This morning I received the following video in my email. I must confess that watching it had a profound effect on me. I felt emptiness to the very core of my entire existence. It purports to show how proud modern Greeks are about their selves, in what I consider, a very disturbing way.
Please watch the video first (less than 2 minutes) and then continue reading.
First some introductory remarks and then a few comments on the video itself.
Being raised as a Greek and having studied Greek history and literature, I have a lot to say about the country's interior, especially as far as culture and national identity are concerned. Stripping away all the superficialities of the economic crisis, the nation suffers from a crisis of identity, central in its recent history, ever since the establishment of the modern Greek state.
The Greeks never experienced the fertilizing wave of the Enlightment, as did other European nations a few centuries ago; and have yet to answer the central questions concerning the very essence of being "Greek". As the philosopher Cornelius Castoriades accurately pointed out some decades ago, modern Greeks have not yet managed to choose between the democratic and open society of ancient Athens, and the theocratic, totalitarian rule of the Byzantine era.
By the way the Byzantine Empire, which is often depicted as a Greek state, especially by Greeks themselves, never was a "Greek" empire, litanies to the opposite notwithstanding. The machinery of crime and oppression of the Byzantine rule, used fire and steel to obliterate anything that resembled ancient Greece. The Academy of Athens, found by Plato, was shut down, by Justinian who is known for his "achievements" as the "Great". Even the word "Hellene" ("Greek"), which the lady in the video so proudly pronounces, was forbidden and the people identified theirselves as "Romans", from the time of Theodosius ("the Great") 4th century AD, up until the late 18th, early 19th century. These two vastly diverse world-views are irreconcilable, yet the average Greek suffers from the schizophrenia of somehow adhering to both.
Though I am fully conscious that in touching upon these issues I risk being seen as an "anth-Hellene" - "anti-Greek", by those anxious to obfuscate and conceal the fact of our cultural problem, I just cannot remain silent. I uphold that we must at some point stand up to reality and criticize ourselves, before pointing our finger to foreigners.
Now allow me to comment upon the video itself.
First of all this is a really amateur imitation of an advertisement from the beer "Canadian", which alone is enough to prove the cheap fabric of the entire message. Yet this is only the beginning of the problem.
The video wishes to present, in a vastly distasteful manner, how we the great Greeks are superior to all the rest. "My country is a democracy, it actually invented the concept", oh "and if I owe you any money, it's because I invented the idea of the free market". We are the best because we invented this, that and the other. We even invented "the west" and if you are actually criticizing "us" it is just because we invented criticism in the first place!!!
It is one thing to innocuously accept that ancient Greeks were the first to elaborate on many aspects of what we today as "Westerners" consider part of our culture; but it is a fundamentally different thing to argue that everything henceforth should be attributed to "us the Greeks".
Such kind of perverse mode of thinking plagues the modern Greeks for quite some time now. It is those arguments locals use when they expound on the superiority of Hellenism, stemming from the achievements of antiquity; unconsciously perhaps to justify their current nothingness. The discussion usually runs along the lines of "by the time we were inventing democracy they were still living in caves".
For the sober non-Greeks it is crystal clear that this mode of thinking is inherently flawed and fallacious, let alone its vanity. Even if it were true it still provides no justification whatsoever for any mistakes currently committed, nor does it allow space for complacency. But many Greeks do not treat this as a source of major concern since they fail to realize that while we "the great Greeks" have not made a single step forward since antiquity, but have instead made strides backwards; the "cave-dwellers", the "barbarians" have already been to the moon and beyond.
Then there is this "nice" touristic marketing touch of the beautiful country with the thousands of islands. So what? Is it the only beautiful country on earth? And even if it were, why should that make you proud about it? Did you also invent the islands, the beaches, the sunshine? Or did you also come up with the very concept of "tourism"?
Finally, I would like to draw your attention to this ultimate sign of naivety (or illiteracy?) coming at the very end. The preposterous effort to draw a dividing line between "Hellenes" and "Greeks", as if the latter word is somehow tainted and its use only tarnishes the memory and glory of our forefathers. For those of you who are not familiar with Greek mythology and/or history --video production team included-- Hellene and Grekos were both sons of Zeus. Hellene lived in Thessaly, from were Achilles and his Myrmidons originated, while Grekos lived in Eperus, the land from where consecutive waves of migrants/sailors moved westwards to establish colonies in Southern Italy, which at the time was known as Magna Grecia (Big Greece).
The fact that "Greek" became the standard ethnonym has to do with the fact that the Romans first encountered a Hellenic tribe identifying itself as descendant of Grekos, hence "Greek". Thus the Romans assumed that all these people residing on the peninsula of Emos (Greece) and the surrounding areas are the "Greeks". We should be proud that foreigners use the word "Greek" (among others) because it reminds us of the time we travelled outside our borders and met other people and cultures, contrary to our modern narrow-minded, pseudo-nationalistic inwardness.
I understand that the morale of the Greeks may be at its nadir. That systematic efforts may be required to reignite their inner flame. To make people believe in their selves again. However, I strongly disagree with the entire message of the above video. Make no mistake, the problem is not the video per se, but its very content which perfectly depicts the failing mentality that brought the country to this point of disaster. It is that self-defeating slavishness to brutishly survive under the shade of a glorious past, without any ambitious vision of determining the future in any decisive way.
We need to reinvent Greece, not perpetuate its vegetable existence. To believe that change will come from the recycling of the same old utterly repulsive attitudes, unexamined dogmas and backward shibboleths, is in my humble opinion, foolishness of the highest degree.
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Protesilaos Stavrou,
A Greek who prefers using Logic, just as the ancient Greeks did.
Copyleft (ɔ) 2013 Protesilaos Stavrou—All wrongs reserved
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Article source: http://www.protesilaos.com/2012/04/nothingness-of-i-am-hellene-video.html
Protesilaos Stavrou—Analyses on European Union politics and political economy by Protesilaos Stavrou is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. All original works are hosted on www.protesilaos.com
The full scope of this license may be read at www.protesilaos.com/p/rights.html, while further permissions can be requested at www.protesilaos.com/p/contact.html
Protesilaos Stavrou
"The fact that "Greek" became the standard ethnonym has to do with the fact that the Romans first encountered a Hellenic tribe identifying itself as descendant of Grekos, hence "Greek""...
ReplyDeleteNot so. The Romans named the land of the Ellenes "Graecia", the root of which is Gratiam(grace), and meaning "The land of Grace". Not long ago this was common knowlege though today not many would know. Despite that it's rather obvious, especially considering what the Romans so readily adopted from Greece and from early on strove to outshine(it was troublesome for many learned Romans to know they'd concquered a civilization that was far older and more advanced in so many ways, the result of which was a gestaltia resulting in ambivalence and to some extent a slight inferiority complex). Consider, too, some very old surviving jokes, like the one in which Roman conquerors, intent on looting statues to bring to Rome, commonly said to their new "subjects": "If you break the statue you're punishment will be building another" (as if just anyone had the talent to do so).
(coninued from previous) You make some good points in your article... Hellenism has been plagued by a real enemy though, who, for over 4,000 years (to this day), consider Greeks their nemesis, and have worked overtly and covertly against them since the two peoples met, and for other readers who may be confused, no, it isn't the Turks. It may be a hard fact for some to accept, but if not for this perpetually harmful influence, most likely the nation of Greece(and the world as a whole for that matter), from ancient times to this very day, wouldn't have had so many horrible tragedies befall them/it. It's easy to critique the Greek nation, easy to find something wrong in any national charachter for that matter, without knowing the extent of harm inflicted upon it by a truly evil group who since ancient times to this day vow not to rest until they see it utterly obliterated one way or another.
ReplyDelete(continued, 3) Why? First. Because that's what their "religion", more specifically, its laws, demand. As well, though, because so anathema to them was the ancient Greeks' collective nature and its potential. The exact opposite of their own. Mind you, Greece isn't the only nation that has (profoundly) suffered at their hands, by this day actually all the world has to one extent or another. But their ill intent has been and remains focused on those who descend from Europa and her people, and of them, most especially the Greeks. How is it that Greece, even before joining the poisonous prison of the Eurozone, didn't controll the issuance of their own currency? For that matter, by that time very few nations did, and today only Iran, Syria, North Korea, and Cuba do control the issuance of their nation's currencies. Down from, only a short time ago: Lybia, Sudan, Iraq, and Afghanistan. All but those 4 remaining nation's central banks are controlled by an organization headed by a dynastic family, the Rothschilds, and one man, as well as other (many) organizations affiliated with them. One only need follow the money to prove this, nevermind the ample information that exists on the net and elsewhere which spells it out for any who are curious, or free of mind enough, to look.
ReplyDelete(continued, 4)How can a nation ever take its own destiny into it's hands when the issuance of their currency is controlled by those who plot their destruction? When Mr Lloyd Blankfein, of Goldman Sachs, said he was "doing God's work", I wonder, what do most of you believe he meant by that? Before you blame Greece's long battered nation of anything, maybe one should follow the money... It was Goldman Sachs, along with their fellow tribesman Aaron Avouris, aka Costas Simitis, as well as their groomed useful idiot Lucas Papademos, who were responsible for the current manufactured "crisis" in Greece today. It was Simitis' administration, in collusion with GS who, after hiding Greece's real debt and taking out a monstrous loan from GS, dragged Greece into the EU, that institution that so many Europeans believed was beneficial when in fact it's just a more efficient way for the bankers to keep the continent under their control and and proceed with their harmful plans for it, as well(you should know, that those in control of the ECB, too, believe they're doing their "God's Work".
ReplyDeleteHow can any nation take its own destiny into its hands when: their currency and mainstream communications, as well as, increasingly, the internet, are controlled by an organization of elite bankers doing their "God's Work" along with their stooges from every nation who help them? A nation's most creative prerogative is in the control and issuance of its own currency. Having open and truly free communication which isn't owned(never mind merely "dominated") by those affiliated with the very same harmful group is also essential.
By merely allowing this lethal group to own and control the issuance of any nation's currency, everything that nation has, every institution sacred and vital to it, is then at the mercy of those owners. No system of tyrranny could ever be more efficient, and the tyrants themselves are the very worst among the human specie. Cold, calculating, ruthless, inhumane to the extreme, literally limitless resources at their disposal(since the fiat money they issue isnt worth the paper it's printed on), at their disposal to keep the world in an unnecessary state of misery and profound need thereby making it too easy for people to be in a perpetual state of discord. How can any nation, or the world, for that matter, take its destiny into its own hands when the above ugly truths are factored into the equation? It seems impossible, but it isn't. The answer is, to stop cooperating. The world would have to stop playing this lethal numbers game of theirs. A paradoxical irony since, its actually something thats quite simple, quite easily done, if only for the deliverance of our very species from this sickness, yet has been purposely, over time, taken out of the sight of most and thus seems all but impossible. Ultimately, though, that is what it'd require.