At Summer Solstice, ancient Pagans observed Juno and Vesta sitting back to watch the Lords of Light and Darkness tussle for primacy to please the Queens of Heaven and Hearth. Solstice rituals marked the shift in the length of day and night and oiled the gears behind the calendar to keep it in good working order.
The allegory is a continuation of the spring planting of the Equinox, playing out nine months later during Yule, Winter Solstice, when the longest night bears new light -- a baby day, so to speak. Christmas Eve, called the Night of the Mother in many old school Pagan areas, is one cultural observance of many of new light born out of darkness. Here, Yule is loudly observed in the annual event of Bill O'Reilly wailing like an infant that someone swiped Christmas.
But the Summer Solstice is when Juno/Vesta sit back and feast. Echoes of the ancient rituals abound, whether it's a plug and play groom snapped into the traditional wedding planned by a voracious June (for Juno) Bride or Nude Pride Week Beach Parties claiming the unfortunate results of incomplete sunblock application. So WWJD? (Whose Weenie is Juno Demanding?)
The Lords of Darkness and Light have been rumbling already, and true to calendrical form, Light's winning. The Dark Side's Bill Frist came up short when the White House sacrificed King Weenie to do the embarrassing triple flip flop on the Bolton vote.
The forces of Light came up long with Howard Dean engaging in a ritualistic smackdown of Dark Lord Cheney (word to your Mom):
BOSTON (AP) [Cheney said, on Hannity & Colmes] "Maybe his mother loved him, but I've never met anybody who does. He's never won anything, as best I can tell" ...
[Dean] told fellow Democrats that the party can win in traditionally Republican states.
"And believe me, we are going to fight back. I don't care if Dick Cheney likes my mother or not. We are going to fight back" ... "I think it's great that Dick Cheney went after me, to be honest. At least they notice there's a Democratic Party that's not going to put up with this stuff any more'' [...] (06/21/05 AP/Guardian)
As detailed at KOS and elsewhere, Jesus General's Operation Yellow Elephant urges bellicose Young Republicans to take their war-lust to the next level and enlist. As a Young Pug Great Leader went AWOL from the Champagne Corps, then swaggered around college in a bomber jacket, calling war opponents wusses for being against the war he loudly promoted but didn't fight in himself. He had to join up, though. Now PatriotBoy has deployed Phase II, making it even easier for Young Republicans to take that important first step and enlist.
Karl Olson has already launched an op:
I've donated a convention booth to all U.S. military recruiters from all services including the National Guard. Private citizens wishing to assist them (or to urge each Young Republican to Be A Man and Join Up!) should be able to gain access on this basis. Especially if they dress conservatively, bring bake sale-type goodies and act like Wingnuts.
The afternoon of Thursday July 7 will feature a panel discussion with recently returned Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Focusing on this date would be a very good idea.
Remember, Young Pugs, you can't be as totally phony as Great Leader without signing on the dotted line first. (Kos has a more somber call for sacrifice here on the front page.)
Now should female Young Republicans expect to escape risk by mumbling about traditional female roles keeping them out of combat, think again ... or once. Supporting the troops demands no less than you too putting your bony asses on the line. Isn't it time you rejected modernity, as your own moral values demand, and risked real death in your own feminine way?
Check back tomorrow for Summer Solstice Part II: Okay, now just the ladies!