As Ariadne and I prepare for our trip to Greece, this weekend provides an interesting hinge moment for both my two nations. The short and accurate take on things is America continues to get better, towards a more perfect union, while things in Greece are somehow actually getting worse.
And that phrase from the Constitution is a succinct reminder why America is America and Greece is Greece.
The legalization of gay rights in all 50 states, a lightening bolt of civil rights from the Supreme Court, is another example of what makes America America: citizens organizing and striving for their rights in a democracy, and believing they can win because of our democratic institutions. They did, and they won at the highest court in the land.
Greeks, on the other hand, have neither the belief that their democracy works nor that their institutions are just or that they can win. There was hope that PM Alexis Tsipras would be a little different but he seems to lack political skills and has completely overplayed his 'hand.' As soon as he took office he started to negotiate via blustery press releases and press conferences. Instead of saying, 'look, I know we messed up but the big question is what does Europe do with Greece now' Tsipras has done the opposite for 4 months. That attitude seems to have played into the hands of Eurozone hardliners in Germany who obviously have no sympathy for the Syriza government.
But Europe should have sympathy for the Greek people. But they don't.
I imagine the only solution is for President Obama or Treasury Secretary Lew to call German PM Angela Merkel and say "Cut Greece some slack. Your banks have been reimbursed and there is no reason to be putative. After all, Germany should remember what happens when you rob a nation of it's dignity and ruin it's politics. Bottom line: the US does not want a NATO ally being driven out of the Eurozone and into the arms of rogue like Putin or China."
Hopefully that will happen. And in turn Greek voters will demand institutions that serve the public good and the Greek political class will show some patriotism, pay their taxes and stop stashing their money in Switzerland (like Nazis, climate change-loving sheiks and other ne'er do wells).
And Ari and I will have a front row seat. We will be in Thessaoloniki on June 30, the day Greece may default, and in my mom's hometown village on July 5, the day Tsipras wants a referendum on the Eurozone deal.
I'll try to blog as often as possible, looking back at a country that continues to strive to be more perfect while typing from hotels in a nation just trying to survive.
A few more notes:
And that phrase from the Constitution is a succinct reminder why America is America and Greece is Greece.
The legalization of gay rights in all 50 states, a lightening bolt of civil rights from the Supreme Court, is another example of what makes America America: citizens organizing and striving for their rights in a democracy, and believing they can win because of our democratic institutions. They did, and they won at the highest court in the land.
Greeks, on the other hand, have neither the belief that their democracy works nor that their institutions are just or that they can win. There was hope that PM Alexis Tsipras would be a little different but he seems to lack political skills and has completely overplayed his 'hand.' As soon as he took office he started to negotiate via blustery press releases and press conferences. Instead of saying, 'look, I know we messed up but the big question is what does Europe do with Greece now' Tsipras has done the opposite for 4 months. That attitude seems to have played into the hands of Eurozone hardliners in Germany who obviously have no sympathy for the Syriza government.
But Europe should have sympathy for the Greek people. But they don't.
I imagine the only solution is for President Obama or Treasury Secretary Lew to call German PM Angela Merkel and say "Cut Greece some slack. Your banks have been reimbursed and there is no reason to be putative. After all, Germany should remember what happens when you rob a nation of it's dignity and ruin it's politics. Bottom line: the US does not want a NATO ally being driven out of the Eurozone and into the arms of rogue like Putin or China."
Hopefully that will happen. And in turn Greek voters will demand institutions that serve the public good and the Greek political class will show some patriotism, pay their taxes and stop stashing their money in Switzerland (like Nazis, climate change-loving sheiks and other ne'er do wells).
And Ari and I will have a front row seat. We will be in Thessaoloniki on June 30, the day Greece may default, and in my mom's hometown village on July 5, the day Tsipras wants a referendum on the Eurozone deal.
I'll try to blog as often as possible, looking back at a country that continues to strive to be more perfect while typing from hotels in a nation just trying to survive.
A few more notes:
- I'll never understand the opposition to gay rights or gay anything. Until it's mandatory gay marriage, what is there to get fired up about? The small-minded opponents of gay rights often say that that community is outside the mainstream, but that's exactly the opposite. In my lifetime gays have only asked for mainstream American rights: join the Boy Scouts; openly serve in the Armed Forces; get married. Who are these weirdos?
- As I blogged before, Greece needs to be more like America. Instead of looking towards Russia or China what Tsipras should really do, if Greece is forced to leave the Eurozone and into a Grexit with drachmas, is ask for a TPP-style trade pact with the US. It could be a play at regional stability in the shaky, ISIS-haunted eastern Mediterranean that links the economies of Greece, Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and other countries that are democracies. Greek olive oil could completely dominate the US market! I'm not an economist but seems like a good idea, right?
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