Thistle Blower, Whistle Blower

It is October 31, 2014. Halloween in the US, Samhain in the Celtic tradition. Walking by the bay on this rural Washington State island, a rare sight greets me: one thistle plant is still in bloom, glowing purple in the autumn mist. Thistles, the floral emblem of Scotland, are symbols of nobility of character in the Celtic tradition: morality, goodness, integrity, honor -- all that benefits our own well-being and that of others. It is as if that one little bloom, out of season, remains to remind passersby of the glory that we carry within us.
 
When thistles go to seed, the tiniest breath can send the seeds flying. They form an infinite number of shapes -- common ones like round, octagonal, square, but mostly original designs that defy geometric definition. One morning, the thistle seeds formed what looked like a perfect strand of DNA. It drifted toward my face, and my breath sent it away, moving in front of me. Today, when both the Halloween and Samhain legends tell us that souls long gone can enter our world, my own heritage arises in the form of an aunt who was my mentor – and whose middle name was Snowden. Whether or not our family is related to Edward Snowden, I do not know.
 
What I know is that when Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the National Security Agency for its unconstitutional spying on U.S. citizens, she would have been outraged at the NSA’s actions, and at how Snowden was treated. She was a U.S. State Department employee and a lifelong Republican, with a deep passion for democracy and the sanctity of the U.S. Constitution.
 
As I walk, an old childhood taunt assaults my memory: “Tattle tale, rusty nail, stick your head in the garbage pail.” In my opinion, too few people, here in the U.S. and around the world, have blown the whistle, and now the globe is beginning to stink. We all have to stick our heads in the garbage pail so that we know what is there and can clean it up. Whistle blowers like Edward Snowden do that, warning us when our inner nobility is threatened.
 
The young people at Glasgow University, who elected Edward Snowden as their Rector to represent their interests for the next three years, might have known that we have to take our nobility out of the garbage and make it shine again. Snowden could only attend his inauguration by video link, since the Scottish people voted against their land’s independence and their government was not free to grant Snowden asylum. He had this to say:
“In a democracy people have a right to know the policies of their government...this idea that if we believe in something we should stand up for it is what I will follow in my role as Rector of the University.”

The thistledown strand of DNA haunts me, along with other souls wandering about from the past. My father, as treasurer of a company, blew the whistle on the irregularities he found in the books and was fired when he refused to continue the practice that had been the norm. His own father had blown the whistle on his partners in a New York City law firm, a legal entity committing illegal acts, and was dismissed. They both found alternative ways to feed their families.
 
Edward Snowden wanted to encourage other whistle blowers to speak out, no matter how difficult it was. Difficult, yes, but in my opinion, standing up for what we know is right is the only way that we will spiritually evolve as individuals, as nations, and as a species. Celtic lore warns that those who try to harm the thistle plant are punished, pricked. It tells us that any attempts to crush the beauty of our children’s DNA will have hurtful consequences.
 
Right now, I am but a thistle blower, sowing the seeds of nobility of character. My consolation is that the wheel of life always turns. One day, the thistle blowers will have cleaned up the garbage. The Earth and the human spirit will be restored to their natural beauty. Nobility of character is indestructible.