March 28, 2025

Those of us who are Pagans and those who understand Paganism know that Pagans accept the right of all – ALL – to practice whatever religion they personally see fit whether we personally agree with it or not. Those of us who are Americans, and all others who live and breathe “freedom”, also know that there are certain basic human rights applicable to ALL people, no matter who they are or what they believe. In fact, the Declaration of Independence states, in part, “[w]e hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed….”

Thus, even our Declaration of Independence explained that the reason our ancestors moved to seek separation from the British Empire was exactly because ALL human beings inherently possessed certain rights which were given by the Creator and could not be taken away by man. It does not state that only certain persons have rights or that only those who are citizens have rights. It states that ALL persons have rights. And these rights are not bestowed by man or by government, but that it is the responsibility of government to preserve these rights for ALL.

What rights? “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”, among others. THIS WAS OUR FOUNDATIONAL DOCUMENT before even the Constitution and Bill of Rights were even formed! My own ancestors fought for EVERYONE to have these rights, risking their very lives and livelihoods so that a government that would preserve these rights could be established.

As we all are aware, certain rights have been further enumerated in the amendments to the US Constitution. Among these are freedom of religion AND Freedom of the press. I mention these two specifically exactly because they are most relevant to this exact point in time. See, it is one thing to round up violent gang members and deport them back to their countries of origin. No one really disagrees with this even though they may disagree with the methods sometimes used in so doing. I will go even further and state that no one really condones violent behavior in the form of protests either, although protests do often become violent due to human nature. So, finding, trying, and punishing those who commit violent and destructive acts is indeed in order.

These things having been said, you don’t have to be a lawyer to recognize that kidnapping people who have committed no violent or destructive acts, or who are not members of violent gangs, off of the street in broad daylight without any form of due process is abridging the person’s basic human rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Only totalitarian and dictatorial regimes engage in such kidnappings! And, yet, as we speak, we see this very scenario play out before our very eyes IN THIS COUNTRY!

While there are some who did participate in protests that became violent on college campuses and elsewhere, in the latest case that was not the situation at all. Rumeysa Ozturk, a PhD student in this country with a Green Card did nothing more than co-author an op-ed for her campus periodical making the case that the university should divest from Israel due to human rights abuses (remember, ALL human beings have the same basic Creator-bestowed rights no matter where they live and no matter what religion they choose to follow) against Palestinians. I have read the op-ed. There was no hint whatsoever of violence or abusive intent within that article. None. In fact, it was very thoughtful and something that one might see in any campus newspaper.

For those who have not been trained in journalism, as I have, the definition of op-ed may be a bit obscure. But an op-ed is really nothing more than an opinion piece. Those who write such articles are expressing their own personal opinions, nothing more. I wrote several of them while in college and, indeed, the present work could be characterized as such with the exception that it is not contained in any newspaper publication. People are allowed to express their opinions. At least, that has been the case until now in this country as opposed to countries where tyranny prevails. It’s part of freedom of speech and freedom of the press – freedoms that we are all supposed to cherish in this country.

“Freedom” has always been the standard, the watchword, for us Americans. We claim to export it as an ideal to the whole world. Yet, it seems that now it is becoming nothing more than a byword here. And that is an absolute tragedy. Not just for those being subjected to a lack of freedom, but for us ALL. For everyone who sits back and watches this taking place and does nothing participates by fiat. And this is exactly the reason I had to write this article. To do and say nothing means that I would be acquiescing in what my government is now doing. And that is something that I cannot countenance.

Some of you may know that a few years ago I wrote and published a book entitled “Killing Roma”, which detailed how the Christian religion, partnering with the dictatorial Christian regime started by Constantine I, within just a few generations caused what Gibbons coined as “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”. Yes, I know that historical apologists today try to explain the role of Christianity away in this. There are indeed those who just can’t fathom the religion they espouse having perpetrated deeds such as those I detailed in my book! In fact, they can’t bring themselves to believe that any of it even took place. After all, they were taught otherwise. But just the following quoted excerpts from my book demonstrate the reality:

“It is Our pleasure that the temples shall be immediately closed in all places and in all cities, and access to them forbidden, so as to deny to all abandoned men the opportunity to commit sin. It is also Our will that all men shall abstain from sacrifices. But if perchance any man should perpetrate any such criminality, he shall be struck down with the avenging sword. We also decree that the property of a man thus executed shall be vindicated to the fisc [confiscated]. The governors of the provinces shall be similarly punished if they should neglect to avenge such crimes” (Codex Theodosianus, XVI, 10.4). But punishments were not limited to Pagans, after all, but also extended to Christians who didn’t adhere to orthodox theology.

“The devil, wrote Eusebius, called together his crowd of followers, who carried us off to the factory of their infidelity, shut [us] in, and claimed this whole power had been entrusted to them by the emperor” (Washburn 731).

“Yet in the midst of these anxieties, as if it were prescribed by some ancient custom, in place of civil wars the trumpets sounded for alleged cases of high treason; and to investigate and punish these there was sent that notorious state-secretary Paulus, often called Tartareus [meaning, “The Diabolical”]. He was skilled in the work of bloodshed and just as a trainer of gladiators seeks profit and emolument from the traffic in funerals and festivals, so did he from the rack or the executioner. Therefore as his determination to do harm was fixed and obstinate, he did not refrain from secret fraud, devising fatal charges against innocent persons, provided only he might continue his pernicious traffic” (Ammianus, Rerum Gestarum Libri 19 XII, I-II).

Ammianus introduces him, in Book XIV, Chapter V, thus:

“Prominent among these was the state secretary Paulus, a native of Spain, a kind of viper, whose countenance concealed his character, but who was extremely clever in scenting out hidden means of danger for others. . . . He patched together many accusations with utter disregard of the truth. . . . On their arrival, the racks were made ready and the executioner prepared his hooks and other instruments of torture.”

“Off went Paulus (as he was ordered) in panting haste and teeming with deadly fury, and since free reign was given to general calumny, men were brought in from almost the whole world, noble and obscure alike; and some of them were bowed down with the weight of chains, others wasted away from the agony of imprisonment”(Ammianus, Rerum Gestarum Libri 19 XII, III-VII).

“And Skythoupolis was chosen as the theatre of torture and death, a city of Palestine which for two reasons seemed more suitable than any other, because it is isolated, and because it is midway between Antioch and Alexandria, from which cities the greater number were brought to meet charges. . . .” (ibid, Rerum Gestarum Libri 19 XII, VIII).

Ammianus stated that it seems that people “without number” were subjected to this cruel episode in history, which took place during the reign of Constantius II, son of Constantine I. Constantius is known to have said of Pagans, “It is enough that they merely be allowed to live”, his hatred was so great! And thus began the decline of the empire.

We have only been a nation for a mere fraction of the time the Roman Empire existed, less than 300 years. And yet we are already seeing in our nation the kinds of things that the Romans saw so many centuries ago. We see hordes of people taken and placed into gulags with no due process whatsoever. And while some of these people likely have committed violent acts, Rumeysa Ozturk has not. Still, none have been afforded due process under the law. Rumeysa Ozturk was only expressing her basic human right of having an opinion. She was brave enough to express that opinion one year ago, before the present administration came into poser. Yet now, a full year later, she is being punished for that opinion. She, like all other human beings, had the full right to express her opinion. She exercised her “freedom of the press” rights. And she was forcibly taken into custody as she was about to express a part of her religious freedom as a Muslim, breaking the fast of Ramadan. Thus, she was denied two fundamental freedoms, freedom of speech (in this case via the press) and freedom of religion. That should sicken anyone!

Sadly, we have come to a point in this country – in the United States of America – that so many other people around the world recognize and fear. In many other countries people know that to stray outside of the dictates of their government – to express the wrong opinion or to do the “wrong” thing – will get you kidnapped and thrown into some gulag from which you may never emerge again. Or it may get you assassinated in the street or poisoned while you are eating out at a restaurant. Yes, many, many people around the world are well-acquainted with exactly this. They well know that it doesn’t happen only to foreigners too. It’s not supposed to happen here. Yet, now, we Americans can without exaggeration say the same kind of thing that millions of others around the world can also say – “If anything happens to me, my government did it”.