ABOUT ELISE

Born deep in East Texas to a Methodist minister’s family, my quest for understanding paradox began early.  During childhood, in between public water fountains labeled “white” and “colored” I always wanted the more colorful water and was dragged away.  Seeing public restrooms marked “Men,” “Women,” and “Colored” confused me further.  Why, at least, not four instead of three?  Dark skinned people were men and women too.

Deeper consternation continued when my father left the church during my junior high years, following ultimatum from the bishop to stop reading those liberal radicals Kierkegaard, Bonhoeffer, Tillich, Satre.  And to cease, god forbid, his work in the civil rights movement and social justice.

That early background fed my path into adulthood, and in mid-life, following a circuitous route, I found my way to graduate school for the study of mythology and culture.

My concentration in myth/religion and its impact on social contract and politics,  launched my dissertation, Sexes, Gods, and Southern Christians.  And soon thereafter, mythandpolitics.com was born.

My story is the story of a woman questioning how “God-fearing” people can hate, kill, and maim each other and the earth.  My quest continues.

MYTH AND POLITICS

Sitting in a ditch in Crawford, Tx. protesting the unauthorized invasion of Iraq, I began the only thing I could do with all of that emotion — blog.  And blog I did, right through the 2008 election cycle and Sarah Palin’s entrance into the race.

The interconnections between current cultural events and the mythology that drives them has always been a fascination.  Myth and Politics aims to reveal those connections and foster thoughtful discussion about how, by becoming more aware of the undercurrents informing our actions, we can make more conscious decisions.

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