Aliki Vougiouklaki -a famous Greek film actress- once said that “even your children’s children will grow up watching Aliki”. She was right! Most of her films had a sappy, cheesy ending despite all the odds from the family or societal norms but they were an image of a Greece (and Greek people) full of filotimo, innocence, and despite the odds optimism. Her films showed a Greece trying to rebuild itself after several wars, and they always had a happy ending because Greece at the time was not exactly a happy country! They put a smile on our faces, our eyes got a little misty, but we all loved them because we loved Greece during this era.
The movies were made in an era when families suffered from poverty, unemployment, outward immigration, but they upheld old family values, tradition, they had a sense of filotimo and "levendia". Much like today, and after decades of being divided, this was a period when Greeks actually began to unite, and that is why we saw so much development.
More exactly, when the wars ended Greece was indeed in terrible shape. Our country had become so economically dependent on US aid and from 1951 to 1960 almost 12% of the population has emigrated to Australia, the US, Canada and Germany. If before the war the struggle for dominating the politics of the country was between the Republican Venizelists and the Monarchist Anti-Venizelist, or communists and anti-communists.
Unfortunately for the Greek people, most of the aid from the US, which in other EU countries was channeled towards economic development, went straight to strengthening the military as a defense against a possible communist threat. Because of this dependence on US money there were very few decisions made by Greeks without the approval of the US.
It is estimated that if this aid did not go for weapons and military assistance they could have given every communist $8000 and who knows, they could have flipped over and become capitalists!
Unfortunately the fake Westernization of Greece, (since Greece is the one that actually Westernized the whole world), created a generation of Greeks that were greedy and had more respect for their bank accounts than their own nation. Saying "Kalimera" was taboo... And in Athens it still is because the Left in Greece gave off the notion that this was too conservative and too bourgeois. People who were oppressed for decades, uneducated, and with a thirst of wanting to succeed were the perfect victims. (Much like the immigrants who have come to Greece over the last few years)
So can any parallels be drawn with Greece's present-day travails?
It is more than obvious that there are many.
Just like the time after the civil war, the Greeks are again divided in two groups: Those in favor and those against the Memorandums. Those who are in favor of the nation, and those who are in favor of their pockets. Those who are in favor of violence and those who are in favor of unity.
It is obvious that the civil war destroyed our people, by dividing our nation completely on every level. In fact the polarization and instability of Greek politics in the mid-1960s was a direct result of the Civil War and the deep divide between the leftist and rightist sections of Greek society.
Today, the repercussions of the Memorandums, and George Papandreou's failure to represent this country properly, has had the same effects on our nation. And again, we are witnessing a deep divide between leftist and rightist groups.
In her movies, Vougiouklaki erased such partisan divisions and united the nation in a period when it needed to be strong in order to move forward and at the same time showed how conservative old world values, tradition, "kefi", "filotimo" and certainly "levendia" can also be trendy and beneficial to every community. She wasn't alone. Others followed suit including statesman Konstantine Karamanlis, who legalized the Communist party, but all those who followed wanted us to be divided as a people because they never wanted us to hold our heads above water. He gave us back pride, a sense of security.
But the foreign interests did not like this. They wanted us at their beck and call and could not stomach a proud people. So they divided us again when they duped us into voting for the PASOK party in the 80s. (Some may remember the blue and green cafe shops).
This was once again erased when the younger Costas Karamanlis came to power, and one reason to back this argument were the fires in the Peloponnese. Despite the political damage to his career -as a result of the fires- Greek citizens voted him into office for a second term because he did what everyone never expected... He united the nation. From the far left, to the far right, all political groups -till this day- note that he is a true statesman, and never once worked for his self glory but for the good of the whole nation and its future on the global map.
Foreign interests, on the other, who have historically kept our people divided, did not like this at all. As such, they worked hard on dividing us once again, and they have been very successful in doing so for yet another time.
If we as a people had on the other hand concentrated on what really made this country stand out through time, then we would not have fallen prey so easily. But we were duped once again because we only placed a large emphasis on our "Ego".
Today, we are seeing history in the making again. Indeed we are at the edge of the cliff, but so were our forefathers right after the civil war. So what was it that brought Greeks together after so much pain and suffering, and allowed our people to finally unite?
In my humble opinion it was a possible threat to the nation.
The more Greece is threatened the more we unite. I have said this many times, and I will say it again. We refer to Greece as the "Motherland" and therefore perceive this nation as a mother. As citizens, we can criticize its policies every day, we can protest, riot, and even downright get frustrated but when a foreign voice says or does something about our country they automatically strike a nerve in us. And this is because our DNA has been formatted to stand and defend this country at all costs. It is our human nature, as I am sure it is for citizens in other countries as well. Anyone in their right mind would understand this, but then again globalists don't really understand things if there isn't a dollar sign attached to it.
In fact the one thing that internationalists do not "get" is that when a population reaches this stage of thought it means that their "ego" is erased. And although Leftists -who only concentrate on their ego and their pockets- attempt to keep the conversation at this level -meaning only on the economy- patriotism takes over and Greeks suddenly forget their ego and begin to think on a "we" basis.
Polling companies conduct one opinion poll after another trying to analyze why specific parties are not rising in the polls while others remain strong but they have overlooked the obvious. The more this country is threatened, the more united and humble Greeks become. Nations that are united can move mountains and that is why interests that benefit from our country do not want us to come together as a people. I will give you one example of this: In the early 90s when the issue of FYROM was at its height Greeks all over the world came together and said NO and what happened? The world forced the neighboring republic to go by the name FYROM and not by the name which specific think-tanks in DC wanted it to be. Or what about Hugo Chavez and Venezuela? When a military coup was staged to overthrow him, the people took to the streets and they overthrew a puppet regime and allowed Chavez to be set free.
We have the power as a people all we have to do is believe it. All is not lost and we can once again enjoy a period of development just like our parents did in the 60s because these feelings of solidarity and love for our country have surfaced again because deep down inside we all know that our nation was attacked on all fronts.
And this my friends is why I am hopeful. The greatest threat to unity is only thinking about the "ego". But now Greeks are ready to overcome their ego, much like they did after the civil war when they were a more humble people. And trust us... When nations do this, they are in a state to have a collective infrastructure. True, if we had looked back on our past, we never would have allowed our nation to reach this state, but again I am confident that all is not lost. Indeed things are grim at the moment, but they will turn around and Greece will once again rise from the ashes just as it had many times in the past.
I believe it, and I am hopeful for this country.
In the meantime, I suggest that you all catch up with an old cheesy flick from Aliki. It will make you more humble, and remind you of "levendia", "kefi" and who knows... It might even spark some "filotimo" in some of you who have yet to support this country in coming together.
Signed
Marina Spanos
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