Modern moral discourse increasingly treats recognition as action. We are taught that naming injustice is equivalent to refusing its benefits, that acknowledgment absolves participation, that awareness substitutes for consequence. This error is not new. It is ancient. Billie Eilish brought this pattern into focus during the 2026 Grammy Awards, when she declared, “No one isContinue reading “Why the Greek Myths Matter”
Tag Archives: Van Gennep
Katabasis
Neil Gaiman’s Sandman recasts Orpheus as the son of the Dream King, but otherwise leaves the ancient tragedy intact. In the television adaptation, Orpheus survives as an immortal, severed head, speaking calmly, prophetically, and with the explicit wish for death. He is neither alive nor dead, suspended between worlds. Gaiman uses this image to exploreContinue reading “Katabasis”
INITIATION and TESTING
____________________________ I regret not recording where I grabbed this photograph. I believe it was from Life magazine in the late 1970s, taken by Marialba Russo [1] from her study in virility, ritual, and the human need to prove transformation. ____________________________ The latent anthropologist in me laments the lack of rites of passage celebrating importantContinue reading “INITIATION and TESTING”
Protective Arts 