Regionalism Articles / Opinions & Discussions Posted by Makarios on Mar 10, 2010 - 10:00 AM By Swain Wodening There has been a lot of talk this past year about regionalism. This is nothing new and has been a topic for most of my Heathen life (which is now in its 23rd year). On the surface it sounds well and good. Organize regional gatherings, form a regional thing, and all will be dandy. Folks will communicate, get together, and do things together. The problem is without a guiding national organization it rarely works out that way. I can name several regional organizations that went the way of the buffalo. All organized with the best of intentions. The Great Plains Ring operated in the Midwest for a couple of years before going belly up, as did the Texas Asatru League, and the Indiana Asatru Council, once one of the most active regional organizations has not seen activity in years. The same can be said of regional lists. The Central States Heathen list was once very active, and even hosted a couple of gatherings. It is now lucky to see twenty posts a month. Regionalism, at least up to now has not worked with a very few exceptions. I have a theory why and it centers on diversity. With a national organization, all the individuals, kindreds, and fellowships generally share a common interest and common goals. Like attracts like. But with a regional organization, the only common denominator is that of proximity. And more is needed than mere physical proximity for an organization to work. That is why in say, a small area like Dallas-Fort Worth you see more than four fellowships. Beliefs, how rituals are done, customs and traditions, and esp. personalities differ from group to group and do not always mix well. An individual regional group is therefore almost doomed from the start. This article is from WiccanWeb.ca   http://www.wiccanweb.ca/ The URL for this story is:   http://www.wiccanweb.ca/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=26495