A key component of our nation’s greatness lies in our ability to honor, appreciate, and cherish, through our actions and our memories, all those who died to ensure the freedom that Hellas appreciates today. March 25 reminds all of us of our own obligations to one another; it recounts the most precious aspect of our history, it teaches us that in order to prevail as a person in the future we must honor our history first. It taught us that in order to succeed we have to rise and/or fall together, in unity, just like our ancestors did 192 years ago.
On March 25 it would also be wise to remember that freedom and liberty are precious gifts whose benefits we all enjoy, but too often we give little thought to the price paid for them.
When I reflect to the stories of 1821, the first thing I ask myself is what motivates a man and/or woman to stand and say “Freedom or Death.” My first guess would be frustration, lack of dignity, oppression and certainly honor.
Certainly the men and women of 1821 were oppressed, they had no dignity and honor and they were frustrated by 400 years of slavery. This honor is what forced them to resist and begin a revolution that eventually crumbled the Ottoman Empire.
Honor is core to Greeks, as is the thirst for freedom, to try and limit this in a Greek is like trying to squeeze water from a stone. It will not work.
But this article is not about the thirst for freedom, or limitations, it talks about motivation and the feeling of honor that we are obligated to have as a people for this country -and especially its history- so that younger generations can be inspired to feel the same. To try and explain this in a few simple words, or even a set of sentences is very difficult. But I will attempt to do this in the best possible way so that you too can pass on this knowledge to your children.
Honor for one's country is displayed more often during a time of war. This is evident throughout our history where men and women of valor, and heroism motivated and inspired thousands -if not millions- to fight for justice and freedom. And this is because our ancestors preferred to die or be killed with honor rather than to live a life of oppression and shame.
Our ancestors waged a war against a brutal tyrant in 1821 so that we today might know peace. They braved hardship so that we today can enjoy democracy and they ultimately paid the price so that we today can enjoy freedom. They overthrew an entire empire and gave birth to a revolution which in return remapped all of Europe.
They strained to hold an age long republic together, and by rolling back the creeping tide of tyranny, and after years of struggle, they liberated this little corner of the world so that future generations can be free.
Their stories are etched into our history books and recounted by our mothers and fathers, and their legends are silently observed by the mighty oaks that stand over their final resting areas. And instead of honoring their legacies, which are real and unbroken, we shun their memory everyday by neglecting the very essence that motivated their battle.
Are we like them? Highly doubtful.
Certainly the men and women of today are nothing like these unsung heroes of 1821. In fact, I don't know if Hellas still has personalities such as Kolokotronis and/or his bandits, but in my ideal world I would like to believe that if and when Hellenes are called to defend this nation, that they would mimic men such as him and focus on the fight for freedom just like he did.
And why wouldn't we? His fight taught us to pledge our lives to something that is bigger than ourselves. Men such as him taught us to recognize tyranny and evil and call it for what it is, and defend democracy which is still the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man (and which is also GREEK.)
Notice how I noted "in my ideal world"... for I know very well that this is not an ideal world and again I doubt that people of today have the same courage and/or strength that these men did.
Maybe that is because the thought of war, bloodshed and death frightens us, and to be quite frank it frightens me too. As a woman the very essence of war and the very site of a man dying just leaves me numb, meaning the shock is too profound and the sorrow is too deep, but then again I can only speculate on feeling this way because I have fortunately never witnessed such tyranny. Only those who have seen the brutalities and horrors of war firsthand can ever truly know what our ancestors braved through during that time and what others before and after them felt every time this nation needed them. However, I do know -without a shadow of a doubt- that if push comes to shove that I too will stand tall in the fight for our nation if ever needed because I, just like all of you, respect, honor and hold in high regard for Greece's rich history and its fight for freedom.
I also know that I am not alone. I know that we might ignore the Motherland, we might point our finger to the Motherland, but most of us (because as always there are quite a few exceptions) we will never betray the Motherland if and when it needs us.
It is this "honor" that basically pays homage to our heroes and all the men and women before and after them that believed in justice and freedom.
This is the true essence of March 25 and what we are obligated to pass on to our children because our offspring are patterning their lives after us and will soon become the new torchbearers to carry on the flame of our rich history. They are learning how to deal with the imperfections of a globalized world through us, and if we want them to come to know the same Greece we did then we must pass on this knowledge to them. If we do not do that, then they will distance themselves from everything that is Greek and this flame will die.
So tomorrow, following the parades, the bakalario and the skordalia, I urge you all to take a moment and reflect on the reasons why our ancestors fought for this nation, and willingly sacrificed their lives. Read a poem, a book, watch a documentary, or even a movie, and do this with your children.
Explain to them that the ideas of liberty and equality are the cornerstone of democratic society so that they can build a better world than we did. It is the only thing we can do to keep Kolokotronis's dream immortalized. For we owe him nothing less than to always defend this.
Signed
Marina Spanos
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