I don't like politics....

Today I watched a classic movie, called 'Judgement at Nuremberg', a story loosely based on the Nuremberg trials of the high-ranking Nazi officials. The historical events during the several phases of the rise and fall of the Nazi era, as well as what was happening during the time the movie was made, make it difficult to approach such sensitive events in an unbiased way... However, I found the movie dealing with the matter from a very wide and pragmatic perspective and I recommend everyone to watch it. There were several fascinating angles, and one of them was the cliché question regarding the responsibility of that German people for the Nazi crimes. In the movie you find the common excuses of individuals when their society or nation commits collective crimes: 'we are not monsters', 'we didn't know', 'we are simple people, living simple lives', etc. And then comes the excellent "I Am Going to Tell Them the Truth" Confessional Speech of Burt Lancaster as the German judge, who instead of trying to escape, he took the responsibility...

The full monologue is here (and as audio here), and like in many other movies of the time it is a pure masterpiece. Maybe the most interesting part is the following: 

'My counsel would have you believe we were not aware of the concentration camps. Not aware? Where were we? Where were we when Hitler began shrieking his hate in Reichstag? Where were we when our neighbors were being dragged out in the middle of the night to Dachau?! Where were we when every village in Germany has a railroad terminal where cattle cars were filled with children being carried out to their extermination! Where were we when they cried out in the night to us. Were we deaf, dumb, blind?…. My counsel says we were not aware of the extermination of the millions. He would give you the excuse we were only aware of the extermination of the hundreds. Does that make us any the less guilty? Maybe we didn’t know the details. But if we didn’t know, it was because we didn’t want to know…'.

I have to admit that this post relates a lot to my recent experience of living in Germany, even though I will try to have a broader perspective. The last years we more and more listen to people saying that they ‘hate' or they are 'not interested' in politics. After the apparent failure of the communist/socialist movements to …solve all the problems of the world, people lost interest in politics. Especially nowadays when politicians from all parties are to the eyes of the people nothing than corrupt puppets serving the interests of an obscure, powerful minority, which makes people feel that their vote gives them no power to improve their lives and for that reason political thought appears a waste of time. But this is a great misconception, which only can result in an even worse situation…

It is widely accepted that apolitical people are easier to control, because they cannot interpret events. Somebody tells them that Stalin was a dictator worse than Hitler and they believe it. They tell them that US is the land of the free that everyone should imitate, they buy it also. Steve Jobs became the big thinker of the 20^th century, even though he just made a lot of money (and even less than Bill Gates)… Nowadays he is receives more credit than Camis, Neruda, Tsomski and so many other real thinkers. You can rewrite history easier when apolitical people read it…

A big misconception is that many people believe that their vote gives them practically no power, but this is completely wrong… The thing is that it gives them first of all responsibility… To acquire information, to process it and to form an opinion. Voting is not like choosing what to eat in the restaurant, it needs preparation and participation, otherwise this is when it get’s wasted… Examples of the voters’ power are many but we have very recent ones, from two ‘hot poles’ of Europe:

-         one year ago, Greek people were voting and they had the possibility to accept or deny the ‘help’, ‘austerity’, or whatever you want to call it program, which every day has been taking their lives more and more and defines their future. Among the possible results of their vote would be an exit of Greece from the Eurozone, which had possibilities to lead to contagion of the whole EU (as the economists were saying). It would have stopped also the ‘financial support approach’ which has been implemented to Ireland, Portugal, then Spain and who knows next. I am not saying that Greeks should vote against the austerity and the loans, but I just saying that this was definitely an exciting circumstance to vote…  But for the Greek people, elections were a ridiculous theater which they found …boring and useless, and almost half decided to go to the beach rather than vote! And it is clear that the ones who did were not really prepared and informed…

-         The same will happen to Germany in few months… The whole European political system has frozen, waiting for the outcome of the German elections which will define in a great extent the future of half a billion people. We are talking about a continent in which any big event can affect the whole world, where people are starting to die because of the economic crisis, that even the most conservative media are talking about a lost generation. Only one country can do something about that and this is Germany and many things are in stake in September’s elections... But German people find it pointless to spend time and think deeper about what they will vote!! They spend all their energy in their work, on which car to buy or on recycling, not eating meat and choosing the electricity company which doesn’t use nuclear power. And maybe after few decades when we will assess the breakup of EU, the possible decay of Europe, the social problems and the deaths, they will say again ‘we didn’t know’, or ‘we are just normal people’…

Conclusion… I agree that nowadays talking about politics is boring and miserable, since only 5% of the population does it and the rest are ‘normal people’. It leaves you with nothing but to complain about problems you don’t see any way to solve… But if the majority was interested in politics then discussing it would become the most exciting thing to do, like it always is in periods of unrest and change. People would meet to envision the future, to imagine their life as they want it to be, share their ideas with others and try to find common angles. That would definitely make thinking politics fascinating! And this is what the few rich and powerful and our inadequate leaders are trying to make us avoid and surprisingly they are succeeding for the moment. 

Let’s go to the beach...

I have been 24 hours in Recife and I’m already set. Even though the city has the reputation of being dangerous and it doesn’t match the Rio de Janeiro atmosphere, Brazil always has its magic, a special touch which makes it distinct from any other Latin American country. I spent one day at the beach and if I had a camera which me, I would have made more than 50 photos and I am not a big fun of photography…. They say that 1 picture is like 1000 words, but there must be life in the landscape to make it count for so many words, and this is exactly what we are talking about… Pure life!

We start with the Boa Viagem beach and the waves breaking on submerged reef, before arriving sweetly on the very gently sloping beach… And then you put different people doing whatever they really feel like. And that can be:

-          A bunch of guys fishing, while smoking and drinking any kinds of booze (or vise versa)…

-          kids playing anyway, anyhow, including bumping or throwing sand to people, which stoically keep talking to their friends, or lie on the beach..

-          people doing all kinds of sports, beach volley, foot volley, beach tennis, running, whatever… Also every now and then they fight and make noise about the score, or if the ball was in or out, using the entire range of the ‘special’ vocabulary in Portuguese…

-          Hundreds of others, sitting, laughing, drinking and smoking on the beach.

And the most important part, which deserves a section of its own…. The ‘commercial’ activities! The kings are the owners of the barracas, improvised ‘bars’, which consist of a trolley with ice containing the ‘raw material’ (drinks, coco, lime, glasses, straws, etc…) and some beach chairs and umbrellas. And then the small sellers which sell anything, and when I say anything… you name it! Shrimps, oysters, grilled fish, different soups, grilled cheese, dried nuts, drinks, ice-cream, bikinis, towels, all kinds of t-shirts, artisanal things, paintings, are some of them.

So surrounded by this surrealistic environment it is impossible to get bored, even if you just stepped your foot and you have nobody to talk to. You close your eyes for seconds or for a small nap and you think you woke up in the stage of the most absurd theatrical play. An Arabic bazaar in a tropical beach with all kinds of Brazilians all over the place…

A dog is running like crazy and all alone from one side of the 8 km Boa Viagem beach to the other…  The fishermen are looking and laughing…  We start to talk… After 1 hour and 3 beers I start moving again… The day is almost over and people are cleaning and there are piles of empty coconut fruits everywhere…  That reminds me that I should have my third coco for today…

I love Brazil!

Communism is dead... And now what?

After long time I am coming back to my blog to write about a topic with which I was never connected or involved: Communism! As the capitalism is falling apart and poverty is at the door of many of us living in the 'advanced and prospering' western world, I encounter with increasing frequency, articles, blogs, analyses et al. discrediting communism... The crimes of the totalitarian Stalin regime, the current pity state of most communist parties, the civil war in Greece, and other 'solid historical evidence' that capitalism prevails over communism...

I was never involved in any communist (and in general whatever political) group, and I am very open to any political and idealogical discussion from whatever side is falling, even if it is touching the extremes. So I have some knowledge and opinion about the communist theory and its implementation, two things that are completely different (at least for me).

So starting from that, my opinion is that it is historically unfair to evaluate Communism from the way it has been refracted through people, societies and historical circumstances. All that could have been completely different just on the grounds of pure random events that dominate our universe.
Communism has been a movement from the people for the people, it was an idea and a political theory. But politics are done by politicians and not analysts or philosophers. So don't blame the theory for the acts of politicians. Moreover, Communism was a universal movement to liberate people from nationalism, religion and of course from the oppression and control of the rich and powerful. For that reason it has been under a constant war from the establishment. Even when the people opted for Communism, in many cases they were not allowed to go their way and some examples are the Spanish civil war and even the preference to the Nazis than to communists in Germany. (I would dare to say that even now Hitler has more 'funs' than Marx or Lenin do)

Communism having been fought so hard, was not given the chance to evolve freely and become incorporated smoothly into society. Even if as an ideology, as an experiment it had the potential to make the world a better place; the experiment was never really carried out and it seems that we will never find out... On the other hand, we know that just by being the antagonist force, it made capitalism evolve and governments to chose more human-centred policies.

So, going back to the 'solid arguments' that discredit Communism as a theory... and leave us with no theory, I have to say that such arguments are not really arguments, or at least they are not deep and constructive...

Marx made a criticism to capitalism and gave solid arguments why it cannot work. Our poor cohabitants in this planet from Africa, Asia and Latin America can assure us that for over a century and now we start to experience it ourselves...

More modern analyses from left thinkers have discussed the flaws of more modern variants of capitalism, for example they have explained that capitalism may bring prosperity and technological progress; but these come with a price: we have depleted natural resources that our planet was building for years, let alone human resources... Capitalism needs people who do their duty at work every day, but it is clear that it doesn't produce as many humans with sense of duty and morals as it needs to be sustainable. all the different kinds of bubbles we've been experiencing can prove this...

There were some thinkers from the right that they were claiming that economies, if left free, they can balance. They have been proved wrong, unless if we consider a equilibrium the constant process of the rich getting richer and poor poorer. Capitalism, pro-market and right wing ideas had their bright chapters in history, but they failed to deliver peace and justice, and most important a perspective for a better world.

So under this background, discussing how bad are the Russian cars, or how many people (only?) Stalin killed, is pointless, naive and dangerous. Also it is unfair to all the devoted communists who were tortured, and gave everything for a cause, to just laugh above their graves and discredit all their efforts and sacrifices. Especially if you are not ancestor of a royal family, rich yuppies, Russian oligarchs, former feudarchs, international corporation board members, etc.

So maybe communism or socialism are finished and capitalism is the way to go... Maybe we should stop discussing how to give everybody the same opportunities, how to stop fighting like dogs for the same bone, how to distribute wealth, and even the 'crazy' possibility to live without money.
We could all stop thinking these things and just focus on our families and our work, but before doing that I would like to listen to some arguments explaining that we have better ideological foundations than communism and socialism with which we can fight for our rights....
I hope that it will be not that 'humans are animals that are bound to compete' because this doesn't sound very civilized, neither does 'humans will always solve their differences through fighting or war'.
I am longing to hear what will replace the fundamental principles found in communism or socialism in my effort as a human being to live in a more just world. What will cure my fear that me or my kids will not be the next ones to die on the street, or in a war that could have been avoided.
Please give me these arguments and I could go to sleep instead of thinking all these 6 in the morning. I could go out and work my ass off, with all my heart, to buy a better car, smart phone, clothes and TV...

Όταν τον ακούς, τραγουδάς, δεν μπορείς...

Αννόβερο μεσάνυχτα... Βγαίνω από το μικρό κλαμπ μετά από μια συναυλία progressive rock, είναι ώρα να γυρίσω σπίτι.. Βάζω τα ακουστικά στα αυτιά και ανεεβαίνω στο ποδήλατο. Με το που πατάω το play παίζει 'Εγώ και ο ίσκιος μου' του Παπάζογλου. Κατεβαίνω από το ποδήλατο και πάω με τα πόδια. Αυτή η μουσική θέλει πόδια... Εδώ και 6 μήνες με έχει στοιχειώσει ο Παπάζογλου, έχω κάνει μια επιλογή από όλους τους δίσκους του και την ακούω συνέχεια, στο σπίτι, στο αμάξι, στο ποδήλατο, στη δουλειά, δεν τον χορταίνω. Έχω βγάλει τα τραγούδια στην κιθάρα, στο μπουζούκι, προσπαθώ να τραγουδήσω λιγάκι (τι να φτάσω...). Ο Νίκος είναι μαζί μου κάθε λεπτό και δεν έχω βαρεθεί την μουσική κι ας την ακούω από μικράκι κι ας ξέρω απ'έξω κι ανακατωτά τα λόγια, κι ας μουρμουρίζω κάθε πενιά του μπουζουκιού...

Φρικιό στην εμφάνιση, αλλά είχε φτιάξει ένα στούντιο μόνος του. Έγραφε βαρυά ζειμπεκικά ουσάκ, αλλά αγαπούσε την τεχνολογία, τις γρήγορες μοτοσυκλέτες, τα αεροπλάνα και φυσικά την θάλασσα και την ιστιοπλοΐα. Ήταν αντιφατικός θα έλεγες. Όπως είναι γεννημένος να είναι ο Έλληνας, ίσως. Με το Αιγαίο να του βρέχει τα πόδια, να μαγεύεται ακούγοντας αμανέδες από την Τουρκία απέναντι... και μετά να του παίζουν ροκάκια και να την βρίσκει, να μεταμορφώνεται. Ένας στατικός εξερευνητής, ενας παρατηρητής που κάθεται σε ένα σταυροδρόμι και μπορεί και καταλαβαίνει κόσμους διαφορετικούς... φτιαγμένους πότε στην ανατολή και πότε στην δύση. Που έχει πνεύμα ελεύθερο και μυαλό να χωνεύει και να ζυμώνει πράγματα νέα και διαφορετικά. Που αγαπάει τον τόπο του, αλλά δεν τον νιώθει κτήμα του, απλά είναι ο χώρος οπού ζει την νιρβάνα του και την βρίσκει γενικά.. Ο Έλληνας θα μπορούσε να είναι κάτι μοναδικό και πολίτιμο για την Ευρώπη, με την έμφυτη πολιτισμική ευρύτητα ...

Την ψυχεδέλεια που είχαν οι πρώτοι δίσκοι του Παπάζογλου δεν την έχει βγάλει κανένας άλλος κι ας μην κρατούσε πάντα η ορχήστρα του ηλέκτρικά όργανα. Το κέφι που έβγαζαν οι μπάντες (παρέες) του ήταν ότι καλύτερο είχε να δώσει η Θεσσαλονίκη στην υπόλοιπη Ελλάδα. Μια παραλιακή λεωφόρο όπου μουσικοί ροκάδες, λαϊκοί και new wave, μαζεύονταν και τα λέγανε στον καφέ, στη μπύρα, στο ούζο και στο μεζέ. Και όταν έπιαναν τα όργανα κάνανε αριστουργήματα που ούτε οι ίδιοι φανταζόταν. Και ο Νίκος ήταν εκεί στο επίκεντρο, δημιουργούσε καταστάσεις αυθεντικές και 'χειροποίητες'. 

Δεν τον είχα γνωρίσει, μόνο κάνα δυό φορές του είπα 'γεια σου Νίκο' στον δρόμο, που να βρείς θάρρος και τι να πεις σε έναν τέτοιο άνθρωπο όταν είσαι πιτσιρικάς. Αλλά τώρα που πέρασα τα 35 δεν μου έρχεται άλλο καλύτερο παράδειγμα για το πως θα μπορούσε να είναι ο Έλληνας πολύ διαφορετικός από τα σημερινά του χάλια.... Αν ήταν δουλευταράς και είχε μεράκι... Αν δεν έτρωγε κουτόχορτο και τραβούσε τον δρόμο του.... Αν έπαιρνε από τους παλιούς την λεβεντιά, το κυμπαρλίκι και την παράδοση, κι ας ήταν και μοντέρνος όσο ήθελε και χωρίς να κολάει στην βιτρίνα... Αν είχε καταλάβει πόσο όμορφος είναι αυτός ο τόπος και επιτέλους τον χαιρόταν με γούστο και ποιότητα όπως του αρμόζει. 

Αν μπορούσαμε να πατήσουμε όλοι stop και rewind και γυρίζαμε πάλι στο 80, θα άξιζε να προσέχαμε λίγο καλύτερα τι έκανε ο Νίκος τότε. Αν είχαμε δώσει λίγο παραπάνω βάση στην στάση του, στο μήνυμα που ήθελε να περάσει, ίσως και να είχαμε τώρα πίσω μας τρεις δεκαετίες που θα είχαν περάσει όμορφα στις ταβέρνες και τις ακρογιαλιές με τα φιλαράκια μας. Και ένα μέλλον ίσως ακόμα καλύτερο μπροστά, κύριοι και αφέντες στην πανέμορφη Ελλάδα μας και όχι πάροικοι και ταπεινωμένοι. 

Και για τα τραγούδια του Παπάζογλου τι να πω... Πιο ρόκ κι απο τα ρόκ, πιο ανατολή και απο το ρεμπέτικο, πιο κουλτούρα και από την ποίηση, φευγάτα και χαμένα έτσι όπως διαθλάστηκαν στις διαστάσεις ενός μυαλού ανοικτού, που ήξερε να μαστορεύει και να ζει. 

Και τόσο δυνατά, που σαν τα ακούς πελαγώνεις, θυμάσαι φίλους, αδέρφια, γονείς, έρωτες, γελάς και κλαις.... Και τραγουδάς θες δεν θες...

Κι ας είσαι στο Αννόβερο νύχτα μόνος, κι ας περναν παρέες από δίπλα και γίνεσαι ρεζίλι. Κι ας είναι δίμετρες κουκλάρες γερμανίδες ή και αστυνομικοί. 

Όταν ακούς Παπάζογλου τραγουδάς, δεν μπορείς...Και ταξιδεύεις...

Life and death

Our perception towards questions of the kind 'what is life?', 'why are we here?', 'what is our destination?', etc define a lot the way we move in this world. At the same time, many of us seem to take life for granted, as if it is a privilege that we deserve somehow and that nobody can take from us. Events like the loss of someone close inevitably result in a brutal reality check, and this is where I am now, so I apologize for this heavy post...

One important issue is about what is destiny and whether it exists... We all know that we are born with certain gifts and restrictions and maybe you have shared a similar emotion in your life: many of our successes seemed too easy, as if there was no way to fail. On the other hand, our obvious lack of some skills, cuts us off from many exciting activities and there little we can do. So the point is that our talents and weaknesses, together with the place of birth, parents and all other circumstances we inherit, define our life so much... In the end it comes natural to wonder,  what is OUR role in all this? Isn't this just another way to describe 'destiny'? (even though I also believe that there are many things that are up to us and of course to luck)

And then come people who feel that they fulfill their mission in life following ethical codes inherited by religion, society, etc; either because of being taught that way, or out of sober realization that we are not going to stay here for ever, so at least 'let's do some good'... But when we talk about 'good' comes the issue of perception... Always do the right thing -even though often this may not be the best for you and many others-; be nice to the people -at least the definition of 'being nice' prevailing in your country or town-; and do good for the society -even though there are whole countries that blindly go to the wrong direction (if there is any right or wrong after all, which kind of my is point). Of course nobody can question that there is some kind of basic true, a 'sediment of virtue' in many religious or ethical codes...

On the other side are the carpe diem, hedonists, etc, group... Cherish every moment, or live fast, or both; learn from your mistakes instead of being afraid of them, etc, etc... And of course the profane truth that what we want and need goes beyond what is available in the space provided by all the existing ethical codes and religions. We cannot limit ourselves,  our body and soul crave for things without caring about their  righteousness, and we can get sick if we don't get it! Depression, cancer, psychosomatic malfunctions, skin reactions, etc... And I don't mean (only) desires like driving a better car, but mostly about more social freedom of all kinds; definitely more than what current constitutions like work, marriage, family, friendship provide. We all know that we are struggling to be happy inside these boundaries and some of us try to 'hack the system' in order to steal some extra happiness.

I am not trying to put the world in a small box, especially one the size of my intellectual capacity, which is definitely limited to understand what there is around me. I am only trying to say that social constructions are forcing us to live within walls which obscure the deepest questions and issues that exist. And religion comes to make us passionately believe in some easy answers. (Robert Pirsig said: 'People are only passionately supporting something that cannot be proved by solid arguments. There is no reason to be passionate about ideas that are obviously true'). 

And today, that I am looking at the starts, I realize once again that the system that we have created is nothing but a setting for a movie. There are costumes and make up artists and actors, and somewhere between there are people, ideas, places and items that are very important for me. And all these things, me included, are not meant to last forever because time is the most brutal and stubborn director, who likes to change the scenes without warning. So I have decided today not to read my script, but just to go for what is there for me. I will improvise my lines, enjoy as much as I can and keep looking at the stars, because this is what is going to stay there after all this will be gone. And of course, I will make mistakes and I will apologize, and I will show even more respect and I hope that the people will understand that.... Because I didn't want to offend them...

I am just trying to be happy....

When life becomes long enough to care...

Greetings from Vienna, I am here for a conference and I am having a great time. Back in Greece, there is a lot of controversy those days about the ‘I am Hellene’ video and all the repercussions it created (for example this one, among others, since there is a lot of public discussion currently).

Of course in Greece there is a lot of controversy about everything and the good thing is that most of the people are trying to look themselves at the mirror. We are trying to understand what brought us to this point, we are going back to our history (I am referring mostly to the last 100 years and not the ancient one), trying to really find our identity. It is a healthy and constructive, but painful process which covers your life like a dark cloud.

Here in Vienna it’s sunny with 20^oC and the streets are full of people and life. Delicious chocolate cakes, cold beer, white wine, and ice cream. People are relaxed, smiling, making contact, while others are making business, they all seem to be taking their lives forward. A big contrast compared to Greeks, Italians, Spanish and Portuguese. 
Vienna is an beautiful city, full of monuments and history, but also a strong present. It is obvious that there is a lot of money, like there is a lot of money in the States, Switzerland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, etc. Part of this money is result of hard work and sharp minds, but there is also a big ‘dirty’ part. Colonies and wars, investments and bank deposits of third world mafia and corrupt dictators, manipulation of politicians, sweatshops in Asia, you name it. Ugly stuff that have become the foundation of our prosperity… Human rights activists and other political organizations try to remind us about the backyard of our capitalist system from time to time, but life goes on 'as usual'.

Let's face it... What we all know well is that we are in this world for only a century or so and this is not enough time to fulfill our own dreams and desires, not even to make ends meet or feel safe. Our life may also not be enough to make our friends and family happy, so why should we bother, especially when we are legitimate and we pay our taxes. Leonardo da Vinci made masterpieces in art and science, being the protégé of Dukes while people were living with the basics. Our politicians who should have the vision and responsibility to make the world better, have the same time available in this planet. So it is not surprising that they end up sweeping the dirt under the carpet, so they can live their unique moments of glory (and profit), instead of making the change which nobody knows if is feasible anyway…

After all people who are willing to die in order to make the world a better place, go against nature, throwing away our unique and  irreplaceable gift, the privilege of life, having friends, family, love... the anyway limited moments of laughter and happiness that are so precious and ingrained in our nature. So how can these heroes serve as an example, especially when there is such a sunny beautiful day? And finally, philosophy and religion, our intellectual effort to extend the scope of our existence beyond the duration of our life, has proven insufficient as a motivation to oppress our dark side and give our best to our society… At least in a big part of the western world…
So it comes out that only crises are moments of reflection, the moments when ‘you cannot sleep, since the beds are burning’. Greeks have no ‘sunny days’ any more, so inevitably they are reflecting… They are putting blame to themselves, to capitalism, to their politicians, to emigrants,  to communists, to multinationals, everybody has his own arguments and is right to some extent. This crisis is expected to be a long one and it will come the moment for the whole Europe to look in the mirror. Let’s just hope that we will all reach to the right conclusions… And most important that we will not end up fighting against each other...

Οι εκλογές οι πολιτικοί και εμείς

Έρχονται εκλογές σε λίγες μέρες και οι περισσότεροι παρακολουθούμε και σκεφτόμαστε... Το γεγονός ότι ζω στην Γερμανία μου δίνει το πλεονέκτημα να μην επηρεάζομαι από το αρνητικό κλίμα της Ελληνικής τηλεόρασης, ενώ από την άλλη  η 'μοναξια του μετανάστη' μου παρέχει αρκετό χρόνο για να ενημερώνομαι. Ειλικρινά δεν ανοίκω σε κανένα κόμμα, πάντα διάβαζα την εφημερίδα της αντιπολίτευσης για να ακούσω μια πιο κριτική άποψη. Και σε αυτήν της περίοδο δεν έχω πλέον αυτήν την δυνατότητα. Καθημερινή, Νέα και Βήμα είναι τα ίδια, μια όποιο από τα δύο μεγάλα κόμματα και να βγει πρώτο, έχουν ήδη συμφωνήσει ότι θα συνεργαστούν και τελείωσε, 'χαλαρά' που λέμε. Λέφτα υπάρχουν, τουλάχιστον για τριακόσιους! 

Έτσι το μόνο που μου μένει αν θέλω να εκτεθώ σε διαφορετικές απόψεις είνα το ιντερνετ. Είναι λοιπόν πρακτικά η πρώτη φορα που αφιερώνω χρόνο στο να 'γνωρίσω' τους πολιτικούς μας. Να ακούσω τις συνεντεύξεις τους, να δω videos και να τους ψυχολογίσω, όσο μπορώ πάντα. Είναι επίσης πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα η πρωτοβουλεία του protagon.gr, με το Εκλογές2012 κανάλι στο youtube (https://www.youtube.com/user/Ekloges12?feature=watch), με τα debates, και τις προσωπικές συνεντεύξεις όπου μέρος των ερωτήσεων να έρχονται από εμας. Άσχετα αν αναπόφευκτα εκφράζει κάποια πολιτική τάση, δίνει την ευκαιρία να ακουστούν κάποιες φωνές που πριν ήταν καλυμμένες. Ενοείται βέβαια, για αυτούς που ψάχνουν και διαθέτουν χρόνο. 

Κάτι που με εντυπωσιάζει λοιπόν παρακολουθώντας συνεντεύξεις πολιτικών είναι το επικοινωνιακό χάρισμα τους... πραγματικά πολλοί από αυτούς φαίνονται ... πολλοί ωραίοι τύποι. Ξέρω ότι γελάτε, αλλά σκεφτήτε το λίγο καλά, αν δεν γνωρίζαμε το ποιόν τους και καθόμασταν δίπλα δίπλα σε καμμιά ταβέρνα θα γινόμασταν πρώτοι κολλητοί. Από'κει και πέρα το πόσο κολάνε τα άτομα, έχει να κάνει με το πως την ...βρίσκει κανείς, αλλά άλλο θέμα αυτό... 

Προσωπικά μόνο ο Σαμαράς και ο Βενιζέλος μου φαίνονται λίγο παθιασμένοι με την εξουσία, επιθετικοί και αγχωμένοι και αν δεν χαλάρωσουν λίγο ...δεν πάω για ρετσίνα μαζί τους! Και την Παπαρήγα την φοβάμαι λίγο αν και είναι ωραία τύπισσα. Πανέξυπνη, με χιούμορ, απλά φοβάμαι μήπως μετά από το τρίτο κρασί μου αρχήσει με τον Λένιν, τον Στάλιν και την λαική επανάσταση. Άλλα είμαι σίγουρος ότι ο Καρατζαφέρης θα με πάει στα 'σωστά μαγαζιά', αφού πρώτα βάλει την 'κυρά' για ύπνο και θα είναι ασταμάτητος μέχρι πρωίας. Ο Κουβέλης δεν θα μείνει μέχρι αργά, αλλά θα έχει μαγειρέψει καλό παστίτσιο και θα κάναμε ωραίες συζητήσεις για ιστόρία και το Βόλο που ήταν σαν χωριό στα νιάτα του. Ο Τσίπρας κι αυτός θα με πήγαινε σε ωραία κουτλουρικα μπαράκια και μπορεί να βλέπαμε και καμμιά ταινεία του Μπενίνι πριν. Καλή φάση και αυτή... Ο Βορίδης πάλι, ξέρω ότι δεν με πάει κουτουκάκι, αλλά πο ποιοτικά, πχ για κανένα γεμιστό κοτόπουλο με προσούτο και σπάραγκια και είμαι σιγουρός ότι κάνει καλό χαβαλέ. Άσε πού αν πέρναμε και τον Λοβέρδο μαζί μπορεί να γνωρίζαμε και τιποτά φοιτήτριες της Αρχιτεκτονικής ή τψν Καλών τεχνών. Ωραία κόλπα...

Αυτό που θέλω να πω είναι οτι οι πολιτικοί δεν είναι τυχαίοι, είναι πανέξυπνοι άνθρωποι με ένα έμφυτο χάρισμα επικοινωνίας. Ξέρουν να σε κερδίζουν, μιλάνε χαμηλόφωνα, δείχνουν σεμνότητα, ευαισθησία και λόγική, εμπνέουν εμπιστοσύνη και τιμιότητα, έστω και αν είναι σάπιοι μέσα. Για αυτό αν τους κρίνουμε από τη φάτσα είμαστε χαμένοι, γιατι οι περισσότεροι είναι εκεί για την ωραία φάτσα τους. Ούτε στα λόγια τους μπορούμε να βασιστούμε μόνο, γιατί ξέρουν να παίζουν την μπάλα καλά και να σε τουμπάρουν, άσε που έχουν τσακάλια συμβούλους με μάστερ και διδακτορικά. Δεν τους πιάνουμε στο μπλα μπλα λοιπόν....

Θα έλεγα εγώ καλύτερα να τους κρίνουμε από τα έργα τους. Η κοινοβουλεύτική δημοκρατία στηρίζεται στην εντολή από τον λαό, αφού προηγηθεί η δέσμευση από τον πολιτικό. Η μόνη δύναμη  του πολίτη είναι να αλλάζει τον πολιτικό αν δεν του κάνει. Αν μας λέει ψέμματα και αν τηρεί την υπόσχεση που έδωσε. Αυτός είναι ένας από τους σημαντικούς ρόλους του πολίτη στην δημοκρατία, να κρίνει τους  πολιτικούς, όχι μόνο στο καφενείο, αλλά και στην κάλπη. Γιατί και οι πολιτικοί είναι άνθρωποί πάνω απ'όλα, οπότε αν δεν τιμωρηθούν για τα λάθη τους, καβαλανε το καλάμι. Παράδειγμα η Αμερικάνικη 'δημακρατία' που πολλοί κοροιδεύουμε, αλλά ο Bush ο πατέρας έχασε από τον Κλίντον το 1992, γιατί προηγουμένως αθέτησε την προεκλογική του υπόσχεση του 1988 να μην αυξήσει τους φόρους (διάβασε το περίφημο 'read my lips'). 

Εδώ οι πολιτικοί μας κοροιδεύουν για χρόνια και εμείς συνεχίζουμε να τους ψηφίζουμε. Αυτό κάνει του τίμιους πολιτικούς της αντιπολίτευσης να νιώθουν το ίδιο αδύναμοι όσο και εμείς σαν πολίτες... Και αυτές οι εκλογές λοιπόν δεν είναι θέμα μνημονίου ή ευρώ, όπως θέλουν να μας πείσουν. Άλλωστε δεν έχουμε πλεόν τίποτα να χάσουμε, μας ρίξαν στα σκοινιά... Εγώ μαραζώνω εδώ στην Γερμανία και εσύ ασφικτιάς στην Ελλάδα μας...
Αυτές οι εκλογές, όπως όλες οι εκλογές είναι για να εκφράσουμε ποιοι πολιτικοί μας εκφράζουν, ποιοι θέλουμε να μας εκπροσωπήσουν, μάλιστα αυτήν την στιγμή που η Ελλάδα μας έχει ξεφύγει τελείως και χρειάζεται μεταρύθμιση. Εγώ λέω ότι τα δύο κόμματα που μου λένε ψέματα κατάμουτρα για δεκαετίες πρέπει να τιμωρηθούν με την αρνητική ψήφο μου και θα έρθω να την εκφράσω, παρά την απόσταση και τα έξοδα. Επίσης λέω ότι τίποτα δεν προκειται να αλλάξει σε αυτήν την χώρα αν τους δειξουμε άλλοι μια φορά ότι τους θεωρούμε ως τους 'πιο κατάλληλους να κυβερνήσουν'. Αν εσύ πάλι πιστευέις το αντίθετο, πάω πάσο. Άλλωστε έχει ήδη μεταναστεύσει...