what the hell I was doing on this panel in the first place, which at that moment was an excellent question.

But as the discussion moved on, I did get some insight on the topic which allowed me to disagree with the other panelists. It was unfortunate that it took almost 40 minutes of this hour-long panel to figure this out, so just as we were getting into the meat of it, the next panel was chomping at the bit to get their talk started.

Personally, I don't think that the modern pagan culture influences mainstream fiction in the slightest. Our community is still too much on the fringe to have that much impact on the mainstreamers, as much as our collective egos would enjoy it.

That's not to say that sci-fi/fantasy literature doesn't employ pagan themes, but I don't think they come from our us. Unlike many other religions that have a central doctrine that radiates outward, pagan culture is de-centred, constantly in flux, and reflects the concerns of the generation. It employs a healthy amount of cultural appropriation which allows its practitioners to explore and incorporate themes, symbols, and traditions from a culture they cannot call their own.

If there are any pagan themes in modern sci-fi/fantasy literature (and there are most definitely), they come from other ethnic cultures and philosophies that are centrally defined by geography, race, and environment. Modern sci-fi/fantasy literature and modern pagan culture both borrow (and at times grave-rob) from these established ethnic cultures and philosophies to define and explore their topics and ideas.

While a pagan can read a book and recognize themes that are common within pagan community culture, those ideas are not coming from a modern, North American, neo-pagan culture, but rather from the same source that the pagan himself is either cherry-picking directly or indirectly from other pagan authors.

I was listening to President Obama's speeches on the situation in Haiti and reading about the various countries (including Canada) rushing to help the victims of this devastating quake.

While listening to this speech, I was reminded of a broadcast given by the late, great Gordon Sinclair entitled The Americans. It's amazing how timeless and still pertinent this broadcast still is today, especially in light of current events.

I've pasted the text of his broadcast here, but if you can click the link and listen to the raw power of Sinclair's voice, I doubt you will be disappointed (except for the cheesy organ music playing in the background). You can clearly hear Sinclair's rage and indignation in the speech, especially when he makes a point ("And I was there... I saw that!"), then stumbles slightly in the next sentence, try to regain his composure. As a storyteller, it gives me great pleasure to hear the talented rantings of such a great orator.

"LET'S BE PERSONAL"    Broadcast June 5, 1973     CFRB, Toronto, Ontario

Topic: "The Americans"
Click Here to Listen

The United States dollar took another pounding on German, French and British exchanges this morning, hitting the lowest point ever known in West Germany. It has declined there by 41% since 1971 and this Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most generous and possibly the least-appreciated people in all the world.

As long as sixty years ago, when I first started to read newspapers, I read of floods on the Yellow River and the Yangtze. Well, Who rushed in with men and money to help? The Americans did, that's who.

They have helped control floods on the Nile, the Amazon, the Ganges and the Niger. Today, the rich bottom land of the Mississippi is under water and no foreign land has sent a dollar to help. Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy, were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of those countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States.

When the franc was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the Americans who propped it up and their reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. And I was there. I saw that.

When distant cities are hit by earthquake, it is the United States that hurries into help... Managua Nicaragua is one of the most recent examples. So far this spring, 59 American communities have been flattened by tornadoes. Nobody has helped.

The Marshall Plan... the Truman Policy... all pumped billions upon billions of dollars into discouraged countries. And now, newspapers in those countries are writing about the decadent war-mongering Americans.

Now, I'd like to see just one of those countries that is gloating over the erosion of the United States dollar build its own airplanes.

Come on... let's hear it! Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tristar or the Douglas 10? If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all international lines except Russia fly American planes? Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a man or a woman on the moon?

You talk about Japanese technocracy and you get radios. You talk about German technocracy and you get automobiles. You talk about American technocracy and you find men on the moon, not once, but several times ... and safely home again. You talk about scandals and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everybody to look at. Even the draft dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They are right here on our streets in Toronto, most of them... unless they are breaking Canadian laws... are getting American dollars from Ma and Pa at home to spend here.

When the Americans get out of this bind... as they will... who could blame them if they said 'the hell with the rest of the world'. Let someone else buy the bonds, let someone else build or repair foreign dams or design foreign buildings that won't shake apart in earthquakes.

When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down through age, it was the Americans who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both of them are still broke. I can name to you 5,000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble.

Can you name to me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake.

Our neighbours have faced it alone and I am one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them kicked around. They will come out of this thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their noses at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles.

I hope Canada is not one of these. But there are many smug, self-righteous Canadians. And finally, the American Red Cross was told at its 48th Annual meeting in New Orleans this morning that it was broke.

This year's disasters... with the year less than half-over... has taken it all and nobody... but nobody... has helped.

ORIGINAL SCRIPT AND AUDIO
COURTESY STANDARD BROADCASTING CORPORATION LTD.

(c) 1973 BY GORDON SINCLAIR

PUBLISHED BY STAR QUALITY MUSIC (SOCAN)

A DIVISION OF UNIDISC MUSIC INC.

578 HYMUS BOULEVARD

POINTE-CLAIRE, QUEBEC,

CANADA, H9R 4T2

As of 4pm today, Canada and Russia are tied 0 to 0 in the second period. I've been able to avoid Olympic fever so far because I'm at work, but some yahoo put a TV in the lunch room tuned to the CBC's coverage of the Olympic games. Argh.

I don't normally go ga-ga for sports, but there's something about the Olympics that gets my blood boiling. My favourite events are Curling, Hockey, Freestyle skiing, Bobsleighing, and Figure Skating.

When the Winter Olympics make their return to Canada in BC, I plan on finding a way to attend. Heaven, pure heaven.