Currently in America, where I am writing from, we are celebrating the holiday season leading up to Election Day. This is a special holiday to us because it’s a cathartic experience in which we act out one of the two oldest mythological stories: either (1) we continue the tradition of Kronos killing his father Uranus, and Zeus killing his father Kronos, ad infinitum, or (2) we act out the story of the Hebrew God killing the Leviathan.
Our Election Day holiday is a blend of both these two stories because our culture is a combination between the culture of Athens and of Jerusalem. The resulting marriage of the two has led this special holiday to oscillate between two major themes.
When we act out the first story, we overthrow the tyranny of the father (patriarchy) so that we may become free. With freedom comes chaos, however, so the freer we become, the more disorderly the world becomes. This goes on for some years and we decide to act out the story of God killing the Leviathan. We rescue individuals from the tyranny of their own self-destructive, animalistic desires; we regiment their lives and give them discipline and order. With order comes a loss of freedom… and so the cycle goes forever…
