This week we will celebrate Thanksgiving Day, a family celebration where we express our gratitude (or we should express it) for the blessings received during the previous year. Let me then share my sincere desire to all of you for a happy and blessed Thanksgiving Day for you and yours.
Unfortunately, challenges and problems do not stop, not even during Thanksgiving. For that reason, I would like to respectfully share a few thoughts connecting some images from ancient times with recent images, and the message that connection suggests for our society.
I have studied Middle Eastern and Mediterranean archaeology for many years. During those studies, I have frequently seen images of slaves in, for example, carving on a wall at an Egyptian temple or on a Roman coin.
I remember reading about a carving at an Egyptian temple showing a long line of naked slaves being parade in front of Pharaoh, who of course was fully clothed and appeared to be larger than the slaves.
And a Roman coin showed a naked slave (representing the people of one of the countries conquered by the Romans) bowing in front of the Emperor, who is sitting on his throne.
Several millennia have passed since those images were produced. However, the images of naked people parading silently in front of people in authority reappeared recently in the news in the context of the debate about full-body scanners now in use at many airports.
The difference, of course, is that now you don’t need to remove your clothes to appear naked. And because there is still some degree and illusion of liberty, we don’t see ourselves as slaves.
Somebody may argue that Egyptian and Roman images from the past are not connected to whatever is happening today in our modern airports. But many philosophers and thinkers, such as Freud, Jung, Ricoeur, and others have shown that certain symbols remain throughout the ages, keeping their meaning and impact intact.
Egyptians used large temple walls and Romans used small coins to send their message about who was in control and who was controlled. Today we use digital screens and technological devices. But it seems the message is still the same.
I know and I understand we need to protect ourselves. I know these are challenging times and, because of global issues, there are few other options. At the same time, I feel uneasy because of that connection between modern images and ancient images created by people who also wanted to protect themselves.
One of those reasons to be thankful for is the freedom we have to share our ideas and thought, even if we are wrong. In that case, we will humbly accept any correction.
As Aristotle said, the slave is the worst situation is the person who doesn’t know he is a slave, because he will never try to be free. Let’s not neglect old symbols and images. After all, there is a reason why, after so many centuries, they are still being used today.