Tracing the roots of freedom

Freedom is the coin of the realm in the kingdom of human worth and dignity, and the coin has two sides. On one side are inscribed the rights and privileges of free men. On the other side are the responsibilities. Unless both sides are genuine and deeply cut, the coin is counterfeit.

- P.E. Kay

All human beings and even animals love freedom. When it comes to humans, they expect freedom of movement, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of living without anybody's control. All these are ideals we have inherited from the Greeks who lived in the fifth and sixth centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ. Most of us do not know the real meaning of freedom as existed in the city state of Athens in Greece.

We can boast of great civilisations in Egypt, Babylon, Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, but the people who lived during that time did not enjoy freedom. They were dominated by emperors, kings or dictators who demanded absolute obedience from the people. When the people have no freedom to criticise their government or rulers, civilisation is incomplete. It took a long time for the people to understand this basic truth. In fact, they had to wait till the evolution of Athenian democracy to enjoy freedom as it is understood today.

For the first time in human history, Athenians believed that people should never be obedient to a ruler except during a war. Pericles, the great Athenian statesman said, “We are a free government, but we obey the laws, more especially those which protect the oppressed, and the unwritten laws which, if broken, bring shame.”

Absolute obedience

Athenians had no emperor or dictator who demanded absolute obedience from them. However, they made laws and obeyed them to the letter. What is more, they respected the unwritten laws. Some people who live in the Digital Age have no respect for the law. They have no respect for unwritten laws and they are quite ignorant of them. In contrast, Athenians respected many unwritten laws such as helping the poor and being kind to them. They spoke the truth and did not get involved in dubious transactions.

People should be kind to others because it is a prerequisite for living in a society. Only if you are living in an uninhabited island or a desert, you can afford to be unkind to others. In other words, we have no freedom to do what we want. Even the Athenians did not enjoy unbridled freedom. According to them, freedom means obeying the laws of the state and unwritten laws. The creed of the first free state in the world was liberty for all men who could control themselves and take responsibility for protecting the state.

In the Athenian state where freedom had its roots, people never expected anything from the state. They only expected the state to pass laws and protect the people against invaders. However, the very concept of freedom and democracy has undergone a sea change in modern times. Today, people expect everything from the state. They want the state to educate their children, provide health facilities, find jobs for their children, provide facilities for the aged and protect the country from invaders. In the process, freedom has lost its original meaning.

Democracy

Even in Athens where democracy and freedom originated, we no longer find them. Today it has lost its democratic values and people are clamouring for freedom and democracy. This is the irony of fate as reflected in human history. This brings us to the inevitable conclusion that nothing remains static forever. Everything is in a state of flux. History repeats itself.

The fight for freedom appears to be an endless battle. Its victories are never final and conclusive. Even its defeats are never permanent. Recent unfortunate incidents in Sri Lanka's history shows that each generation has to defend its heritage, for each seeming conquest gives rise to new forces that will attempt to substitute fresh means of oppression for the old. There can be no permanent peace in a world where life goes on. Every battle our forefathers fought need to be repeated by their children and grandchildren if they wish to preserve and extend the freedom.

Sri Lanka too fought back and regained freedom on many occasions in its chequered history. Before the advent of South Indian invaders, Sri Lanka was ruled by kings who demanded absolute obedience from the people. They did not enjoy the freedom of expression or the freedom to criticise the rulers. However, most of the kings were benevolent rulers. Despite differences, people rallied round the king to defend the sovereignty of the state during a war.

In recent times, we had to rally round President Mahinda Rajapaksa to defeat a marauding terrorist who tried to divide the country and carve out a separate state. The government and the people won the battle and the freedom they had lost. However, the hard-won freedom has to be preserved through constant vigilance. We have to learn a lesson from Athens where freedom and democracy originated and perished.