Asatru is not just something from the distant past; it is a valuable tool for a successful life in the twenty-first century.
I was delivering medications at the juvenile institution where I work. A teenage girl entered the room to receive her various pills and potions. Hesitant and meek, plain-looking but with potential, she took her medicines and washed them down with water from a paper cup. Seeing that she had a Scandinavian name, I sought to make small talk by saying "Oh, I think you must be Swedish!" She shrugged her shoulders, said that she didn't know, and made it clear that she could not possibly care less. If anything, she seemed to think my remark really stupid, in that dismissive way teens have.
The door buzzed; she exited and headed back to her pod. I was saddened by this little encounter. Her demeanor showed her lack of confidence and self-respect; her presence in the institution indicated these traits had gotten her into trouble - with more in store in the years to come.
I remembered reading that teen girls of European descent had the lowest self-esteem of any comparable group in the United States. Here was an example right before my eyes.
Roots matter! Without them we have no context, no place in the world. Only when we find those roots and cherish them are we truly complete. We of Asatru have to show the way home, point out the ancestral path, and let our people know there is something better than the soul-less, media-created culture that now surrounds us!
Stephen A. McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
12 comments:
Being institutionalized and drugged into apathy will only damage her further.
Being institutionalized and drugged into apathy will only damage her further.
It's probably the drugs that give her the "couldn't care less," apathetic attitude.
I work with young people affected by mental health problems and their families and experienced similar attitudes by some of the young people I work with. I agree that this attitude can be exacerbated by institutionalization and medication, however over time I have observed a increasing level of ignorance towards family ancestry and heritage. Its not so much that they don't care, more that they don't know or just simply aren't aware.
How many parents these days sit down with their kids and talk about their families heritage and ancestry. It doesn't seem to be high on the parental agenda at the moment. I have three adolescent girls (yes, lucky me) whom are all very well informed about our family’s heritage, and with technology such as Google Earth we can now visit these places and take a virtual stroll down the same streets our ancestors walked.
Parents need to put their family history back on the agenda otherwise we are only going top see an increase in rootlessness and its long-term implications.
This is so true. Growing up as a female in this age of rootlessness, I can speak with personal experience. I was in and out of counseling for most of my childhood. My parents were seeking a "fix" for me, because there was something "wrong" with me. The truth was the I felt like I had no place to belong, no sense of family, no sense of community. I became complacent because that is what they told me I was. It was a way to be something rather than a nothing. Families need to focus on being families. It seems most of the time these days parents are so quick to get away from their children and have the TV babysit them so they can get on to their own things. I believe homeschooling and not having a TV on every waking moment can immediately improve this situation. With a strong base in the Folkish Asatru faith from a very young age and a healthy dose of Attachment Parenting, children can grow into their full potential with confidence and courage to face a very unfriendly world.
I think Kvinna hits the mark. Drugs and institutionalization don't cause rootlessness - rootlessness leads to drugs. We offer our children no sense of identity, ancestry, or history anymore. They have nothing to fight for - no sense of purpose - no concept of their place in the chain of being that will bring a future.
My 17 year old son is living in an institution similar to the one Stephen describes above. He is being compulsularily treated for drug dependency and mental health issues. He has been taught since before he could understand, the significance of his heritage, and encouraged and shown by example the importance of living a moral life. He has studied and practiced Asatru for about the past 3 years, and committed the crimes that stripped him of his freedom while actively, sincerely, involved in Asatru. Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming Asatru for my son's mistakes, I'm just trying to point out that life is complicated and there are few absolutes in my experience. Finding a way to live a balanced life, living to be a blessing to others; the paths people take to find peace and fufillment are long and sometimes treacherous.
Exactly, M. Smith. Knowing and being proud of your ethnic heritage is no panacea; check out the Aryan "White Pride" bigots who commit appalling atrocities.
Also, Puckpan, I never said that drugs can cause "rootlesssness"; I said that psychiatric drugs can induce apathy--towards one's roots (or rootlessness) and everything else.
I don't recall any kids who really cared about their roots when I was a teen, and my nieces and nephews are the same. It's just the way of the American teen. I found my roots and celebrate them, but it took me years to make that journey. I'm encouraging others to search. :)
Have you guys seen this?
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/our-pagan-future-or-not/
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I've read the above mentioned article. It was interesting, certainly.
In response to the previous comments:
Worse even than not knowing at all, sometimes kids of European descent are led to believe that their heritage is "bad" somehow, probably due to the negative image generated by the 'white power' jerks. They are therefore discouraged from seeking that knowledge, which could cause them to put up the façade of not caring. It's hard to establish your cultural identity when you're made to feel like it's something to be ashamed of.
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