Kemet Online: Followers of The Religion of Ancient Egypt: Hurricanes, Disaster, War and Our Religion

Em hotep Tara
<bow>

Well I don't see that it matters much.

Shocked that I said that? Good!

I think it matters a great deal THAT it does not matter.

I'm not one for riddles either so let me explain.

First, Apep can only gain an upper hand when things are seriously out of whack.

And, well, things with the United States are indeed seriously out of whack. Yet that is also a time when Set and Netjer act in the service of Ma'at to make things right.

In this sense either option can make sense in our worldview. But here is where it gets tough:

Second, the destruction wrought by Katrina is not by any stretch positive. The victims are not those who are responsible for things being out of whack but rather the poor and disproportionately black poor population of Louisiana. The changes likely to come are not those that will benefit those communities but, as they have already, will benefit the rich companies and contractors who will build housing which those displaced will not be able to afford. Some may get some work building these homes over their old ones that they cannot live in themselves; but given Bush's recent decision to free companies from normal wage requirements during the reconstruction of the city, those who get the work will receive unusually low wages. Great eh?

While that would not seem to be the sort of choice Netjer would make, we are not Netjer. It is certainly possible that bringing to light the terrible suffering that results from our nation's injustices at home and abroad and how they are linked could well be a part of a larger plan which would seem a choice that Netjer would make.

It could also be reasonably inferred that the injustice released Apep and the target of the most vulnerable portion of the population would be a typical choice of Apep.

And of course being Kemetic we could suggest it to be both and more!

And guess what? It DOES NOT MATTER WHICH IS CORRECT.

In either case what we have is a situation of humanly caused injustice and isfet which will continue to grow and turn on us through all sorts of human, natural, and supernatural events if we do not correct the situation.

In either case the only appropriate response is a recognition of our human role in the disaster.

* We need to take seriously the environmental concerns such as global warming that increase the likelihood of natural catastrophes.

At present the Bush Administration has called all such concerns nonsense.

* We need to stop the killing of Iraqi people in numbers that far outstrip the hurricane in proportion.

* We need to preserve and fight for the democratic traditions of this country being removed in the name of a "war against terrorism." The number of Arabs imprisoned with no charges and no rights grows each week.

* We need to take a hard look at racism and poverty and how they work together to deny people basic survival and human rights.

* We need to ask whether it is Ma'at to continue to benefit the rich while the poor suffer

Look at the realities here:

Many poor did not have access to transportation to get out of Louisiana.

The rich drove out in their recreational vehicles before the storm.

The poor were put in the Astrodome without food or resources. They were treated as prisoners with a focus not on saving lives but preventing damage to property!

The rich had well organized shelters outside the endangered area.

This is the place where it is impossible to speak to Ma'at and avoid politics.

The privatization of governmental functions is not Ma'at.

That is the primary agenda of the Bush admninistration. And this is not leftist myth or secret. Bush is proud of ths idea.

If rebuilding is in corporate hands,it will be done to serve corporate interests--not Ma'at

Less government is a rather American and modern idea. Government abandoning responsibility to the poor and the just distribution of resources is not an idea compatible with our religion. Ma'at is first and foremost SOCIAL: it is about justice in the WHOLE.

That is our work as Kemetic Traditionalists. Attributing responsibility anywhere outside the human realm is a cop out. The hurricane happened. It was not the CAUSE of this disaster. Netjer is undoubtibly aware and present in the midst of all of this. But this was an act of neither Netjer nor Apep. They are not the primary cause.

We are.

When we have the ABILITY to act for Ma'at and do not, we fail in our RESPONSE-ABILITY.

We are the ones responsible.

We can call on Netjer to help us, but it is we, humans and especially citizens of the United States, who are responsible for the chaos in the world today.

May we act to counter those forces of isfet acting in our name.

May Netjer help us as a community and each of us to do this in the way most suited to who we are and our call in the world.

Kheperu!

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Rev Renee Levant, Hemet Sekhmet & Aset
Founder & Wehemu & Educational Director
Per Ankh: The Traditional Religion of Ancient Egypt
http://www.per-ankh.org

Edited by RevSedgwick (09/14/05 04:12 PM)