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. 

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...

Horoscope, experience and the quest for true love and happiness

Hello my dear friends. I have to admit that I just came from the pub and I had completely different plans about my evening, but I had a revelation today that I need to share... So, I am sitting at Jack the Ripper, one of the nice pubs in Hanover, together with a Sri-Lankan couple which are my new friends here. Things are nice in general, we already had some wine at a restaurant, we found a nice corner at the bar, I am on my second Guinness, and we are chatting. I don't know how it occurred but for a moment we are at the 'relationships' chapter when my male Sri-Lankan friend (let's call him 'T' for the sake of simplicity ...and privacy!) drops the line that starts it all:

T: Well. in Europe you have the 'practical' approach while in our country we follow the 'traditional' one...

And my female Sri-Lankan friend (we call her 'K') adds..

K: Which I find preferable because I don't want to complicate my life more..

You can imagine that my instant reaction was:

M: And what is the 'traditional' approach?

K: Well, the parents will give the date and time of birth of the future husband and wife to an 'expert' who will tell them if it will work out.

M: And how will he know exactly? (of course I couldn't resist to ask...)

T: He will evaluate if the personalities and the sexual desire match and he will approve or discourage the marriage, accordingly.

K: In the past weddings were settled only by these experts and the families, but nowadays the couples can get together before the wedding  chat, so they can also see if they like each other...

T: But what is for sure is that the person we marry is our first and only companion...

T: You see, here in Europe you live with a person 2-3 years to 'try', while we trust the people with experience to tell us... And divorce rates are extremely low in our country...

I don't know if the reproduction of the dialogue is enough for you to get the point, but for me being there and feeling these two people being one for the other FOREVER, it was a shock... I instantly needed another Guinness and of course I couldn't help asking stupid questions about everyone who is different and some of us that can be VERY different. There were not many things to discuss from their side (a pattern that is standard in our meetings), but I just tried to mumble fuzzy concepts about individuals who would not fit to the monogamy model, the possibility that the 'expert' would go wrong, about the natural-born gays, lesbians and nymphomaniacs and all these things that seemed so strange and distant to them.

Of course the harmony and their calmness could not stop making a point on its own and I couldn't help thinking that the civilization of Sri Lanka dates from 500 BC and earlier.. So why not? These experts could actually have found a way to do their job well (for the specific nation and genetic pool, as my logical part kept mumbling)... At least, I wouldn't be surprised if they were efficient in foreseeing happiness in the relationship, more efficient than drunk students, adults exhausted from tight working schedules, anti-depressant addicts, adults who masturbate daily on the internet, and all these bodies around me carrying silicone transplants... The number of people around us who are psychologically fit to pursue love and happiness are probably reflected in the divorce rate statistics (not to mention  the ....suicide rates!).

Then I came back home and I started to write this post. In parallel I confirmed what they told me about the low divorce rates; in fact 0.15%, even though they come with one of the highest female suicide rate... I read about their BC tradition of a 9 planet solar system and I was impressed about their history...Then I said to myself: 

Social structures are the result of a tendency to make things work for the majority, always given the geographical, political, economical, etc context. And they are everywhere, in Sri Lanka, US, Europe, you name it. Rules, religions, traditions, perceptions and attitudes. They emerge through our combined behaviors and become obsolete if they don't reflect what we desire from life. In the meantime, some people definitely suffocate in them ... They may be isolated, exterminated or just unfulfilled...

The point that I made today was what I could see in my friends eyes, and what reminded me this that I have always found funny in these older cultures (or societies, nations, etc whatever you name it)... people rarely starve for 'freedom'...

Any ideas why?

Meandering rivers, the echoes of the past and Don Corleone

The Godfather movies were one of the most successful sequels of all times and among my favorites. In 1990 Coppola and the cast reunited for the last Godfather III, 16 years after Godfather II. Many things were different since the first Godfather in 1972 and one big difference was that they were all stars now, rich and famous; and of course 16 years older... The movie shows a softer, tired Don Corleone, who wants to change his life track and switch to legitimate activities and most of all, to make sure that his kids (Copola's daughter plays the daughter of Corleone) will not repeat his mistakes...

But old rivalries try to drag him back to his sinful past, people cannot forget who he was and this shadow which was the result of his previous life will not let him change... The story has a tragic ending, his beloved daughter is shot in an attempt of his rivals to assassin him, and the movie ends with him recollecting all these tragic memories, seconds before he dies old and lonely in Sicily... The ruthless, unstoppable young Corleone destroyed the wise and regretful, older one, just because the former came first...

Our present mistakes will echo in the future and not only that... they will probably resonate. Like rivers which are initially flowing straight and suddenly a rock or softer soil at one side makes them turn... Once they start turning they cannot stop and they will form large meanders. This feedback and growth mechanism is everywhere in nature, from the smoke of the cigarette, the sand dunes and our lives. Small mistakes grow and suddenly cast shadows upon us and cause great pain and damage. What is interesting is that often we are not even able to feel these shadows and this probably the reason that psychologists will never be without job!

So it is not out of luck that I recalled today Don Corleone, since I watched Godfather III years ago. When I try to look around me I can see the meanders and I can even sense when the divergence occurred. We all do mistakes and one of the burdens of growing older is to the fact that somehow our mistakes have more impact upon us. So apart from avoiding making them as much as possible, I think that wisdom is a lot in being able to walk out of the shadows. Even though meanders make beautiful, mystical landscapes, they grow to the point that they are too big and eventually the flow breaks them and continues straight.

The question is if this will happen within a lifetime...

...and of course, what is …'straight'!

It’s nice to be a ...pi(i)g!

Erwan had just had his forty birthday few weeks ago, he is handsome and athletic, his native language is French, but he introduces himself as ‘Breton’. He is a Geologist, doing research on estuaries for the University, he has a very clever dog, Dexter, and he lives in a small and humid place, right in from of Faro Beach. He is a nice guy, and a friend…

Inside his place you will find all kind of tools and various athletic equipment, most of which seem old and used hundreds of times. He has a van, a scooter, a bicycle and a boat; it’s very unlikely to find more than half of them functional at the same time and he is constantly engaged in the activity of repairing them, with a bottle of beer somewhere nearby. If you ask him, he will tell you that he doesn’t care about cars and motorbikes and all that is important is ‘to go from point A to point B’ (and he seems to be serious about it).

I am spending one week of holidays in his place, enjoying his company, the barbecues on the beach, doing some surf, throwing sticks so that Dexter would fetch them and all sorts of such vitalizing activities. Of course Portugal, like Greece (but hopefully not as much) is burdened by the economic crisis. People are complaining about their jobs, or the ones they lost and they are thinking to go abroad. My body itches when I hear this, since I am automatically transferred from the sunny Faro Beach back to Hannover, where a different concept of fun and relaxation is prevailing. One that most south Europeans would simply describe ‘not a life’.

Erwan knows that since he is well travelled and has lived in England, Germany among others. For him better salary, cars and security worth nothing compared to good weather, fresh fish, the view of the ocean and a lot of space for Dexter. He knows well what he wants… And he talks about the crisis as less as he can, because ‘it doesn’t affect him’.

There is no doubt that South Europe is corrupt and inefficient and to some extent deserves to be poor and less developed. On the other hand, nobody can really doubt that small poor countries can be easily exploited by the larger and more powerful ones. It is the duty of historians to show which mistakes and interests allowed or helped this absurd consumer culture to emerge in the poor South European countries, during this EU experiment. Back in Greece of the 90s another friend was telling me: ‘They are out of their minds… How many kilos of tomatoes do we have to sell, in order to buy a BMW? How can this work?’. My friend still doesn’t own a car and he also avoids the crisis, because ‘it doesn’t affect him’ he says.

Poverty, when it is not extreme remains a problem, but is not tragedy, especially as long as the social structure is not collapsing. Unemployment is tragedy because it doesn’t let people ‘go from point A to point B’ and this crisis brings to the south unemployment and social collapse. There will be consequences from this situation, we are all facing them already. If there is some justice in the world, the ones who let this paradox grow, will face them even more sometime in the future…

Living in more developed societies like in the North of Europe you enjoy being part in a more sober, more fair and less corrupt system, surrounded by people who often have a more intricate and better structured way of thinking and functioning. On the other hand, when you are sitting under the sun, eating sweet, juicy Algarvean oranges after a good surf; thoughts get buried under the avalanche that your senses create. What you are doing, or will do becomes less important when you are immersed to the beauty of nature. You feel insignificant and alive at the same time, especially if you are born in this latitude.

So, it’s not bad to be a …PIIG after all…

As long as they let you ‘go from point A to point B’.

A Greek's open letter to Europe's citizens

Dear friend...

I decided to write to you because during the last months many things are being discussed about me and my country, but nobody let's me get into the discussions. If you happen to be German I also live close to you (Hannover) and I don't feel very well when I hear that they tell you about me. I thought that maybe you would like to listen to my opinion, it could give you another perspective... If you have any doubts please don't hesitate to contact me and I encourage you to confirm what you will read here from other sources.

Everybody knows that Greece has financial problems and some people may tell you that other countries have as well and there is a crisis of the capitalist system overall... But I don't want to discuss about that. Let's assume that Greece is the only country close to bankruptcy on the planet right now and I have to tell you that I am feeling very ashamed for that. They tell you that Greek people are corrupt and lazy and they only party with your money and now it's time for them to pay. And this is completely unfair and I will explain you why...

First of all the debt of Greece is public and not private, the private debt of Greece is much smaller than in most other European countries and even in the world. Greek people are definitely not lazy and they take care of their home and businesses, like you do. They are proud like you and they don't like to live on other people's money and that's why they are careful. If you happened to visit Greece you probably saw a poor, chaotic, south European, beautiful country and I am sure that you also saw people running their businesses well, cleaning their houses every day and cooking their food with passion. I am sure that you didn't see a bunch of lazy, corrupt bums, partying with no tomorrow like they tell you.

I will remind you also that Greece has been consistently one of the last countries in the EU, during the last decades and what the people have been living was far from paradise. You can understand it from all the indicators of economic freedom, from the percentage of the people above 30 living with their families and the low fertility rate, which between the lines reads 'no job, no perspectives, no stability, no plans for the future'. And they have been trying hard all these years, the old to support their families and the young to study and educate themselves, in favorable conditions. I know that it is difficult for you to understand it because you grew up in a system that was maybe pushing you, but was providing you several things. If you were in Greece you would have to try all the time, without expecting any justice, or recognition.

But still Greek people have been trying hard to be like you. You may have seen that from your Greek friends in the University who don't do so bad I guess. You may not know that Greek families have to pay thousands of euros every year for private supportive lessons of English, Math, Physics, etc to complement the inefficient education system. I will remind you also that several decades ago Greek emigrants came to your country, worked hard, learned your language and habits and and became part of your society without creating serious problems. Now, a new wave of emigration has started and your country will receive hundreds of highly educated young people without spending a dime on their training. So please don't let them accuse me because we are normal people like you are and we have been through hard times ...before the hard times expected to come!

So who is to blame? The fact that Greece has been ungoverned for decades, that there is no institution that is working, no justice, no planning, nothing. For decades... This is the corruption in Greece; normal people have NO RIGHTS, but the stronger pariahs of the political parties have total immunity when they steal or even kill. And this is what I want to discuss with you and to cry for help, if you want...

They say that every nation has the government it deserves, but in Greece it is not so simple as it seems and I will explain you why. Greece has suffered a civil war after the second world war, on which the 'British sphere of influence concept' had a lot to do. Then was a CIA driven military coup in the 60s, and both events opened wounds that have not healed since then, even though 'democracy' came in the end of the 70s. All these recent events have destroyed the political structure in the country and have established a 'sick' system... There is no democracy because the voters' only options are 2 parties (plus the 5% nationalist, Christians and 5% Stalinist communists). The names in the parliament have been the same from the 50s till now, people have no power to change anything and this is probably a unique situation for Europe. And external political destabilization is very easy to do, you may know about Latin American and African countries. Once the system deviates, it is difficult to bring it back....

All the politicians and their friends and relatives have been plundering the country's wealth for decades; without representing the Greek people, and having full immunity for their actions. What Italians rejected in last weeks referendum (Berlusconi's immunity) is the norm in Greece... Nobody can touch them! Even if they are openly involved in scandals, if they degrade the future of this country, if they are getting rich when Greece is collapsing. Now they try to convince your politicians that they 'control the situation', but in fact the people don't want them anymore. Despite most European countries there has been no referendum for any crucial matter the past 20 years. We need a referendum whether we want them to govern, and I know the answer: DEFINITELY NO!

Tonight they are voting (and they are going to pass) the new support/austerity package and 1 million people will demonstrate in front of the Greek parliament in Athens. And they are not demonstrating for the austerity measures. THEY ARE DEMONSTRATING AGAINST THE POLITICAL PARTIES! We want to make sacrifices, but we don't trust our politicians. They are not Greek, they are traitors, parts of elites, who showed up one day and had a seat in the parliament. We are willing to make sacrifices, and we acknowledge our responsibility. But during the last year of austerity measures which paralyzed the country, none of the people involved in large scale scandals were touched. We are desperate for justice, people will not back down unless the ones who stole, or acted against the country will be punished. This is the only way that our country can get back in the right track again.

And this is where I need you help... All those years with the EU, we traveled, met and enjoyed each other's company. We like Europe, we have felt it that it is better that way. As I told you the situation has not been good for me and now it is really bad. And I am feeling very bad, ashamed and humiliated. I can't sleep at night. Unfortunately, you are asked to pay taxes to support Greece, because some 'experts' say that it will still be better for you (and all of us) that way'. I am not the person to argue on that, personally I would fell more descent to leave the euro-zone and walk my own way. Apparently again I have no choice...

But before you pay, just make sure where you give your money and for what reason. If you have to pay taxes for the present Greece don't do it. If you feel that the European Union is something precious that should solve the problems and be preserved, please help me on the actual problem. And if you feel rage about the sacrifices you have to do, please don't simply 'blame the Greeks', but search a little bit more. There are huge scandals, obvious people responsible. Please help me pass this message through:

The Greek people are asking desperately for help. We need to reset out political situation. We are in a dead-end. Military coups can fall with public reaction and the hope of democracy bringing justice is a big motivation....

When 'democracy' fails then there is nothing to do or expect....

Your politicians knew about this for long time, some may also have been nurturing this situation, but I don't want to waste time blaming others.

The point is that Greek default may mean the end of Euro (as they say) and we are all involved... And now it is your money too...

The ones guilty for Greece's bankruptcy have to be punished and you have more power to do that than me... It is very easy to find out who they are: 2 political parties and 5-6 families... If Greek justice is corrupted and not efficient, a European committee or even the International Court could be the right way to go. For the bankruptcy of a historical nation, the burdens of the EU tax payers and the overall destabilization.

For us political reform and justice is more vital than financial support...

We are in need of a European intervention in governance, our political and judicial system has failed....

Kind regards

Michalis Vousdoukas
Coastal Oceanoghrapher, PhD, MEng, MSc

When you are strange

I am in a period in which I have re-visited The Doors, I have been listening to their music, reading about their story , and watched the several movies and documentaries related to them and Morrison. And being under the influence of their pure creations, something happened to me, something that I haven't experienced for almost 3 years. I felt an urge to grab my guitar and when I did that, melodies and lyrics started to come out, I started to write a song! Inspiration...

I have spent years during my graduate studies, trying to keep the door of inspiration always open and I have spent this period, which may be a stereotype for students, I was writing songs and poems, I was in a band, etc. At those days, every time something was coming out, I knew that I had to write it down and to record it immediately, in order not to lose it. Last Monday, and after spending the last years being more preoccupated about my research, rather than my artistic creativity, I did that very basic mistake. I didn't write down anything.

After 4 hours I tried to play again my 'song' and I couldn't recall anything. It was completely gone and the reason is obvious and known among 'artists'; it wasn't mine! Unlike science, philosophy and other creative activities, artistic inspiration is not something that has to do only with the creator, it is a gift at an instant. The ancient Greeks believed that the cause, the driving force responsible for everything was the muse that was whispering the words, or singing the melody. The artist was just listening and repeating. And that releaved the creator from some of the stress of being creative...

I believe that one of the most stressful thing in trying to create art is to maintain the ability to listen to the muse, whenever she 'decides' to speak. Jim Morrison believed in extended states of illusion and strong drug and alcohol consumption, which allowed his unconscious to emerge. Keeping his 'doors of perception open' was his way of communication with the muse. Original creation involves this 'bypassing' of the conscious mind which is useful mostly to refine the final product. Of course connecting with the muse, the unconscious, or keeping inspiration alive in general is a very exhausting activity and the reason that many artists don't enjoy long and prosperous lives.

Those who have experienced being a 'porte-parole' of inspiration can recognize it in the creations of others. It doesn't mean that all inspired songs or melodies will talk about the truth or will change the world. Inspiration is a spark of energy that hits us, refracts through our knowledge, feelings and experiences and gives birth to something. The muse can whisper a melody to you and it's up to you if it will become a joke, a nice story or big idea. Inspiration only gives you the option to create and for that reason it is a unique opportunity.

This is also the reason that I am very skeptical about most of the cover versions of existing songs. Somebody else's muse has spoken and the difficult, the struggling part of creation has been done. Rearranging songs is much easier than creating them, even if the cover is made by extremely gifted people. Some covers have also some spark, but most of the produced cover songs that have flooded the music industry since the 80s are just easy ways to exist in the music map and mainly to make money.

And the magic thing about the music of The Doors is that it is flooded by pure inspiration and originality. Flowing lyrics and ingenious music generated by the lust of four talented people to create something unique. And immortal...

What is happening in Greece?

Greece and its economy have been in the spotlight for several weeks/months now and that made me come back to my (mainly) tango blog and write some thoughts about the situation. I have two good reasons to do it, namely a) texts about Greece are in fashion so people read them; b) I consider myself somebody who is well aware of the Greek society, but I am currently living abroad, and thus I am able to see it from a broader perspective.

The tile is ‘What is happening in Greece?’ but should rather be ‘What has been happening in Greece?’… Because things are pretty bad, but they have been bad the last years and they were going bad, ever since I could see a tomato and say ‘ντομάτα’… Last year the riots were indicative of the deep problems the Greek society is facing (discussed also here) and this year is the economy. Our dept is currently more than the value of the whole country; we have a population which is constantly getting older, no perspective for economic growth and people who don’t have any respect to the governments they elect, the EU and any kind of institution in general… So apparently things are not ideal…

This is not going to be an economic analysis, but rather a social one. Anyway, I lack the academic knowledge for an essay on the Greek economy and for that you will find other resources, like Edward Hugh’s blog which I enjoy reading lately. Anyway, it is said that ‘politics is the game of the devil’ and when looking for possible substitutions of the first word, ‘economics’ comes straight to my head. I am sure that many of you also think that all these ‘debts’, ‘GDPs’, etc are partially BS… Most of the countries in the world are in debt and to me it has been a constant puzzle, how and to whom we all owe money and why the outcome of all these transactions are always us being more in debt and never paying off (of course the answer is known and some simplified explanations can be found in here or here). According to my average person perception, the issue is who is more in debt and the winner of this year is definitely my country, Greece!

To finish this introduction, please don’t forget that the present post is my PERSONAL perception of things. You may find some things written below hard, or even exaggerated and you are welcome to ignore and argue against them. Moreover, sometimes inevitably I express my ideas or predictions on financial or political problems for which I may not be informed enough. You are welcome again to correct me… So here I go…

Firstly, I have to take something out of my chest, for all of you to know… Greece belongs to the EU, NATO, European Space Agency, UN, OECD, or whatever, but is not like the other Western European countries. To put it better before the recently new EU members, it was NOT an EU country, at least considering the structure of the society and the way this works, the prevailing culture, mentality and way of life, etc. An average western European with the average Greek, sitting in the same table will have a hard time finding interests and ideas to share. In fact, Greece is a country, until recently, geographically isolated from the other EU members, for a long time influenced by its Balkan and Turkish neighbors, with people that mostly imagine and are attracted by the idea of being part of Europe, rather than actually doing it.

One of the main reasons Greece became part of the EU is because the Western world has always been feeling indebted towards the Greeks, for the heritage of the ancient Greek civilization. We were given the chance to become part of the EU, thanks to the other parties’ desire to honor our ancestors. Given the philosophical and ideological hypostasis of the Union (which matters among other more practical issues), a Europe without Greece would be like Christmas family dinner without the grandparents (who are very sick, not very fancy and badly behaved in our case). The other reason is that considering its geographical location and size, Greece was not a poor country. We are still the rich of the Balkans and we were richer than Portugal and Spain, so why not?

Now comes the difficult part… Why we are still in the EU? Inertia, momentum, are some words that come in mind… There are many member countries which did not honor the objectives and the overall spirit of their ‘EU contract’; but none like Greece. We didn’t even read it, we went straight to the chapter ‘Rights and privileges’ and we tossed all the other pages to our barbecue. In fact the society was not ready for this and the whole outcome always looked like teaching gorillas how to use hair style mouse. We are still in the EU after constantly hiding and postponing the current crisis with painkillers (e.g. see this link). We are still in, because any bailout would appear as a black eye for the EU institution. We are still in because other countries face similar problems as well, certainly to a lesser extent and our quitting would bring huge confusion, given the already fuzzy rules, definitions and criteria, of our already fuzzy and titling economic system.

And now comes the most important part, since I will stretch something that some experts may know (I am not sure if all of them do), but the normal people in Europe probably cannot perceive. The amount of corruption in Greece and how much, along with the way things work in general, this puts the country on a league of its own; at least for EU standards. It is normal that people everywhere are not happy when they pay taxes and that politicians are charismatic personalities in terms of communicational skills, but usually ignorant, and with a tendency to take advantage of state money; but when there is nothing more that this, then I can tell you WELCOME TO GREECE…

The names of the members of the parliament have remained the same the last 50 years, as do the names of the university professors and any other high ranked position. There is no way that somebody will be given any kind of power, without ensuring first that he belongs to this ‘special tribe’ and he will not have any intention to change anything[1]. That’s why the Greek people have been ‘trained’ not to trust anyone but themselves. That’s why nobody will listen to what the others say, even if they have PhDs or parliament seats, since all these things usually mean corruption. There is no right or wrong, true or false, good or bad when you leave in such a society. And people cannot learn and advance, they just develop constantly their emotional intelligence through their effort for survival.

Political parties are dominating life from the university years and active members get degrees without passing any exams, the same way they get the jobs later[2]. For example a former minister of Public Works, responsible for the development of the whole country, didn’t even do his undergraduate thesis himself. The ‘normal people’ on the other hand, vote the candidates who promised them a position in the public sector and they don’t trust anyone. My generation grew up listening to their parents telling them that the best man is who doesn’t give a penny to the state. And this is the key element of the problem. I was lucky to have lived in several countries and I have seen many corrupt politicians and crooks. But completely corrupt countries you don’t meet easily…

Just to give you an idea I mention a recent story below… Last year there was an environmental regulation towards the renewal of vehicles, giving a benefit for each old technology car, exchanged for a new one. Aftermath: They ended up giving 4 times more benefits than they were expecting. The whole system was mobilized: cars cut in two were valued twice, documents for crashed cars coming from all over the world were issued overnight to be after retracted, etc. Offering an extra unemployment benefit is enough to double the number of unemployed in the country in one night, anyway people working ‘in black’ are so many. Nobody wants to pay taxes, so all the energy is spent to find the illegal way to make money, constituting the Greek economy a highly self-organized chaotic system, instead of a structured EU country it is supposed to be. In the meantime the media, reproduce daily stories of scandals and corruption, eroding any moral principles left on the people… Bottom line: people do not care for anything public, they are definitely not willing to financially support their country and they will do their best to avoid this… Plus the whole system is highly tolerant to this attitude as this is …the way things work!

What is very strange is that the Greek system is offering, apart from sun, beautiful beaches and good food, several benefits to its people and deserves to receive its taxes, despite what Greek people believe. As a Greek, I received good education, including my PhD, which allowed me to make an international career. As a university student I had free textbooks, courses and food, I have played volleyball at competition level at state subsidized clubs and received student benefits from my parents’ jobs. Comparing the health system with other countries I have been recently living, I find the Greek one not so bad and in general I think that the people have several good reasons to support their country. The problem is that it doesn’t cross their mind that they should, neither can they imagine that this is what everyone else in the civilized world is doing. They just can’t …

What the current government is trying to do is make the people pay taxes. Greek people have a high standard of life, getting wined and dined more than anyone else in Europe. France is a historically rich country, but the French would be surprised with the quantity and frequency of lamp or fish consumption in Greece, or how often people go to the restaurant. They also drive good cars, own (several) houses and spend a lot on entertainment, since there is no rival for the Greek nightlife in Europe. While a coffee costs typically 5 euros and clubs and bars (selling 7 euro beers) are full 7 days a week, 95% of the population declare income less than 30000 euros. At the same time, the country is flooded by villas, swimming pools and BMWs, with doctors, engineers and lawyers getting their euros under the table.

The new government is aiming to get a piece of the black money which is almost half of the total economy. All the economic indexes are fake, as there is no control in transactions; after all these years of completely chaotic, corrupted governance, the ministers cannot even know how many people are working in the public sector, not to mention the private one. They have a rough idea on how much they spent on salaries and how many kilos of potatos were produced last year and that’s it. Everything else is just part of a sequence of events that they mostly observe from a privileged point of view. If this government really has any intention to do something and this is mostly because of the external pressure it’s receiving, the first step is to start organizing the system and make it gain conscience of its actual condition (aka make an accurate budget!). Technology can help on that as it is now cheap and abundant, allowing centralized control, since in such a corrupted system, any transfer of information through people carries high amount of entropy and results in distortion of the figures.

The second step is to force the people towards more legitimate practices and this is what all the measures taken are all about. The power that accountants had to save money from their clients, is indicative of the level of corruption and the measures are specifically aimed there. The receipts, the means test, etc are precisely pointing towards a more structured economic system, and again with the help of technology significant results can be achieved. Many analysts consider the goals set by the government too optimistic, but even though I am not

an economist, the ‘secret ingredient’ could be the present extent of corruption. In fact after a year and if they achieve something, then they will actually know what can be actually achieved. For the moment they only can hope that the money on the black market is the holly grail.

The problem is that such action will bring a big shock and act as an endurance test for the Greek society, at it will affect most social layers and aspects of life. People don’t understand that they can’t go on living with this attitude and that they even have to pay for the mistakes of the past. They also don’t believe and that’s a very difficult point, as they will react to the pressure to come. They protest and they will protest more, because the moral principles have been diverted all those years of thoughtless spending of EU subsidies. They are the same people who were giving fake invoices, asking for EU funding to expand their businesses, or the farmers who planted subsidized crops, only to burn or damp them later. And these people are not crooks, but the average Greek, the family man, the civil servant, the doctor, the lawyer, the minister. All used of drinking aged malt whiskey paid by EU money, won after submitting fake papers, money given to help us increase our productivity.

The current world is mostly one of economies rather than countries. During the EU experiment, strong economies offered the unique opportunity to the weak ones to receive significant financial help and know how in order to improve their economic, social and technological level. Experience showed that for some reasons[3], South Europeans lack the focus and discipline to respond to such a challenge. The gain of the strong was the potential of exploiting a larger scale economy and expanding their activities without the previously existing political and legal barriers.

This adaptation period seems to be almost over, given also the present reduced credit possibilities and the weak countries will have no excuse for not being able to survive. As a result their high value human and physical resources will be absorbed by the ones who have the power. This is what is happening to Greece, which has already sold most of the public sector, while at the same time the population is undergoing significant change. The most educated people are going abroad, while emigrant are taking their place back home.

The currently attempted change in Greece came way too late, as now the money has been almost completely spent and the deviation of the mentality and the economic system is difficult to be corrected. A fundamental problem is that nobody can speak about morality as all are immersed into corruption. Even the government, cannot convince the people to pay their taxes, as long as they are being bribed, linked to private companies and even receive their disproportionally high salaries and pensions. In fact, if they are really interested in winning the people’s trust, they should from cutting of their own benefits and huge security expenses.

So according to my perspective, this will be the critical point for the Greek economy: whether the society will respond and will endure a structural change that is inevitable anyway. The new government is trying to promote a more transparent way of governance, putting figures and information on the net, but has to do more. It has to convince the people to change their attitude and prove that it has honest objectives and wants to play the game with fair rules. The next question is whether this effort will not collapse by the inevitable strikes and people’s reaction and chaos will be avoided. Already tax collectors’ drive for work has been significantly reduced, after the new measures blocked ways for them to get bribed. One move towards the right direction and the system deflects it: state income is reduced instead of increased. Finding ways to control transactions and get taxes will be an exhaustive strategic game that the government has to play very well.

The only positive sign is that Europe will not let Greece fall, even though it deserves to. Any country leaving the Euro zone will be a hard blow especially, considering the constant efforts of expansion during all these years. Moreover, other countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal) are facing similar problems (not in the same scale) and are already being dragged down by the Greek crisis. They have been using similar tricks to hide their debts and they are now having difficulties in getting loans, with everyone’s eyes in Greece If things escalate and the door opens for one to leave, nobody can control who else will have to do it also, so the risk is too high to take.

For the Greek people, the question is simple… Whether it is not too late and if they will survive this crisis with dignity, or after a big humiliation. For sure the change is necessary and if made earlier would be for a better life, while now will be just to stand on our feet and not become Latin America. What worries me is that this obvious message still doesn’t get through, neither the people, nor the politicians and that will delay things even more.

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[1] Even in the highly corrupted former USSR, Gorbachev, a poor farmers’ son could become General Secretary. Back in Greece 90% of all the current parliament members are first degree relatives of former ones.

[2] One could argue that corruption exists also in other countries and for example Italy is one of them. On the other hand at least, Italians build cars and design beautiful things and this is done only by competent people. In a country like Greece where most jobs are services, skills are again important but not so necessary and proving one’s value is not so easy.

[3] In fact the hostile environmental conditions in the northern regions and the limited physical resources (compared to the south), forced the people to evolve and develop a higher level of discipline, social organization and efficiency, turning the tide in their favour.