We are all thirsty these days. Thirsty for truth, unity, peace and above all, stability in our tumultuous world. And everywhere we look around us there is none to be had.
The world watches events in Greece with apprehension. There is a nagging feeling that events in Greece are merely a harbinger of what is in store for the rest of us, just as they were when the ideologies of East and West collided after World War II and brought about the Greek Civil War. Greece, always the plaything of forces larger than itself, once more has lost what little sovereignty it had. Anyone who reads the details of the plan imposed on Greece by the EU and the IMF will understand that Greece is now beholden to others for its very survival and no amount of mindless violence and destruction in the streets will change that.
Greek society has never adequately developed into a civil society in which citizens see themselves as a part of something bigger than their immediate family, union or party affiliation. Rife with grievance, corruption and inequality, modern Greece has been fertile ground for outside ideologies that are foreign to Greeks yet appeal to their never ending search for justice and egalitarianism. In 1974 the Right which ruled Greece with an iron hand after its victory in the civil war, over-reached as the Greek State is prone to do and not only created a second great catastrophe, this time paid by the Greeks of Cyprus but also made possible the final victory of the Left. Despite its legalization, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) has never been able to draw more than a fraction of the electorate to their side. Memories of their brief and violent rein still reverberate in the country's collective memory. In its place emerged the Socialist party of Andreas Papandreou known as PASOK. It offered the country a shot at the socialist European dream that resonanted among most Greeks who desperately wanted the same benefits as those enjoyed by many Europeans. PASOK thrived on the same rhetoric and class warfare that was so effectively used by the Communists and it gained much support from not only centrists but also cadres in the KKE itself. Papandreou railed at the US and charted what seemed to be an independent course for Greece while in fact he cemented the country's position within the Western Bloc. Papandreou's popularity forced even the conservative New Democracy Party to swing leftward. The state apparatus grew by leaps and bounds, heathcare was nationaized as well as utilities, communications and the energy sector. Unions became ascendant achieving more and more power over the growing public sector and the shrinking private sector alike. More importantly leftist ideology was established within the schools and media ensuring that future generations would be suitably prepared to serve the nanny state.
Fast forward to the present. The Greek socialist state is broke, sucked dry by a combination of corruption which is fueled by the notion that the state is the property of the political party that happens to be running the country, nepotism, clientism and the need to grease everyone's palm is considered business as usual. The growing state bureaucracy has evolved into a huge money grubbing behemoth increasingly exercising control over every aspect of life and its growing minions feed at the public trough at the expense of others.
In the ashes of the old Greece, can we find the lessons from which emerges the phoenix of a new Greece, unencumbered by greed, self interest and foreign ideologies? The realization that freedom ALWAYS trumps the dictatorship of the state. In the midst of destruction and despair perhaps we can discern that government exists to defend the nation and at the very least provide a safety net that protects those members of society who are unable to fend for themselves. It does not exist to manage our lives, redistribute wealth nor tell us what is or is not good for us.
Only if the divisions of the old Greece, Venizelists vs Royalists, Right vs Left, Europeans vs Nationalists, rich vs poor, can finally be cast aside will the new Greece emerge. A Greece that is built once again on Greek principles that incorporate Hellenism and Orthodoxy, that which unites rather than divides. A Greece which allows the individual the unencumbered freedom to put his labor and talent to use irregardless of his station in life or his connections. A Greece which educates its children once more to think and build instead of indoctrinating them to destroy and repeat the tired slogans of yesteryear. A Greece which no longer makes excuses or perpetuates class warfare which pits one citizen against another. A Greece which is lead by the best and the brightest not grifters and sycophants. A Greece which is not afraid to chart its own course and defend its hard won territory.
Even now Greeks mutter of dark conspiracies. They blame mysterious cabals, powerful nations and greedy bankers; they wring their hands and decry their victimhood. In so doing they are delaying the inevitable and essential reckoning needed within Greek society to come face to face with its own demons.
We are all thirsty and our throats remain parched.