Yes to NO

Yes to NO

As we all find ourselves facing a historical dilemma, I keep on thinking that…(I should quit it, I know!)

At school we were taught about the direct democracy of ancient Athens, when each man had the power to change things by voting. Why is everyone attacking the Greek PM Tsipras for adopting the most democratic tool there is, that of the referendum, something that Giorgos Papandreou (the PM who imposed the IMF on us) should have also done when the descent began?

At school I also learnt that it was shameful for somebody in ancient Athens not to have an opinion about the political situation and not to vote, that is why the deprivation of political rights was a major insult for an Athenian. So why did Koutsoumpas (the Secretary of the Communist Party) suggest we vote no to yes and no to no as well?

It is well known that the debt is not sustainable. We keep on borrowing money we must soon give back with heavy interest, without any incomings from anywhere. Growth has stopped since we dropped drachma, our national currency, and started using euros, as we abandoned agricultures and industries, lured by the urban life. We are short of money and the only thing that grows day by day is the debt. So why are our loaners insisting on imposing stricter and stricter measures which deepen the depression and are not forwarding growth?

I remember the commercial when Greece joined the euro with the actor Spyros Papadopoulos stating “We are better off now with euro” and I feel like crying and laughing at the same time! Ever since I saw it I felt the evil getting nearer! I was young back then, still I was wondering why that brainwash was necessary for something which sounded so ideal. Too good to be true… Was it by chance that a great country like England never joined the euro?

I must be honest though, we all felt like Europeans with the euro. Even when we realized that since we were unable to fully understand the exact correspondence between the euro and the drachma all the voracious businessmen overpriced the products by 300% in a few months! 1 euro (which was roughly 341 drachmas) ended been equal to 100 drachmas! And all the voices which were in favour of the 1 and 2 euro-coins becoming notes, so as to represent their value clearly, were silenced!

The euro was a bubble which burst. A little cloud made by the PM Simites who placed Greece in the eurozone so he and his courtiers could “eat” to death! Because Akis Tsohatzopoulos, who is imprisoned for taking illegal commissions, was not the only one who broke the law and became filthily wealthy at the expense of the Greek people. When the others felt the danger of being exposed, they made him a scapegoat so that he could be crucified to appease the rage of the people! Akis was in the arena and all the others watched from the Imperial Box!

Of course many of my fellow citizens were corrupted too… By stealing things like toilet paper from public services (!) or by kissing the asses of the politicians for personal favours, they became accomplices to a crime which was committed by politicians, businessmen and reporters. Nevertheless, these citizens simply took advantage of the pathogenesis of the system. They remind me of an old lady in a Greek riot who entered a shop while it was being plundered and stole a cell phone! The fish however smells from its head…
To be fair we saw many public works during the prime ministry of Simites. Were not for the commissions though, we would have seen many more…

And now?

Oh, if we leave the eurozone I’m gonna miss the euro, I’m used to it! Also, if we leave the EU I will feel lonely and isolated. At the beginning, when we still had money I made a trip to Europe using only my ID. It was perfect indeed!

But I am not willing to succumb to the loan sharks and the Right Wing party of Nea Dimokratia and their suckers. As my poor mind gets it, there was an organized plan all along.

Ever since the ancient times Greece has been the apple of discord for the powerful nations because of its significant geopolitical position. This of course is not going to change no matter how many centuries pass. The powerful countries will always want to incorporate us in their empire, whether it is a territorial or an economic one. The USA, Germany, Russia, all of them have the same goal. To economically devastate the Greek people so that they become weakened and dependent, to prevail in the Mediterranean Sea, to exploit the natural resources of the country by gaining the benefits themselves and to use it as a cheap tourist resort. Because as we say here in Greece when the oak tree is down, all men benefit from its wood. So simple!

And of course what they didn’t accomplish all those centuries of war, it was accomplished in one day and what is more, it was accomplished with the blessings of the Greek people! The greatest success of this dictatorship is that we have not realized yet that we are under a totalitarian regime! We still maintain the illusion of freedom! We refuse to believe that the Greek politicians, businessmen and reporters are traitors and have sacrificed everything on the altar of money and/or power! We refuse to believe that we are so sheep-like and we are fooled over and over again!

I knew that Tsipras would say and do everything in his power to win the elections. I didn’t listen to anything he was saying, I’ve stopped listening to politicians, those professional illusionists and actors years ago. I didn’t expect him to “rip the memoranda”, nor raise my pocket-money salary. I just thought that between two evils, what is not the worst is considered to be the best! I expected him to negotiate for something better. Or at least to prevent further decadence! The personal interests, however, are deeply rooted in the political systems of the countries. To my mind, the right wing parties (Nea Dimokratia, Pasok, Potami and who knows what else…) along with our loan sharks had made a secret agreement, an omerta and had to eliminate the left wing party of Syriza at any cost. I think that Tsipras falsely tried to satisfy everyone; Europe, European-friendly Greeks and anti-European Greeks. But we cannot have it both ways. Tsipras’ intended measures were also harsh for the lower social classes. He didn’t dare to turn against categories such as judges and tycoons. He didn’t dare to make a direct attack against the status quo. Maybe because if he did his death would not only be political…

I don’t know if Tsipras should have said “no” to humiliation himself and maybe months ago. I don’t know if he will back off the last minute. I don’t know if he will succumb to another memorandum, a “better” one that the one we are called to vote against. What I do know is that if we have even a slight shred of dignity left inside us we should resist. At any cost. It is better to get starved now, quickly as Greeks than slowly and excruciatingly, with the Chinese water torture, as European slaves. By the way, a great number of the Greek population starved long ago, during the reign of the previous “democratic governments” and ended up dying or committing suicide… 

We only stand a chance if we vote “no”…

I want the euro, I want to be part of Europe but not at any cost.
 
I don’t want to become Middle East.

I don’t want to have a luxurious show window for the rich when the people of the storage rooms serve starving…

I want to hope that we will rise to the occasion.

That we will not stand down and we will not show the white feather at the last moment.
 
That we will seal our ears with wax to save them from the Sirens of the memoranda and the ruthless media propaganda.

That we will change our mindset and realize that parliamentary democracy is not a democracy but an oligarchy.

That the solution is found in cooperation, accord, unity, solidarity, selflessness, good spirit and offer to the community.

That the solution is found in direct democracy, with active, informed, open-minded, altruistic citizens.

Let us all turn off our TV sets and open a book.
Preferably a book of History.

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