Let Freedom Ring….
“A person profits nothing from broken things; if we should not have an inclusive sense of rightness over this land, and account for people in many different ways, all shall become lost. And that would be unfortunate, and is a sure thing to happen: fighting between each other; our country torn apart. From our groans we must gain treasures, and hold frith throughout our lives. We must not decide for this person over that person, for in differing opinions there is no proof from which to make a case. Instead, we must have one justice and one custom, that it may be true that we are not torn apart by justice and customs, but instead shall break away and hold frith (peace).”
The words of Godhi (priest and statesman) Thorgeir, upon the Christianization of Iceland, Islendingabok, translation by Connla Freyjason, with minimal paraphrasing.
I don’t generally ken to waxing political on a blog that is largely spiritually-based, as well as a business site. This is, after all, for all intents and purposes, the “face” of Iaconagraphy Press. But today is Independence Day in the United States, and somewhere between all the cook-outs, and trips to the beach, and the fireworks, and the “rocket’s red glare”, I would be turning my back on my most solemn vows as a Heidhrinn if I kept my mouth shut today. If you don’t ken to political posts on spiritual/business blogs, even when their author has taken such a vow, here’s your chance to check out early….
A person profits nothing from broken things. And yet, I have seen it evidenced again and again in my associations with the international community that they view us “American Heathens” as a broken people, living in a broken country, governed by a broken man. I will not voice my personal opinions on the current POTUS, as I firmly believe that one may still hold some modicum of respect for the office, even while regarding its present occupant as utangard (outside the walls of frith; as described in Norse Witch: Reclaiming the Heidhrinn Heart, “no frithies for him”). What I will say, however is this: precisely as described by Thorgeir in Iceland in the year 1000 AD, if we do not come together as a people, we will be broken. If we remain divided and back-biting, so eager to be right in voicing our opinions that we trample over the voices of others, then we already are broken.
If we should not have an inclusive sense of rightness over this land, and account for people in many different ways, all shall become lost. Yet, whose inclusive sense of rightness does that imply? No one’s, and at the same time, everyone’s. I’m talking about Fridhr: Peace; freedom from molestation; protection; safety; security. I’m talking about Honesty, Loyalty, Hospitality, Wisdom, Self-Knowledge, Trust, Humility, Courage, and Justice. These are not some new-wave doctrine, made up by some dude in order to “get his way all the time”; these are inalienable truths, as old as time itself. They are what our American Forefathers meant, when they wrote in the Declaration of Independence, ratified on this day in 1776:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by the Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
In other words, we have a right to exist: to draw breath, and go about our daily lives. We have a right to live free: to live in the fullness of who we are, so long as that freedom is not curtailing the freedoms of others. We have a right to pursue happiness: to make a living, and support our families, and give them good things, so that they are comfortable, and can continue to exist and live free. Basically, we have an inalienable right to fridhr/frith.
And that would be unfortunate, and is a sure thing to happen: fighting between each other; our country torn apart. This is precisely what was happening in Iceland one thousand years ago, as that nation struggled with the decision of whether to remain Heathen, or become Christian. Christians were killing Heathens, and vice versa. Now, in our modern era, we see this played out against the backdrop of social media: Christians (real, and so-called) and Heathens screaming at each other and bashing each other, and tearing our world apart in the process. People of real faith (and I’m not talking about the so-called Christians, as they are a whole other blog post; one which they do not deserve, and I seriously don’t intend to bother writing) should be banding together in these troubled times. Only as a united front can Light trump Darkness (and, yeah, that pun was totally intentional!).
From our groans we must gain treasures, and hold frith throughout our lives. Rather than constantly in-fighting, the “groans of our travails” must be like those of childbirth: the cries of labor pains that lead to something far greater than what we currently have. We cannot hold frith when we’re tearing each other verbally (or otherwise) to shreds. That’s precisely the opposite of holding frith; that’s waging war. Instead of waging war on each other, we need to come together and focus those voices towards real and positive change: together.
We must not decide for this person over that person, for in differing opinions there is no proof from which to make a case. We are currently surviving in a factional society: everybody belongs to one form of “interest group” or another, and each believes theirs is the one, true, right, and only way to do things. Whether you’re hailing from the LGBTQ community, or whether you are African-American, or Latino-American, or Asian-American, or whatever-American, banding together in a tight circle and then wagging your fingers at the outside world isn’t going to actually resolve anything! Whether you’re Christian or Heathen or Wiccan or Hindu or Muslim, or something in-between, building walls is supposed to be what we’re all trying to rise against, isn’t it? At least, that’s the overriding rhetoric. Yet, here we all are, in our tight-knit communities, “building walls” around them to “keep the bad stuff out”! In the end, regardless of the color of your skin or the culture you hail from or the gender of the people you love, or the gender you claim, or the God(s) that you bow before, we are all human, and it is high time that we began to recognize our places in that Greater Tribe.
Instead, we must have one justice and one custom, that it may be true that we are not torn apart by justice and customs, but instead shall break away and hold frith (peace). It is time for us all to hold to One Justice and One Custom; time to break away from the status quo of “us vs. them”. We are all us! And until we recognize that, those words ratified on this day two-hundred-and-forty-two years ago are worthless. We are all created equal, and in order to live our lives in freedom and actually pursue happiness, we must rally together in that equality. For then and only then may we truly hold frith (peace).
