Olympus Has Fallen

Deterministically speaking the Greek showdown is just around the corner as we are nearing April 24. I never thought that I will be personally witness to the rise and fall of an economic era. And as I am by default programmed to think positively I find myself inadequately prepared for what is coming next. I think that most of my country fellowmen are clueless themselves about the reality that will follow the Greek default in less than two weeks time. It is beyond me how a Government that is only two months in power has managed to erase the European course of this country and has erased the last 35 years of Greece's EU history. An entire nation will soon become poorer before they become rich again. But not rich in monetary wealth, but rich in all those human values that money took away from us several decades ago. And of course, there is no one else to blame other than ourselves. You can never blame those who show you where the cookie jar is, if you become greedy and obese in the end. Good thing is that the seven deadly sins that were in full operation in this country are also looking at their decline. We will be forced to re-discover our human values again. With the disappearing of all Porsche Cayennes and X5s from our roads, as well as the hard cash from our ATMs the return to the generic values of our ancestors seems to be a one-way direction. Money has corrupted us and has diluted all the characteristics of this nation. Capitalism, so it seems, was never the proper fit for this nation, which was carved in a different mould. But then again, capitalism never is the right solution for nations that lived in poverty and deprivation for extensive periods of time. It generates a sick addiction that inevitably leads to exaggerations and the loss of social senses. Sure, we gave in and indulged in all the attributes of wealth and an easy life. We upgraded our lifestyles to become the copycat image of a westerner but only by appearance not in essence. We redefined happiness and success through the lenses of materialism and access to consumption. We forgot about philosophy and learned about consumerism. We abandoned sane thinking in favour of lusty beach parties. We embarked on yachts instead of inner quests like we were designed to by our DNA. I have seen the corruption with which quick and effortless wealth is infecting nations not only in Greece but also in other countries with similar characteristics, where I have lived and worked. When a BMW obtains a higher symbolic value that your spiritual virtues then the symptoms of decline are slowly manifesting within your society. When a blockbuster replaces literature then you are looking at your intellectual decline, as well. When you start feeling good about the fact that your neighbour is suffering while you are in prosperity and you just let it slide without a second thought then you are socially falling apart.

On a related note, it is evident that this government has entered into a stage of political vertigo. The ship cannot be saved and as it seems will not be saved either. Once more we become witness to the fact that being right in certain critical instances does not equal doing the right thing. As it seems it is not enough to have strong arguments, the art lies in their presentation. As Otto von Bismarck once quoted "politics is the art of the possible", however, the possible needs some type of basic intent. I am confused about the intent on both sides of the negotiating table at this stage. Voices in the German press become louder and louder in favour of a Grexit and this message tells us that Europe, just like Greece is tired of the entire process. And when fatigue is given enough room to deploy and take over responsibility of the outcome of vital negotiation aspects then a whole lot has gone wrong. On top of that, we have also managed to create hostility among us, we have tested the limits of common sense and we have installed plenty of confusion in our discussion language to make sure that more distance has been achieved than proximity. The historians of the future will assess who was right and who was wrong in this dispute but we all know that history is written by the winners. As we also know that when two quarrel there is always a third party that benefits from that and that third party in this case is located in the north-east. He is patiently sitting back and watching the self-destructive course that we have taken and he is smartly awaiting for the right moment to come-in like a long awaited "deus ex machina" to loot the valuables left. We are playing with fire, no doubt, and we are watching the confrontation with rattling breath. What we need is a total reset, but even that does not warrant for a positive change in course. The possibility of early elections is just adding to this explosive mix and no matter what you do, it simply looks like there is no such thing as the right move presently. Too much has been destroyed in the process and there is no recipe to fix things quickly and easily. It almost looks as if complete rupture with our partners is the perfect solution going forward. How politically lame is that?