Author's Note: In a recent posting I wrote an essay titled, Extending Frith. This can be considered its natural extension.
And although I broke a lot of laws as a teenager, I straightened out immediately upon turning eighteen, when I realized the state had a legal right to execute me. George Carlin.
We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the law breaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions. President Ronald Reagan.
The above quotes were true in the days of yesteryear just as they are now in our modern world.
As stated in my essay, Extending Frith, our Indo-European ancestors thought of Frith and the Innangard as not just one and the same, but dependent on each other; to be living in the Innangard was to live in a protective environment. If Frith was broken (breaking the law) that protective environment, the Innangard and the folks who lived within became endangered, and the perpetrator had to be dealt with. In many cases, the Frith breaker was "cast out" of the Innangard; the outcast became an "outlaw," who lived outside of the law, order, and security of the Frith/Innangard. And in some cases, the Frith breaker was executed.
Within the natural progression of things, and to avoid wholesale killing between families/clans/tribes a brilliant manner of intervention was developed. In our modern English lexicon, we call that intervention Grith. In many ways, Grith is a partial extension of Frith.
Grith is a truce between the opposing sides that allows for a cooling off period and the gathering of facts. Then, opposing parties went before a ruling council (or tribal elders, Sumbel, assembly, if you prefer), where the accusations and evidence was weighed, Justice served, with all involved parties bound by the decision. As stated above, the Frith breaker(s) were outlawed, had to make some kind of monetary amends, or executed. But it was not all bleak.
In many cases, outlaws served "time" in the Untangard and were allowed back into the Innangard, peaceful society: the were extended the Frith of their tribe - a chance to begin again (I personally know individuals who "did their time" in the Untangard, prison, and have become stand-up folks in society). In our modern era, all of the above is practiced.
When a person(s) breaks the law (Frith) they are found and arrested by "peace officers." Then the path is jail/bail, trial, and either freedom, prison, or execution. Naturally the man who shoplifts from Wal-Mart will be treated differently than the man who commits capital murder. That brings me to this point: the willful and malicious targeting of "peace officers," policemen who are charged with keeping the peace (Frith), must be dealt with swiftly - Frith within the Innangard demands it. When you re-read the above quotes from Carlin and President Reagan, you will see that they are echoing the same sentiment held by our ancestors and the rest of civil society.
Copyright @2016 Terry Unger
