Let's Talk About Foundations
Share
Founders' Address to the Union – Delivered at the First Groovy Gathering – September 6, 2026
Hello. My name is Mary, and I founded the Temple of the Groovy Eye. I am joined tonight by two of my co-founders, Martin and Stu.
Before anything else, I want to say out loud what has happened here. We opened our doors in July. There are well over 500 of us already.
And this group tonight — the fifty or so of you who committed to being in this room — you are our core. Your advice, your ideas and your guidance are things we will take up eagerly and consider seriously. We are here to meet you, to answer every question you have, and to tell you in person what we are about.
So, most sincerely, to each one of you:
“You are my equal. And I am yours.”
Think about what those eight words just did.
They were the sound of construction. The sound of something beautiful being built.
They requested nothing. They argued nothing. They made a declaration — of fact, and of intent — and it took effect the moment I spoke them.
Tonight, I want to talk about foundations, that which lies underneath, and forms the basis for, everything we do. Why we need a new one, and how eight simple words are the only material we require to build it.
Every structure, every society stands on a foundation, and the one we are standing on is the tilted foundation of the Big Lie. It goes like this:
"It is possible for a person to be a natural-born inferior — or a natural-born superior."
This underlayment is a root system that feeds monsters: white supremacy, male supremacy; homophobia; the degradation of our trans friends; the deplorable treatment of immigrants, of their children, and the destruction of their families -- to name a few.
We're all here tonight because we fight those monsters. We don our armor, we go out, we fight them valiantly, and we are magnificent at it.
But the root keeps making more.
Cut down a monster and you have cut down a monster. The root is untouched. It is patient, and it grows another. Some of us have spent our whole lives in the field, swinging at those monsters, and the field is fuller than when we started.
So, tonight we go after the root.
The foundation is the whole ball game.
How do we beat the Big Lie?
First, we disarm it.
The Big Lie has one weapon, and it is difference.
It points at a difference and says: "Look — obviously not the same. Therefore, obviously not equal."
That works on people because the differences are real. Measure us: height, strength, memory, speed, health, talent, luck, the circumstances of our birth. We differ in every measurable respect, and we differ enormously.
Every one of those differences is true, and none of them is the point.
Because equality has never meant sameness. Equality is the relation that holds between things that are not alike. That is precisely what an equal sign is for.
A pound of feathers and a pound of lead. Utterly unalike to look at. Perfectly equal on the scale.
E=mc2 Energy and mass — as unalike as two things in this universe can be — held in exact and permanent equality.
Every equation in nature states a fundamental equivalence across obvious difference. That is what equations are. This is where we come from. Nature is full of equality, and none of it has ever asked anything to be identical.
So when the Big Lie points at our differences: our skin color, our genitalia, our sexual orientation, etc. . . . it has proven one thing: that we have differences. Which is true, and glorious, and our crown. And entirely beside the point. What it hasn't proven: a natural state of inequality exists. The Big Lie is lying. No one can be a natural-born inferior.
So why do the monsters keep coming back?
Picture a foundation that is sloped.
Only tilted things can stand on tilted ground.
Put a sphere on a slope and it rolls away. Set a cube on it and it slides. Anything balanced, anything even, anything bearing its weight equally — the slope rejects. Balanced shapes can find no footing.
For a structure to stand on a slope, one side must be longer than the other. One leg short, one leg long. One side must bear more of the load than the other. It needs inequality built-in to its own base.
Every monster we fight has such an unequal base. They stand because they are the only structures that can stand or be built upon such a tilted foundation.
And every balanced thing we have ever attempted has eventually slid off. Every law. Every norm. They fail for want of level ground.
So, we level it
If we can't topple the structures inequality has produced, we must remove the conditions that allow them to stand.
Imagine what happens the instant the sloped ground becomes level.
Every structure with an uneven base falls. The thing holding them up was the tilt of the Big Lie. Its uneven legs are no longer an asset.
And beautiful, balanced shapes that used to slide off the slope settle and hold. The sphere stops rolling. The cube sits squarely.
Balanced shapes can stack and construct beautiful higher-order structures.
We have never seen what human beings will build on level ground, because we have never had any. What we have had are ten thousand years of civilization, built upon the Big Lie.
Our new foundation is built by the Big Truth one relationship at a time. We begin with language: which is the clothing of ideas:
"You are my equal. And I am yours."
We don't wonder and we don't wait. We don't beg those in power to return to us what has been stolen. We claim what is ours by birthright. We declare our equality. And we live accordingly until enough of us are doing so, and saying so, that every crooked structure can find no foothold among us, and falls away under its own weight.
Equality is ours already, we just have to declare it and then be it. We do this by turning to each other and saying: “You are my equal. And I am yours.” The first statement is a gift of grace to another, followed by a statement of personal pride and of belonging, for you, the honorable speaker. May this be the new foundation of society. May ours be the generation that brings it. One relationship at a time.
Member Questions Answered:
A MEMBER ASKED:
“Are there any religious aspects at all?”
ANSWER
We are a religious institution, so everything we do is religious. Temple of the Groovy Eye is a Pennsylvania non-profit religious institution, and equality is our sacred conviction.
But we are not like any other religious institution you've ever seen. We are a philosophical Union, made of people with a wide range of spiritual beliefs. That's all right with us. We are a place for spiritual people and atheists alike. The big thing we do is redefine equality as sacred. Here is why that matters. When we talk about racism, or homophobia, or misogyny, we do not merely call them bad. We call them evil. And if those things are evil, then the one thing that is the antidote to all of them cannot merely be good. It must be sacred. That's what this Union is saying. And there is power in a union.
That is the religion. That is the whole of it.
We do not ask anyone to abandon their own identity, spirituality or experience. Believers, seekers and skeptics all belong.
A MEMBER ASKED:
“Written beliefs?”
ANSWER
We do not need a lot of those, and that is the beauty of it. Once we have declared ourselves equal, every subsequent decision and every subsequent action becomes clear. It is almost made already.
So, the written belief is one concise statement: “You are my equal. And I am yours.”
It is foundational. A longer document would not make you more equal to me. It would only be longer.
A MEMBER ASKED:
“What was the kernel of inspiration for the Groovy Eye event?”
ANSWER
A sincerely held belief in the true sacredness of equality, and the knowledge that there must be a way to restructure society upon that foundation.
A MEMBER ASKED:
about ordination
ANSWER
Ordained persons are clergy. Pure and simple. Not associates, not affiliates, not certificate holders. Clergy.
As long as you hold with the Temple's philosophy, you may represent us. You are legally empowered to officiate Temple of the Groovy Eye marriages, and you may charge for weddings or other ceremonies. That is your work and your income.
The path: become a member, which is free, then complete the training on the site. Ordination is free. Optional printed documents are the only thing that ever costs anything. They are not required.
We ordain so that more of us can stand up and say the thing out loud with something official behind us. The credential is real and usable, and that is the reason it exists.
ANOTHER MEMBER ASKED:
“Do your ordained only officiate weddings, or do they perform other work, such as funerals and hospital visits to the sick and to the incarcerated?”
ANSWER
You are clergy, not a wedding officiant with a title. Weddings are the part we have built out furthest, because that is where the Big Truth is spoken publicly before the first vow. Where two individuals become one family. The role is not limited to them. Funerals, sitting with the sick, visiting the incarcerated — that is clergy work, and if you hold with the Temple's philosophy you may do it in our name. The Temple is currently working on a booklet for clergy guidance on celebrating / officiating life events other than weddings they may be asked to be part of.
THIS MEMBER ALSO SAID:
“I am all for any movement against fascism. Do you work with other organizations that share that part of your calling?”
ANSWER
Our position on fascism is stated plainly: the Big Lie has been at the root of all enslavement, oppression, fascism and discrimination, and we intend to defeat it for all time. We will gladly join forces with other groups. We are launching a PR campaign this month and hope it will get the attention of other like-minded organizations. Always open to new ideas and collaborations.
ONE MEMBER ASKED HOW HE COULD HELP:
Wow. There's a lot.
Here are specific ways:
- Speak the Declaration of Truth.
- Speak the Declaration of Truth and send it to us in video or image.
- Recommend TOGE to a friend or acquaintance.
- Write and submit art to the Journal. The open call is “Equality and Me,” and this is exactly that. Details on website.
- Buy a certificate -- not required at all, but it certainly helps
ANOTHER MEMBER ASKED:
“Will anything we do come out of our own pockets, or would you send any materials that we may need? Will we be passing anything out? How will we know if anyone else is in our area doing the same thing?”
ANSWER
Nothing is required of you. Membership and ordination are free, and there is no expectation that members fund anything. The action we ask for costs nothing — speak the Big Truth in your own relationships.
On materials, we do not have a program yet. However, if you want to do more, we are in the process of developing a program to support local activity, such as membership and ordination drives, and other groovy ideas you may have. It will be done on a volunteer basis, but the Temple will work with you to get the supplies and materials you need.
What comes next
A state-by-state directory
We were asked if there was a way for members to find each other locally. This is a fine idea. What we can do to facilitate this is create a directory of members, and ordained members by state. This way you can find each other and people searching for a marriage officiant could find one in their jurisdiction.
Nobody will appear in it without opting in. Nothing is automatic.
We will attach an opt-in form in next month's Groovy Gazette.
Standing programs
- This gathering is monthly — the first Sunday of every month. NOTE: Vacation schedule: Next Gathering is October 11TH! Hope to see you there.
- The Facebook group is the conversation space between gatherings. It is private and new, so join -- let's liven things up there.
- You can always talk to us privately via members-only email at members@templeofthegroovyeye.org
- The penpal exchange runs on the first of every month. Join any time.
- The Groovy Eye Journal is open on the theme “Equality and Me.” Poems, essays and visual art, to submissions@templeofthegroovyeye.org
Two dates to remember
- The office is away from September 22 to October 7. Please order any physical documents before September 21. The October meeting will be delayed one week until October 11.
- Religious holiday - Election Day, Tuesday November 3, is the Day of the People's Voice — the Temple of the Groovy Eye religious holiday. You have the right to request time off to vote on religious grounds. The September Gazette carries the specifics of how to make the request.
Thank you for coming to the first Groovy Gathering. Say the Declaration this week to someone you love.