A Case For True And Free
By now you will have had the time to allow Cecily’s message of a couple of weeks ago settle in. You may still be searching for how you might contribute more readily to the family project of developing arms we can be proud of into the future. On the other hand, you may be content to allow the exercise unfold amongst those who hold it dear, or are challenged by the symbolism that will eventually represent us all. The important thing is that you are with us without fail, and this is acknowledged by us collectively as your opinions and silences speak with one and the same voice.
If there were an area where you are needed, it is in this matter of the theme. This is where the arms are made or not made; where satisfaction over our deed is won or lost, and where our greatest statement as a clan is done. As you know from our discussions, the motto is at once our thematic representative but also our battle cry. You may be as grateful as I am to be far removed from military theatres of war; we may fairly say that life itself provides battle enough in the meantime. I have some thoughts to share about the proposed combination of truth and freedom.
I will try to explain how I see true and free as an inspiration that closely resembles the existential needs we all share. I further submit that the motto fits the bill as we demanded: it’s a more than adequate tribute to our past; indeed, it encompasses the variety of truths we live by. Said together, true and free is a powerful call to our clan spirit. It should be stated in its simplest form: true and free. This simplicity is where it derives much of its authority. I encourage you to practice it in as many situations as you can think of: while shaking hands or embracing at greetings; during final hugs goodbye; at cheers (well tested by Matt, Barnaby and me); included in toasts (or while eating toast); as a replacement for “amen” at the end of your prayers. Should you find yourself mounted on a steed and ready to charge, try hollering “true and free” to rally the horsemen beside you; I promise your attack will take on a whole new strength, even if only metaphorically or in a random dream. Overall, you will find that you are now quickly attached to this simple little phrase of influence.
The word free, short form of freedom, and translated from its Latin version “libertate”, resounds with deep meaning throughout our shared history. It is an unambiguous salute to all those who struggled to bring us to where we are now. In the name of freedom, our ancestors wanted what we all want: to live a good and decent life of meaning and purpose. Freedom permeates our culture, is part of our character, and provides us with the kind of confidence that only those who have tasted freedom can sustain. For once having been free, contemplating a life without freedom is absurd.
True, the short form from truth, or its Latin version “veritas “, remains one of the highest aspirations of man. To be true can mean many things: to be true to oneself, to each other, to an ideal, to a task and so on. It’s also about a search for truth through higher learning, through personal development and spiritual growth, and especially through service to others as a way of discovering the ideals of human interconnectedness, wisdom and maturation. It’s about soberly remembering the past, celebrating each day faithfully and ideally, with an eye on tomorrow and the challenges that are sure to come.
Finally, the two together -be they “veritas et libertate” or shortened to “true and free”- encapsulate a thematic core that brings our past, present and future together, tied nicely in a bundled phrase whose simplicity will withstand time, whose ideal will remain lofty with meaning, and whose guidance will be as valid today as in a thousand years.
One only has to think back to the horrific demise of William Wallace to remember that the brutality of our ancestry has long ceded to a more reasoned way of living today. Those early Middle Ages were historical precursor to the Age of Enlightenment that began within a couple of hundred years of its close after the death of King Richard in the fifteenth century. Christopher Columbus’s voyages to the New World came on the tail end of the Middle Ages; moreover, Jacques Cartier discovered the St Lawrence River in 1534, naming the land around it Canada in an inspired term borrowed locally from the natives who were there before recorded history. And the Norse settled in Newfoundland and Labrador as early as AD 1000, and left evidence of their visits at L’Anse aux Meadows. This past we share, a full millennia, is but a flash in time. And yet, here we are, intact and thriving in this new world.
French is an old Norman surname, as ancient as the” Northmen” people from whence it came. It’s not unreasonable to surmise that it is as old, or older, than the name Wallace. Irish fishers were employed seasonally by British merchants and Navy to harvest cod on the Grand Banks off Newfoundland’s coast within years of its discovery. It took many more years before they were permitted to stay over the winter months and settle, earning their freedom from the tyranny of landowners back in Ireland. Eventually, every nook, cranny, cove and inlet had a settlement of mostly Norman-Irish descended souls. I once read that Newfoundlandese is just a form of the Norman language from several hundred years ago, the island’s isolation having preserved its style. Think of the trials inhabitants underwent to adapt to this land of storms and gales, no Gulfstream to warm them, only the cold North Atlantic to provide them bountiful nourishment but also to take as many as it could to its depths. Along the way, disengaged from the rest of the world except through her one major port, they became some of the hardiest and most self-sufficient people found anywhere, characteristics still prevalent in folks there today. That land and sea represented both their restraint- sequestered on the island, closed off by storm lashed coasts- and their freedom, flourishing in a communal life of interdependence. Newfoundlanders today will treat you as if they have always known you, a rare quality in this world.
It is likewise fateful that the Scots, whose remnant blood courses in degrees through our veins but whose resourceful thinking is still with us today, were dispersed to Ireland and other places during these centuries. If there is a group of persons who can be rightly said to have settled Canada, it is the Scots. From fur traders to soldiers, from railway men to Prime Ministers, the founding Scots star shines brightly from sea to sea. Though it is a great contribution, as is the infamous life and time of Sir William Wallace himself so long ago, the Scots in general were also a persecuted lot. Although their uneasy peace was already made with England at the time of Canada’s nascence, the sense of injustice at her overlords continues in some quarters today.
That we had a founding immigrant fight in the Napoleonic Wars, and then settle here after aiding in repelling the American expansionists is a story steeped in truth and freedom. Clearly, our clan’s ancestry has been on the right side of history for much of its existence.
Someone once said that we are not born with character; it is something we must develop over time. Of course, it helps if we have been called early to the priesthood; made contributions to the civil service and crown; patriotically served in the military, or been able emulate high minded types through education and personal mentorships, all of which value character. Throughout life we borrow eclectically from those in our surroundings to form core integrity over time. Is there one lasting impression we can give our clan, especially our young ones and those that will follow? Is there a core belief to carry with them wherever they may go? The motto true and free does that amply.
Confidence is also a trait that comes only from within layers of experience. Small victories, even every day competencies, add up over time to a larger sense of self. To human beings, confidence equals truth; indeed, the confident person is the one who can persuade, who can lead, and who can likely succeed. A family motto that drives home this value each time it is stated in refrain at all life’s occasions reinforces a gift of confidence that will outlast us all. A sage principle that governs a considered life is good advice.
The considered life is an ideal that fits every person’s journey. It attempts to assess ability through trial and error, while realizing that those talents were likely seeded in raw form very early in life. It is the best chance at living a satisfying life in your years ahead. The search for meaning and truth encompasses this personal travail. Honesty with oneself is a part of it; the universal rule of doing no harm to others in the pursuit of self-expression represents another. Underlying both facets of this quest is a grand respect for truth and freedom.
The entropic and uncertainty principles of thermodynamics underscore the state of decay or change in a system, as well as the impossibility of predicting all the outcomes likely in a set of circumstances. We know talent not used is wasted; its energy flows out into something else. And we know that a given amount of unpredictability occurs in life. But the issue is not wasted or fulfilled talent, or even the stumbling blocks life sometimes seems put in your path. It‘s the reaction to these challenges that defines you. What better guiding principle than truth and freedom?
There is additionally the matter of attachment to clan and beloved. It is those attachments we make along the way that are the elixir of life upon which we exist and are most lasting to us. We were never made to exist alone, nor would we have come this far as loners. One does not reach the end of life and lament unclaimed material goods. Instead, it is the honours bestowed upon us by our fellows, the loves we have lived (and even those we have lost), and all the people with whom we were able to share our existence that are our most cherished and finally remembered comforts. True and free.
Self-interest is always paramount; however, living a good life also means realizing that we have only three basic things to offer the world: time, talent and effort. This is an essential truth. Some of that will be spent in service of those around us; realizing this as we do, we do it because we can. This is how we experience a form of freedom that has been fought on our behalf for a thousand years. It will require our vigilance, forevermore, as this motto reminds us gently.
My father is a man of simple tastes and naked truths. Not prone to fanciful prose or to hyperbole lest it diminish the easy elegance of the words he uses, he let simmer the ideals that govern our existence in all its facets. Simplicity is power; his wisdom is fourscore years and more in the making. A motto in Latin may diminish its use; instead, the compact words “true and free”, said in English, tumbled from his tongue as if they were lying in wait for the right moment to appear. No one has given this exercise more consideration and when uttered after a round of brainstorming and civil debate from the assembled at Matt’s a fortnight or so ago, this idiom fell into place like pieces to a puzzle. It was as if we were joined there, surrounded by a legion of ethereal ancestors from old and near in time, and the conjured ghost of Sir William himself had made an appearance and whispered the phrase in Howie’s ear.
So this first week of March in the year 2012, as we approach the Spring Equinox of our timetable, let’s rejoice in the strength and power of the clan. We are far greater together than we can be alone. Already I have found the motto true and free permeating my thoughts and actions. I can feel a change in me, warmed by its guidance, empowered by its wide range. With a couple of weeks to go, you might want to try this motto on yourself. You may find it fits you perfectly.
Embosom my clan; True and free.
cw
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