The Myth of Freedom

Freedom. The word freedom has always both intrigued and bothered me. What is it actually? The street definition seems to be some mix of self generated choice and the ability to go, say, and do what one pleases. While that may be what most people think the word means, I find that etymology often points us to a truer, more culturally lived definition than what we say we think freedom is.

The website Etymologically Speaking has this to say about the word freedom: “This comes from German (literal, modern-day translation, "Freiheit"), but is actually closer in derivation to the German word "Friede", which means "peace" and is a word of pre-Christian, Germanic origin (originally "Frith"). The archaic term was used to signify the period following the termination of a bloodfeud between two Germanic clans when the softer, feminine qualities of the god "Freda" or "Frita" held sway. To achieve such a peace, some consideration had to given up on the part of the clan whose member had committed the most recent wrong against another clan, such as a certain quantity of meat or animal hides. What was given up was called "Bot" (delivered good) or "Botschaft" (literally delivered shank (of meat), but currently is the modern German word for "message").”

In his seminal book "Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World" Rene Girard outlines what he calls the memetic pattern (mimesis in his words) at the core of all civilized human interaction and culture. What he states in a nutshell is that all of human cultural reality is a holofractal feedback loop (my words, not his...he calls it everything else but) of one pattern. When conflict arises, we divide (or are already divided) in to two factions, a consensus scapegoat is appointed, and finally violence is pursued against the scapegoat in order to mitigate violence against the whole (both warring parties). This is replicated both internally with thought/emotional phenomena and externally in our actions and behaviors towards ourselves and others. Girard lays this out in depth by both breaking down the Bible and history. It is a very dense read, but well worth your time if further understanding of the human condition is your thing.

Peace comes from the Latin pax (pact) and even further back, the Proto Indo European for "to bind together".

Let's see now if we can bring this all together in to context. A very long time ago, our Germanic ancestors would get in to feuds with neighboring tribes. Rather than engage in lengthy battles, both parties would come up with a suitable offering from the offending party (human, animal, food, etc), and then place their violence upon the sacrifice/Bot/tribute. Once the pact was reached, and the suitable sacrifice immolated, a period of Freedom (or time ruled over by Freda) could be achieved if the peace/pact agreements were kept.

When we say we are free, or that we want freedom, we are literally agreeing to a violence based, blood feud fueled, sacrifice bought, persona driven, Ego mind processed strategy for social dominance. Oddly enough, this is also the root word for one of the most intimate of bonds we share...Friendship. Our whole culture is dripping with strategies to keep us from actual self generated choice.

I don’t want to be free. I have spent a lot of time looking for a word other than freedom. A word that most adequately describes what I want for myself. Not long ago I discovered the word Eleutheria.

Eleutheria is a Greek word translated most commonly as freedom. Classically it was the name of the Goddess of Liberty. When we break the word down in to its roots we get “arriving (eleu) to where one loves (eran).” That sounds an awful lot like the feeling of coming home to me. There is also the connotation of growth and transcendence. The starting of the cycle begins all over again.