Fraternité, Égalité, Liberté

Through history many different groups struggled for equality and freedom. They have stood against all type of oppression and discrimination, either ethnic or religious ones. However, when we look at these events we cannot avoid to ask: Were they struggling for freedom and equality or for power and money?

In South Africa one of the worse racist systems was called apartheid. It set limits to the life and “freedom” of non “white.”  This system caused some great injustices against minority as well as “majority” ethnic groups. Eventually Frederik W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela dismantled the apartheid system. Instead of freedom and equality, some groups on both sides of the so called “white” Africans and the black Africans have sieged power and money. This is leading the nation’s government into corruption, as it happened in other African nations. The dreams about equality and freedom have not become a reality yet, except power and money for a few black leaders. In Cuba, Fidel Castro Ruz together with various other leaders overcame the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar. This brought a time of freedom, but eventually led the Castro family to siege power. Fidel’s mistake was to dogmatize Marxism instead of seeing it as part of an interpretation and a developing, evolving, ideology of economy. A greater error was to allow the development a government controlled by families. In that sense, no too much difference from the previous government. Similarly, the former Soviet Union, after the victory over the Zar and his dictatorial system by the Bolshevik and allies, allowed the development of administrations like that of Joseph Stalin. No, communism cannot be blamed for it, much less Marxism. Socialists within the Soviet Union as well as in Cuba, and around the world raised questions and opposition to any type of oligarchy. just as Democracy in the USA cannot be blamed for the power games of its politicians from left or right. When would there be a politician who wants the power to serve the people instead of himself or herself and closest friends?

Classic historical revolutionary events had similar outcomes. Simón Bolívar y Ponte fought against the Spanish Empire through South America. While he is praised as a hero of freedom, his fighting empowered more the new aristocracy of Ibero America. In North America, over a century earlier, the 13 English Colonies declared independence from England. In their declaration and constitution, they spoke of equality and freedom, even about something as abstract as the pursue of happiness. Obviously, their struggle was not for true freedom, rather to empower the already powerful with freedom from the more powerful King. They never thought of the slaves, except for a few comments by Thomas Jefferson, neither about the “first” nations or Native people. They became expansionists and colonizers invading land where Spanish nations were already settled for centuries and Native people territories. Of course, many Spanish and French were guilty of the same crimes. The encounter of the Spanish and the Native people of the Caribbean region in 1492 and 1493 brought so much good, but also developed into so much evil.  The Civil War in the USA was supposedly for the freedom of the African slaves and the abolishment of all type of slavery. However, like in South Africa, racism and all type of ethnic prejudices are still embedded deep into the political system of these nations. In 1898 the USA got involved in the Hispanic American War, the struggle for independence of the Spanish colonies from Spain. That led to the USA colonizing Cuba, Guam, Philippines, and Puerto Rico. The last remaining a colonial territory until this day.

In religious circles some people speak of freedom, but often it is an excuse to avoid obedience to the divine instructions. There are those in Christianity advocating for the Gospel vs. the Law. The Conservative evangelicals vs. the Liberal evangelicals, often to avoid their social justice responsibilities. Nevertheless, there is the fundamentalism of liberalism that do not consider other views to be valid and accurate, unless they meet their interest. No too much different from conservative views in religion and politics. In Judaism some Reform have developed a Rabbinical tradition that replaced the Orthodox Rabbinical tradition. Just as Karaites rejects Rabbinical tradition for their own. Orthodox redefined Judaism creating fences after fences that eventually made the beauty and freedom of Judaism and the Torah something unbearable. Christianity rejects often the “Laws” of the “Old Testament” while developing their own canon of laws, at times “stricter” than those from the Hebrew Bible; in popular religion or the organized institutions, like some Pentecostals, a system of senseless requirements. Again, the power of tradition.

Christians were a persecuted minority within the Roman empire, a sect of First Temple Judaism, eventually becoming no the liberator but the oppressive power of the Roman Empire. Through Europe, centuries later, nations would adopt some type of Christianity as the State Religion, becoming persecutors of those who may disagree. They became powerful and wealthy, free from the Roman Catholic Church to oppress others, as Luther did against the Jews and Anabaptists.

Then, what is true freedom and equality? Is this ever possible? The French proudly have their revolutionary slogan: Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité. These words have become the motto of many people struggling for freedom and equality. No, I am not a pessimist. Many good things happened due to all the events I listed above. However, something went wrong. Perhaps, the order in the slogan that in one form or another was in the minds of people long time before the French revolution, needed to change to: Fraternité, Égalité, Liberté. Seeing each other as true brethren and sisters, as equal is the way to lead into freedom. It is the way to avoid that a few anywhere in the world will control the power and money and become the new oppressors. It is not the left neither the right, it is human selfishness.

In the modern State of Israel there is still conflicts and struggles for freedom and equality. This is happening within the people called today as Palestinians as well as among all Israeli citizens, including Jews, but especially the Domari people (the Gypsies of the Middle East). Some administrations of the Israeli government have been good while others have been horribly bad, just as we had “good” kings and bad kings in ancient Israel and Judah. Today is not that much difference, regardless of the romanticism of some politicians and even Rabbis, and the Evangelical Christian right-wing preachers around the world. This tragic reality is happening even among Palestinians in the territories under their administration.

Fraternité is the fundamental part to build a true society of equality and freedom. A society where chauvinists still are powerful or where feminists reject any male leadership, or where “minorities” become powerful oppressive “majority,” that is not freedom, neither equality. It is just the recycling of the same human selfishness and narcissist tendencies. again, we must remeber the words from the Psalm (133:1):

 הִנֵּ֣ה מַה־טּ֭וֹב וּמַה־נָּעִ֑ים שֶׁ֖בֶת אַחִ֣ים גַּם־יָֽחַד׃

The hope for true freedom and equality was expressed during the Franco’s dictatorship in Spain by Waldo de los Ríos and interpreted Miguel Ríos, in the song Himno a la Alegría. The lyrics they gave to Beethoven’s Ode to Joy (last part or movement of the 9^th symphony, music written for the original work of Friedrich Schiller).  The song starts by addressing the listeners as “hermano” (hermana is implied). It starts on the right direction, Fraternité. Miguel Ríos interpreted this song at a concert of RTVE against the wishes of the dictadura franquista.