Μεγάλη συζήτηση γίνεται στις μέρες μας για την επόμενη εκλογή προέδρου της Δημοκρατίας. Η μία πλευρά υποστηρίζει ότι η εκλογή είναι αφορμή για μια τεχνητή πρόκληση γενικών εκλογών και απαρχή πορείας απαγκρίστρωσης απο το μνημόνιο και τους δανειστές. Η άλλη, προειδοποιεί ότι η εκλογή είναι αναγκαία για να παραμείνει η χώρα σε τροχιά εξόδου απο την κρίση. Προχωρεί δε και σε συζητήσεις για το πρόσωπο που θα μπορούσε να διαδεχθεί τον Κ. Παπούλια.
Σύμφωνα με τις απαιτήσεις των καιρών και την ανάγκη για μια ευρύτερη πλειοψηφία ο ιδανικός υποψήφιος, η μάλλον η ιδανική υποψήφια, πρέπει να αριστεροφέρνει, αλλά όχι και προκλητικά για να μην φοβηθούν οι επενδυτές και πάρουν τα λεφτά τους απο τη χώρα και μείνουμε στον άσσο, να είναι διακεκριμένη στον επαγγελματικό στίβο αλλά σε τομέα μακρυά απο το δημόσιο για να μην την πάρουν για λαικάντζα συνδικαλίστρια ή κομματόσκυλο και τελευταίο και σημαντικό να έχει εκτεταμένη επαφή με την κοινωνία των πολιτών γιατί εδώ που τα λέμε το πολιτικό σύστημα τα τελευταία χρόνια μιμήθηκε την Μαρία Αντουανέττα και απέφευγε την τριβή με τους πληβείους, ίσως και να κρυβόταν απο τις φάπες.
Με τη διαστροφή που με διακρίνει αντί να σκέφτομαι απο ποιό επαγγελματικό χώρο θα προέλθει η επόμενη πρόεδρος, προσπαθώ να αποφασίσω με δεδομένη την πολιτεία του κάθε διατελέσαντος προέδρου για ποιό επάγγελμα πραγματικά θα έκανε! Έχουμε λοιπόν και λέμε με χρονολογική σειρά και παραλείπωντας τον Φ. Γκιζίκη για προφανείς λόγους:
Μιχαήλ Στασινόπουλος
Σύντομη και αθόρυβη θητεία, έμοιαζε περισσότερο με αποστολή σε μια ταραγμένη περίοδο.
Δεν γνωρίζω αν το νομικό του έργο είναι άξιο μνείας αλλά το λογοτεχνικό του έργο για μικρά παιδιά ήταν ότι έπρεπε. Έπαιξε το ρόλο του δασκάλου της δημοκρατίας σε ένα έθνος που αντιμετώπιζε τη δημοκρατία του παιδικά. Η διεύθυνση φαίνεται πως δεν εξετίμησε το έργο του δεόντως και αντικαταστάθηκε πριν τη λήξη του σχολικού έτους. Κατάλληλο επάγγελμα: δημοδιδάσκαλος
Κωνσταντίνος Τσάτσος
Πανεπιστημιακός δάσκαλος αξιοσημείωτου βεληνεκούς που θα μείνει στην ιστορία για την απόσταση που τον χώριζε απο την νεο-Ελληνική πραγματικότητα. Θα προτιμούσε να συνομιλεί με τον Schlegel και τον Fichte στην Χαιδελβέργη επι της πορείας του Πνεύματος στην Ιστορία, αλλά η τύχη τα έφερε να χαιρετάει τελετουργικά βλαχοδημάρχους στο προεδρικό μέγαρο. Είχε το θράσσος να επισημάνει στον αντάρτη-Αρχιεπίσκοπο Σεραφείμ ότι η Εκκλησία πρέπει να γίνει πιο "φιλοσοφική" (κάτι σαν να λέμε "αφήστε τη νηστεία και πιάστε τα βιβλία") και έκτοτε έφαγε πόρτα κατά το κοινώς λεγόμενο. "Τιμωρήθηκε" για τις αμαρτίες του με το να συμμετάσχει σε τηλεοπτική εκπομπή του Ν. Δήμου και να αποκληθεί συνάδελφος φιλόσοφος. Κατάλληλο επάγγελμα : Γυμνασιάρχης
Κωνσταντίνος Καραμανλής
ο και αποκληθείς σε εποχές παροξυσμού των οπαδών του "Θεός". Άνθρωπος άφιλος και αχάριστος αλλά πέρα πάσης αμφιβολίας ο αποτελεσματικότερος διαχειριστής της κρατικής μηχανής την τελευταία 50ετία. Έμεινε γνωστός γιατί στην προσπάθεια του να εξασφαλίσει την πρόοδο των δημοσίων έργων και το δημόσιο συμφέρον απειλούσε τους εργολάβους της εποχής και τους έπιανε απο το πέτο (έκτοτε οι εργολάβοι άλλαξαν μόδα, πέταξαν το σακάκι, έγιναν trendy και επι Σημίτη ανέλαβαν και τη διακυβέρνηση της χώρας.) Προερχόταν απο την Ελληνική επαρχία και είχε όλα τα χαρακτηριαστικά του Μακεδόνα τσαμπουκά "Ξέρεις ποιός είμαι εγώ ρε; Α μα θέλω φεύγω και απο ΝΑΤΟ!" Διακρίθηκε για τις κακές γεωγραφικές του γνώσεις ("Η Κύπρος κείται μακράν"). Δυστυχώς, την ώρα που εσωτερικά πάσχιζε να βάλει τα δυο πόδια της Ελλάδας σε ένα παλιομοδίτικο καλούπι που τον εντυπωσίασε κατα την εν Παρισίοις διαμονή του, οι ιδιοφυείς γείτονες ηγέτες προετοίμαζαν την χώρα τους για την μετα-ψυχροπολεμική εποχή που αυτός με τις επαρχιώτικες παραστάσεις του αδυνατούσε να συλλάβει. Βλάχος ων, την έφαγε απο την χωσιά του "πονηρού βλάχου" Παπανδρέου και είχε την ατυχία στο τέλος της ζωής του να δεί την κατάρευση όλων όσων για τα οποία εργάστηκε. Κατάλληλο επάγγελμα: επιστάτης σε αγροικία.
Χρήστος Σαρτζετάκης
Ο μόνος σύγχρονος Έλληνας ο βίος του οποίου έγινε διεθνής ταινία με πρωταγωνιστή πρώτης γραμμής. Αυτό και μόνο θα έφθανε για να αναγνωριστεί ως sex symbol αλλά φρόντισε με τις ιδιόμορφες δηλώσεις του να μας αποδείξει ότι έχει και κωμικό ταλέντο.
Απελάμβανε όσο κανείς άλλος το αξίωμα και φρόντισε να το δείξει στέλνοντας στο αυτόφορο τον ηθοποιό που τον σατίριζε ή επιβάλλοντας στον αοίδιμο Πατριάρχη Δημήτριο να του κάνει υποδοχή. Η μνημειώδης δήλωση του "Είμαστε έθνος ανάδελφο" απέδειξε ότι καταλάβαινε περισσότερα απο όσα έδειχνε. Μείναμε με την απορία γιατί δεν μας τα είπε. Κατάλληλο επάγγελμα: πρωταγωνιστής στο θίασο του Μολιέρου στην αυλή του Λουδοβίκου 14ου.
Κωνσταντίνος Στεφανόπουλος
Ήταν ο εφιάλτης των στενογράφων της Βουλής λόγω της ταχύτητας με την οποία αγόρευε.
Άρχισε εντυπωσιακά την πολιτική του σταδιοδρομία, στη μέση βρέθηκε σε τέλμα αλλά στο τέλος ο επιμένων νικά! Κάτι σαν την Γλυκερία δηλαδή. Απεδείχθη ο προσαρμοστικότερος των Ελλήνων προέδρων. Άρεσε στους συντηρητικούς γιατί πλήρωνε το κρασί στα γεύματα του, στους αριστερούς γιατί ήλεγξε λεκτικά τον πρόεδρο Clinton και στις νοικοκυρές γιατί έλεγε "χαριτωμενιές" στη Θάνου. Δυστυχώς έμεινε σιωπηλός και άπραγος στην εθνική ταπείνωση στα Ίμια, στην επέλαση της διαφθοράς στο δημόσιο βίο επι διακυβέρνησης Σημίτη και στην προσβολή της θρησκευτικής συνείδησης του λαού στο θέμα των ταυτοτήτων. Κατάλληλο επάγγελμα: ραδιοφωνικός sportscaster στημένων αγώνων box.
Κάρολος Παπούλιας
Ουδέν σχόλιον γιατί η "δημοκρατία" της οποίας προίσταται κολάζει την κριτική προς το πρόσωπο του ποινικά.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Saturday, November 15, 2014
What did you do in WWII or what modern Greeks are really proud of
I have been leading a vagabond life: Ann Arbor, Austin, San Diego, Mountain View, and now Zurich. I can hardly remember the number of times I have introduced myself to strangers but most of the times the following pattern emerged: after a short conversation either through a direct question ("where are you from?") or a semi-obvious deduction based on my last name ("I have a good friend from Greece. His last name is Papadopoulos / Stefanopoulos / you-name-it-opoulos.") the inevitable conclusion is reached: I am Greek.
Now here is the funny thing. I may appear as a morose guy in general (a dear friend recognized in me the opening lines from Dostoevsky's "Notes from the Underground", those of you who have read it will understand what I am talking about) but upon hearing of my origin, I have always received people's positive feedback, apart from once. The one exception does not really count; he had recovered from a severe stroke, apparently not fully.
The nice thing about people is that coming from different backgrounds and educational levels, each one has his own way of being nice to you. Simple fellows usually tell me something along these lines: "My sister went to Greece for vacations last year and she had a great time" or "2 blocks from where I work there is a Greek restaurant that I like to go and have gyros". Not very polished but the point is gladly taken. On the other hand side, guys with serious formal education usually go like this: "Damn you Greeks! We owe everything in our culture to you! What would we do without democracy and philosophy?" or for those with more of a baroque taste "I can observe the bravery of Achilleas and the cunning of Ulysses in your argument. Was the goddess Athena your teacher?" I am usually surrounded by CS/EE/Math PhDs so I had most of the latter. And I must confess it is starting to get me on the nerves (the spiteful guy from Dostoevsky comes to surface again.)
It is getting me on the nerves not just because it is wrong ("you do not have real democracy and your philosophy is an abomination") but mainly because it is so out of touch with contemporary reality. Modern Greeks, do not spend their time walking around the agora dressed in tunics debating about philosophy. Nobody seeks the enlightenment from Apollo (or even more receives it) and the name "Dionisios", the contemporary form of the ancient name "Dionysus", is associated in people's conscience more with Christian forgiveness rather than ... drinking! In one word: you've got it all wrong.
Most people upon hearing these news react like children who realize that Santa Claus does not really exist. "Shame on you! Bastards! You all come from the Turks!" and so on. Even worse, some go even further to claim that the loss of that fake identity, brings with it a loss in pride. In other words, what could contemporary Greeks be proud of? I hope that the answer to this question will give a glimpse of the true identity of modern Greeks.
Putting aside the exaggerations of the past, our current identity is much more humble. It carries a certain amount of wisdom in it. Greeks have twice ruled the world (and by extension twice lost it.) Yet, they are the only ones who still have the face to go back to the places they have ruled. In Middle East the name "Greek" is greeted with friendship and in Afghanistan the name "Alexander" still commands respect after roughly 2300 years. In comparison, it took only a couple for G. W. Bush to trash his name (and by extension of his country) in that region of the world.
Our world is a world of change. Heraclitus of Ephesus, the first Greek "mega-genius", put it succinctly: "everything flows." What matters is not how people perceive you when you have power. What matters is how people perceive you when you have lost your power. A good name in the latter case, is something to be truly proud of.
Furthermore, it is undeniable that modern West, which boats a heritage going back to ancient Greece, is founded upon the ideas of rational thought and power. Descartes takes Euclidean geometry as a model of clarity for his philosophy and Machiavelli aspires to reach Thucydides in insight about what it takes to govern successfully. What is not immediately obvious is that living by rational thought and power is not inline with living a life of sacrifice.
Choosing to be the victim definitely does not make sense in any rational way neither it increases one's power. Still, that is exactly what the Greeks chose to do in 1940 when they fought outnumbered against Fascist Italy and ultimately won. That is exactly what the Greeks chose to do in 1941 when they fought even more outnumbered against Nazi Germany and ultimately lost. That is exactly what the Cypriots chose to do in the '50s when they fought against Imperialist Britain and won their freedom. That is exactly what Greeks and Cypriots chose to do in 1974 when they chose to fight the US-backed Turkish invasion and won their right to be the legal representatives of the island. A life of sacrifice has as its clearest symbol, the Cross. The Cross has been inspiring the Greeks for the last 2000 years and like St. Paul their life on the Cross of history has been their pride.
At the same time the self declared children of Athena and Apollo had been partying in the streets of Nazi-occupied Paris after they loudly questioned "why fight?" and finally they declared in their philosophy that "God is dead". So much for a genuine cultural and spiritual lineage to Greece.
In contemporary times suffering can take many forms, e.g., refusing to submit to an unjust power, coping with the inequalities of a rigged financial system, staying faithful to life during the time of a crippling disease. I could go on for ever, and I fear that my natural tendency for sarcasm is not my best ally in making my message come across. I am not trying to point any fingers but I am afraid that the messages we get from our current ideology will not make us proud, e.g., 2500 years down the road when people of that era will reflect upon our lives. Which way of life is right and which is wrong? For sure, history will tell. I do not have a definite answer but I am optimistic for the modern Greek way. After all, history was the first Greek science.
P.S This post is a bit overdue. On 10/28 we celebrated Greece's refusal to submit to the Axis powers during WWII. The post is dedicated to the memory of P.M Ioannis Metaxas, King George B' of the Hellenes and all the veterans of the 1940 Albanian campaign. Your sacrifice so that we do not speak German today was not in vain. I still cannot speak proper German.
Now here is the funny thing. I may appear as a morose guy in general (a dear friend recognized in me the opening lines from Dostoevsky's "Notes from the Underground", those of you who have read it will understand what I am talking about) but upon hearing of my origin, I have always received people's positive feedback, apart from once. The one exception does not really count; he had recovered from a severe stroke, apparently not fully.
The nice thing about people is that coming from different backgrounds and educational levels, each one has his own way of being nice to you. Simple fellows usually tell me something along these lines: "My sister went to Greece for vacations last year and she had a great time" or "2 blocks from where I work there is a Greek restaurant that I like to go and have gyros". Not very polished but the point is gladly taken. On the other hand side, guys with serious formal education usually go like this: "Damn you Greeks! We owe everything in our culture to you! What would we do without democracy and philosophy?" or for those with more of a baroque taste "I can observe the bravery of Achilleas and the cunning of Ulysses in your argument. Was the goddess Athena your teacher?" I am usually surrounded by CS/EE/Math PhDs so I had most of the latter. And I must confess it is starting to get me on the nerves (the spiteful guy from Dostoevsky comes to surface again.)
It is getting me on the nerves not just because it is wrong ("you do not have real democracy and your philosophy is an abomination") but mainly because it is so out of touch with contemporary reality. Modern Greeks, do not spend their time walking around the agora dressed in tunics debating about philosophy. Nobody seeks the enlightenment from Apollo (or even more receives it) and the name "Dionisios", the contemporary form of the ancient name "Dionysus", is associated in people's conscience more with Christian forgiveness rather than ... drinking! In one word: you've got it all wrong.
Most people upon hearing these news react like children who realize that Santa Claus does not really exist. "Shame on you! Bastards! You all come from the Turks!" and so on. Even worse, some go even further to claim that the loss of that fake identity, brings with it a loss in pride. In other words, what could contemporary Greeks be proud of? I hope that the answer to this question will give a glimpse of the true identity of modern Greeks.
Putting aside the exaggerations of the past, our current identity is much more humble. It carries a certain amount of wisdom in it. Greeks have twice ruled the world (and by extension twice lost it.) Yet, they are the only ones who still have the face to go back to the places they have ruled. In Middle East the name "Greek" is greeted with friendship and in Afghanistan the name "Alexander" still commands respect after roughly 2300 years. In comparison, it took only a couple for G. W. Bush to trash his name (and by extension of his country) in that region of the world.
Our world is a world of change. Heraclitus of Ephesus, the first Greek "mega-genius", put it succinctly: "everything flows." What matters is not how people perceive you when you have power. What matters is how people perceive you when you have lost your power. A good name in the latter case, is something to be truly proud of.
Furthermore, it is undeniable that modern West, which boats a heritage going back to ancient Greece, is founded upon the ideas of rational thought and power. Descartes takes Euclidean geometry as a model of clarity for his philosophy and Machiavelli aspires to reach Thucydides in insight about what it takes to govern successfully. What is not immediately obvious is that living by rational thought and power is not inline with living a life of sacrifice.
Choosing to be the victim definitely does not make sense in any rational way neither it increases one's power. Still, that is exactly what the Greeks chose to do in 1940 when they fought outnumbered against Fascist Italy and ultimately won. That is exactly what the Greeks chose to do in 1941 when they fought even more outnumbered against Nazi Germany and ultimately lost. That is exactly what the Cypriots chose to do in the '50s when they fought against Imperialist Britain and won their freedom. That is exactly what Greeks and Cypriots chose to do in 1974 when they chose to fight the US-backed Turkish invasion and won their right to be the legal representatives of the island. A life of sacrifice has as its clearest symbol, the Cross. The Cross has been inspiring the Greeks for the last 2000 years and like St. Paul their life on the Cross of history has been their pride.
At the same time the self declared children of Athena and Apollo had been partying in the streets of Nazi-occupied Paris after they loudly questioned "why fight?" and finally they declared in their philosophy that "God is dead". So much for a genuine cultural and spiritual lineage to Greece.
In contemporary times suffering can take many forms, e.g., refusing to submit to an unjust power, coping with the inequalities of a rigged financial system, staying faithful to life during the time of a crippling disease. I could go on for ever, and I fear that my natural tendency for sarcasm is not my best ally in making my message come across. I am not trying to point any fingers but I am afraid that the messages we get from our current ideology will not make us proud, e.g., 2500 years down the road when people of that era will reflect upon our lives. Which way of life is right and which is wrong? For sure, history will tell. I do not have a definite answer but I am optimistic for the modern Greek way. After all, history was the first Greek science.
P.S This post is a bit overdue. On 10/28 we celebrated Greece's refusal to submit to the Axis powers during WWII. The post is dedicated to the memory of P.M Ioannis Metaxas, King George B' of the Hellenes and all the veterans of the 1940 Albanian campaign. Your sacrifice so that we do not speak German today was not in vain. I still cannot speak proper German.
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