Charge Of The Goddess

It's our duty to demand transparency

DEMOCRACY comes from the Greek word demokratía, which translates to "Rule of the People''. Its roots come from demos which means people and kratos which means power. Democracy existed in earlier civilisations, but this form of governance was formalised by the Greek statesman Pericles who was the general in charge of Athens from 461 - 429 BC. Pericles promoted the arts and literature. He started an ambitious project that built most of the surviving structures on the Acropolis, including the Parthenon. This project beautified the city, exhibited its glory, and gave work to the people.

The Parthenon, a temple dedicated to the Greek Goddess Athena, was constructed in nine years (447 to 438 BC) entirely of marble, one of the hardest substances on earth. Its columns, carved by hammer and chisel out of single slabs of marble, rise 40 feet tall.

It's still a mystery how something like this could have been built without the use of powered machines, yet it was constructed in just nine years. During the construction period, a large stone tablet was erected on the site, onto which was carved the exact details of the cost of the project on an annual basis, for all to see. The final cost was 1,000 talents equivalent to six million drachmae or TT$161,000. Talk about transparency! This stone can still be seen in a museum in Athens today.

Over the past ten years in Trinidad and Tobago we have seen the construction of multi-million dollar edifices. We know of their average cost but we do not know the details, exactly how much was spent on what. When eight or nine hundred million dollars is spent on a single project, it's not hard to surmise that a couple of million could easily be misappropriated if real transparency is not forthcoming.

The ancient Greeks practised true democracy. After 2,500 years, should we not have improved or even maintained this system of transparency? Soon $100 million is going to be spent to clear drains in the country.

If Government knows the cost and has the budget worked out, then it is their duty to inform us who got what contracts and at what cost. The same goes for the highway projects and road repairs being done at present. Only when this is done, will we actually see the much touted change becoming reality.

But Government does not carry all the blame, most of it is our own undoing. Ancient democratic civilisations put power into the hands of the people but we, in Trinidad and Tobago have handed this right back to the politicians. We predominantly support a party based on ethnicity and not on performance. Supporters of the opposition condemn the People's Partnership Government for the same blunders to which they turned a blind eye when their party was in power. The same happened in the past when the shoe was on the other foot.

The Wisdom of Athena: The Charge of the Goddess

The Charge of the Goddess is a traditional, inspirational text used in Wicca. It is said to be a set of instructions given by the Great Goddess to Her children/worshippers. The Charge is one of the most population ritual invocations in modern Wicca which foundation of the work comes from a book "Aradia: Gospel of the Witches", written by Charles Leland. All my life I've lived in a battlefield and I am still alive. And that's why I don't need anyone to protect me. For I am the shameful and the magnificent one! ♥ Hello friends! My name is Athena and I love the supernatural world. I love places that bring nostalgia back into my mind. I believe in magic. And yes, I am totally crazy about Goddesses. There's something about beauty, heart and spirit that captures my fancy to the very core.

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