I'm heavy into science fiction-- books, movies, even a little television. One of the things I like about sci-fi is that it allows those of us in the present to view current issues in a different context.

The original Star Trek, for example, did an episode called "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" that is now considered one of the classics of sci-fi. The plot centers around two members of the same alien species whose pigmentation is different. One is black on the left side and white on the right, the other black on the right and white on the left. This difference eventually destroys their entire species. The meaning there wasn't incredibly subtle or original, but in the 1960's the only way such an issue was going to be played out on network television was in a science fiction story.

In short, science fiction lets us look at behavior that may not be identical to our own, but at least has a recognizable parallel. It can demonstrate this behavior in an impersonal way, and let us see the potential consequences of our actions.

I recently caught a re-run of that episode of Star Trek, and I started wondering how a science fiction might represent Pagans, taking us out of the context of reality and letting us look at ourselves from the outside, as an alien species.

What if the Pagan Community were removed from earth, thrust across the galaxy, and coated in bright green make-up?

It wasn't as easy problem to set up; as in developing any science fiction species, I had to decide the rules of the world they inhabit. I decided to make the Pagan species an independent race-- this wasn't an easy decision, but I wanted to examine our community in the context of our relationship with each other, rather than run the risk of defining Pagans as victims, or a fringe culture.

So try to picture the P'gan species of Alpha Centauri. What do you see? A utopian civilizations with clean cities, crystal towers, and planet wide peace? Liberty and justice for all? Equality of the sexes? Interstellar travel?

Sadly, I think a more realistic way of looking at us would be a tribal culture just beginning to leave the stone age. Mind you, I'm not comparing the people of the Pagan Community to cavemen. Almost all of us-- even the people I like to criticize-- are perfectly functional outside of the context of the Pagan Community. Most of us are even quite civilized in the context of our own little tribes. But the larger community itself is best compared to a people who are only beginning to show the first signs of civilization.

I know-- it's pretty harsh, but only in the context of unrealistic expectations.

The Pagan Community (as we know it) just hasn't been around that long. We like to think of ourselves as super-civilized; an improvement over modern society. Many actual Pagans are brilliant, dynamic, noble, wise, and benevolent, but there were probably some pretty bright cavemen, too. The fact is that we don't have much that we could compare to an actual "advanced race", even translated through the sci-fi filter.

A civilization has (and supports) museums, libraries, social programs, schools, and universities. Yes, it's true that we have a few schools, but most of these serve to advance the religion of their founders. This is not a bad goal in and of itself, but is inadequate when compared to parochial schools maintained by more developed religions, which (in most cases) teach subjects that are not directly associated with the religion. Many Pagan organizations operate libraries and social programs, but most of these are small and do not enjoy popular financial support. Point of fact, I can't think of a single Pagan organization providing a service to the greater Pagan Community that is funded well enough to hire even one full-time employee who is not dependent on another source of income.

My stone-age analogy was not intended to demean the Pagan Culture. In fact, we've come a long way in a very short time, and we are leaving the stone age, as opposed to being trapped there. The fact that we have under-funded organizations is a necessary step before we have well-funded organizations.

In the end, we're not an alien species light years from Earth-- we've got resources and advantages that such a species would not. However, to take advantage of these resources, we need to start examining our culture as a separate entity and see which of our needs we do and do not meet ourselves. We need to evaluate ourselves on our own merits, rather than as a direct (and usually highly emotional) compare-and-contrast to other cultures. We need to understand that we are developing (and adjust our thoughts and actions accordingly) if we're ever going to reach the stars.

© 2003 by Cather "Catalyst" Steincamp