Pagan Values: Justice, David Barton & the McCollum Decision

A while back, without so much as asking Jason of The Wild Hunt, I kicked off a campaign to get him on The Daily Show to provide a different perspective on David Barton and his activities. Barton’s interview made me angry and I knew his organization, Wallbuilders, has been a factor in keeping Patrick McCollum from having his day in court. I sat and fumed. I pondered. So I decided the best thing to do would be have someone informed, but not involved with the case, on to rebut Barton’s mendacity.

As the campaign gathered steam I took heart, although I thought the 100k bench mark was a bit high, and I found the campaign a source of pride in my community. Yet a lot of people didn’t get the point of the campaign. Some folks thought it was to inform folks about Paganism, or to stroke Jason’s ego. Some people didn’t understand who Barton is, or why it’s important for a Pagan journalist to go on tv to speak about him.

Now the 9th court’s decision has come down, and after 5 years of fighting, McCollum still hasn’t had his case heard, Pagans in prison still lack spiritual support and you still have to be one of five “first class” religions to be a full-time prison chaplain. Prison chaplains are the ones who organize the volunteer chaplains and any group services. If they have fought for five years to keep a Wiccan from even having his case heard, how do you think volunteer Pagan chaplains are treated? How do you think Pagan prisoners are treated? There were approx 600 of them in 2002 that weren’t receiving adequate spiritual support, if any.

No one in the media is talking about how a wide swath of minority religions are being classified as “second-class” and being denied their rights in California. No one in the media is talking about David Barton’s efforts to deny minority religions their constitutional rights. No one except Jason.

So I’m making one more push. Jason is well-informed on this issue, he doesn’t have to consult with lawyers before speaking and he’s eloquent and to the point. In light of the 9th’s decision, let’s take a deep breath, dig in and push again to get Jason Pitzl-Waters of The Wild Hunt on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. This isn’t just about us, and it isn’t a fight we can ignore. This is a fight for justice. This is a fight just to get our case heard in court. This is about Pagan values.