This is an interesting commentary on Greece by a person who moved to the USA in 1995 . I get many articles from friends, and I find this one is fascinating.
Aunt Gretchen
I lived in Greece for 10 years, under the Papandreaou socialists and then the much touted Mitzotakis and then Karamanlis "New Democracy" supposedly not socialist (but just a wee bit less socialist) parties. The absolute "rightest" that Greece has to offer is something akin to a Clintonesque sort of socialism (and the Greeks think that is downright conservative).
The effects of socialism have destroyed Greece. The word "ambition" has been removed from the vocabulary. Careers are made of serving "frappes" (iced coffee) at always bustling sidewalk cafes and cafeneons, where the "retired" the unemployed sit and moan about their place in life...always to be followed by the ever-Greek expression of "Ti na kanoume"...what can we do ....how about NOT electing the socialists? How about actually taking responsibility for yourselves and not waiting for your nanny to pick up after you. So it comes down to this: they wait and wait and wait for "someone" to save them, and of course it never happens, and when it doesn't, it is always America's fault...
Look at Athens since the Olympics. The stadiums, the venues sit in complete ruin, unused, because the gov't can't decide what to do with them, and using them would take money away from the top of the food chain.
But once socialism infects the younger, it is over for the country. They don't realize that all their leaders are "left in the head, right in the pocket".
We called life in Greece the "daily miracle"...which meant something akin to this:
Buses running? A miracle.
Trollies running? A miracle.
Phones working? (by the way, I waited 9, yes NINE years for a phone to be installed. I lived there before "cell phones" and I had "meson" (an insider who was pushing my application along). A miracle.
Electricity on? A miracle.
Hospitals not on strike? A miracle.
You didn't die waiting to be seen in the hospital? A miracle.
You got the correct diagnosis in the hospital? (surely you get it, once you buy your way into med school, you buy your way out too...knowlege or talent has nothing to do with being a physician...) a miracle.
Schools - and I mean high schools and Jr schools - not being taken over by the students themselves (why would they do this? how about no heat, no bathrooms, no water, no books, and oh, ya, nevermind those classes with no teachers) A miracle.
Olympic Airlines in the air? (well, not any more...) a miracle. Oh, and it was a miracle when a stewardess on Olympic turned out to be the elder Papandreaou's mistress and finally first lady....so much for morality, but at least he did ....ahemmm.....share with the "waitress down the street"....
How about the banks being open or not on strike? A miracle.
Supermarkets not serving tainted cheese, meat from Bulgaria and calling it Greek? A miracle.
There are no jobs in Greece. There is no reason to get an education, as there is nothing to do with a degree if you get it. You can't even study what you want to study in University, as there aren't enough "seats" in the schools. IF you manage to pass the entrance exams, the state exams (now, please go back to the fact that many schools have no books, no teachers, etc....exactly how was your kid supposed to learn the physics that is on the state test?) then you will be assigned to a University. Maybe you want to study law, but your score dictates that drama or theology would be best for you.....
Keep them stupid and give the bread to fill their tummies. The PASOK (Socialists under Papandreaou and now his son George P, champagne socialist - who is American, by the way) fulfilled this promise. The mass subsidizing of farmers to keep food prices suppressed and keep tummies full but brains empty worked. It created two generations of fat lazy idiots. 40 year old men living with their mommies and daddies because they can't get a job that pays enough to rent some pathetically small apartment in a cruddy end of town.
We left Greece for the United States in 1995 and nothing nothing nothing to this day has changed. If anything, it is worse, yet party after party springs up, promising abundance, but guess what.....
I am dumbfounded, astonished, amazed, and sickened by the sheer mass stupidity of the United States in voting for Obama. He is a fool controlled by other fools.
Every empire sees its decline and fall, and Obama and his cronies will be the fall of the United States. Start learning how to serve coffee, because one day, the USA will be the "Greece" of this hemisphere...the cheap place to come and visit as a tourist because the dollar in the USA will worthless against other currencies, and there will be lots of people to serve you coffee and carry your bags and drive your taxis.
Halara
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1 comment:
Wow, I'm the first commenter.
It seems like the writer did not like Greece much and has a hard time liking the U.S. these days.
I have to ask, how did the current administration contribute to the results of the election? I think we can attribute much more to the recent history of past 8 years than any persuasive campaigning that was done. One could say that many citizens were converted into a "mass of stupidity" by watching the current administration at work.
Many cultures in many countries have traits that can work against "progress". Sometimes they lead to corruption, or other problems that create inefficiency. Cultural mores may also contribute to the selection of governments as well, based on priorities of the people.
I have enough confidence in our democratic process to protect us from seeing a cultural change like the one descibed in this "article". It has to be said that many non-socialist countries have inefficient governments and systems. We are lucky to live in a place where things get done, and people take pride in their work. I don't see that changing, regardless of who we just elected into office.
I think our cultural liability is our tendency to think we are always right, and superior to others. The writer is correct, we do need a taste of humility, even if it doesn't come with a coffee shop job.
P.S. I'm curious about the source of the article, do you know where it was printed or blogged?
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