2020 was a hard year. Together we endured political terror, existential uncertainty, and social isolation. Our world was turned completely upside down, and many of us are still uncertain about our health, housing, and employment as we move into the new year.
In 2020, I did my best to follow the words of Neil Gaiman:
Life is sometimes hard. Things go wrong, in life and in love and in business and in friendship and in health and in all the other ways that life can go wrong. And when things get tough, this is what you should do: make good art. I’m serious. Husband runs off with a politician? Make good art. Leg crushed and then eaten by mutated boa constrictor? Make good art. IRS on your trail? Make good art. Cat exploded? Make good art. Somebody on the Internet thinks what you do is stupid or evil or it’s all been done before? Make good art. Probably things will work out somehow, and eventually time will take the sting away, but that doesn’t matter. Do what only you do best. Make good art.
I don’t know how much making art reduces the suffering of others; I don’t know how much good it does in the long term. But I can say this much: making art has kept me sane as I navigated this hellish year. Following Gaiman’s advice, I doubled down on making things, and it is to my immense delight that a few others seem to have found some refreshment in my work as well.
As I look to the new year, I am re-committing myself to making art as consistently as I can, with as much integrity as I can. I look forward to a new year of journeying with you, my readers and listeners.
Top 10 Posts of 2020
In reverse order, from lowest to highest in views:
- Sacred Tension: The Satanic Temple Vs. Church of Satan, feat. Priest Penemue
- Guest Post: The Seven Tenets Are Not a Sword
- Lucien Greaves on How Satanism Can Build Empathy Between Religions
- On Creating a Personal Satanic Root Document
- Why Satan?
- I’m a Satanist, Not a Leftist
- Satanism and Ignorant Familiarity
- Was I in a Cult? My Experience in Youth With a Mission
- On Being a Normie Satanist
- Why I Haven’t Left The Satanic Temple
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Stephen Bradford Long 