Eleutherophobia and Idomeneo
"fear of freedom" Grandiloquent Dictionary
When philosopher Nietsche said "God is dead", he meant it in the way that God never existed. Nietsche meant it in the way that scholarship and knowledge is supposed to take all the aesthetic pleasure out of life, but it can be interpreted differently. Particularly to mean that human existance is unbounded by a higher authority and is free to choose it's own route. Then, the whole philosophy of life is based on one thing - freedom.
Freedom is one the most disputed things in the world. People demand it and some who would fight to the death for it, never exercise it. Soren Kierkegaard said that people ask for the freedom of speech, but never practice the freedom of thought that they already have. Freedom, whatever it means and whatever it leads to, should start as freedom of thought. The expressions of thought, henceforth, should be, in a free society, be unfettered by fear of reprisal and free of constraint. Art is an expression of our freedom of thought and luckily, we also have freedom of speech for it to go with.
Last Monday, the Mozart opera Idomeneo was recalled from Berlin Operahaus's line up last Monday, because of an added scene where Idomeneo runs onstage holding the heads of religious figures, including that of Muhammed. The message is one of freedom to choose one's own destiny. It is ironic that it was closed of its own choosing, in fear of the backlash it might spark in German Islamic communities, instead of actual riots in the opera house.
Self-censorship is the fear of freedom, because freedom is not just the right to say whatever it is you want to say; freedom comes with responsibility. Since you have the power to say what you want to say, you are responsible for your words; they were not forced on you and they express what you want to express. If you shirk from the onerous burden of this privilege, this freedom that is so central to our philosophy of life, then you are suffering from eleutherophobia. It's not only reprisal that you fear, but also freedom itself.
I've read dozens of articles asking for government to actively protect the freedom of speech. But how is that to be done? Freedom of speech is not something that governments should be protecting. If Idomeneo was a given in an opera house with the army lined up outside and a dozen security checks on the way in - that would be more reminiscent of a Nazi regime than any type of self-censorship. Freedom is freedom - it cannot be enforced by military means, because then it ceases to be freedom.
The whole point is that freedom is a human notion. Freedom is a human construct on society. Society was not created to evolve around freedom. And hence, freedom is the gold on a gilded statue; if you dig down you find something else that is not quite to golden. There are times when the things we say scratch at the surface of this gilded statue. Under the layers you scratch away, you'll find some other, mor basic pillars of society, like survival. It's clear that the Islamic faith is less secular than others and wants to remain that way. And, under our ideals of freedom, they have a right to remain so. The Danish cartoonists were perceived to be attacking the lack of secularity in the Islamic faith because of their casual depiction of Muhammed. Whenever you are perceived as attacking any culture's way of life and beliefs, you risk being perceived as pitting your right of freedom against their right to the survival of their culture. Freedom against survival is never a fair fight; survival is more essential to humanity and forms the core of that statue, lingering under the gilded layers of ideals like freedom. How can there not be backlash?
Governments can only do so much to protect freedom. If you need troops to feel safe in a playhouse, you should think twice before setting foot in one. Censorship and the persecution of artists are horrid aspects of society. It is undefendable. However, sometimes the cause is rooted deep in human nature. It is ultimately the artist's own risk and judgement to brave such barrages.
If you dig down into the history of mankind, freedom does not have its root as a commonplace right or even a commonplace desire. Yet freedom is the refinement of society. It is a drive that moves society in a forward direction, and so we must ourselves protect of our freedom of speech. And that is done by exercising it and not blaming others if we cannot uphold our ideals of ultimate freedom. Freedom is yours for the taking and if you do not exercise your right to freedom, you are contributing to the general eleutherophobia of society. In the end, it is not angry mobs or book burners that restricts freedom. Eleutherophobia is the true bane of freedom.
When philosopher Nietsche said "God is dead", he meant it in the way that God never existed. Nietsche meant it in the way that scholarship and knowledge is supposed to take all the aesthetic pleasure out of life, but it can be interpreted differently. Particularly to mean that human existance is unbounded by a higher authority and is free to choose it's own route. Then, the whole philosophy of life is based on one thing - freedom.
Freedom is one the most disputed things in the world. People demand it and some who would fight to the death for it, never exercise it. Soren Kierkegaard said that people ask for the freedom of speech, but never practice the freedom of thought that they already have. Freedom, whatever it means and whatever it leads to, should start as freedom of thought. The expressions of thought, henceforth, should be, in a free society, be unfettered by fear of reprisal and free of constraint. Art is an expression of our freedom of thought and luckily, we also have freedom of speech for it to go with.
Last Monday, the Mozart opera Idomeneo was recalled from Berlin Operahaus's line up last Monday, because of an added scene where Idomeneo runs onstage holding the heads of religious figures, including that of Muhammed. The message is one of freedom to choose one's own destiny. It is ironic that it was closed of its own choosing, in fear of the backlash it might spark in German Islamic communities, instead of actual riots in the opera house.
Self-censorship is the fear of freedom, because freedom is not just the right to say whatever it is you want to say; freedom comes with responsibility. Since you have the power to say what you want to say, you are responsible for your words; they were not forced on you and they express what you want to express. If you shirk from the onerous burden of this privilege, this freedom that is so central to our philosophy of life, then you are suffering from eleutherophobia. It's not only reprisal that you fear, but also freedom itself.
I've read dozens of articles asking for government to actively protect the freedom of speech. But how is that to be done? Freedom of speech is not something that governments should be protecting. If Idomeneo was a given in an opera house with the army lined up outside and a dozen security checks on the way in - that would be more reminiscent of a Nazi regime than any type of self-censorship. Freedom is freedom - it cannot be enforced by military means, because then it ceases to be freedom.
The whole point is that freedom is a human notion. Freedom is a human construct on society. Society was not created to evolve around freedom. And hence, freedom is the gold on a gilded statue; if you dig down you find something else that is not quite to golden. There are times when the things we say scratch at the surface of this gilded statue. Under the layers you scratch away, you'll find some other, mor basic pillars of society, like survival. It's clear that the Islamic faith is less secular than others and wants to remain that way. And, under our ideals of freedom, they have a right to remain so. The Danish cartoonists were perceived to be attacking the lack of secularity in the Islamic faith because of their casual depiction of Muhammed. Whenever you are perceived as attacking any culture's way of life and beliefs, you risk being perceived as pitting your right of freedom against their right to the survival of their culture. Freedom against survival is never a fair fight; survival is more essential to humanity and forms the core of that statue, lingering under the gilded layers of ideals like freedom. How can there not be backlash?
Governments can only do so much to protect freedom. If you need troops to feel safe in a playhouse, you should think twice before setting foot in one. Censorship and the persecution of artists are horrid aspects of society. It is undefendable. However, sometimes the cause is rooted deep in human nature. It is ultimately the artist's own risk and judgement to brave such barrages.
If you dig down into the history of mankind, freedom does not have its root as a commonplace right or even a commonplace desire. Yet freedom is the refinement of society. It is a drive that moves society in a forward direction, and so we must ourselves protect of our freedom of speech. And that is done by exercising it and not blaming others if we cannot uphold our ideals of ultimate freedom. Freedom is yours for the taking and if you do not exercise your right to freedom, you are contributing to the general eleutherophobia of society. In the end, it is not angry mobs or book burners that restricts freedom. Eleutherophobia is the true bane of freedom.
posted by Kay at 1:22 PM
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