To your second-to-last paragraph: this is not stuff that shows up in US history books or television programs. And I wonder why have I never caught on to this until now?
Well, most european news sources give vague "Greece's current government in the midst of political/corruption scandals' quotes, and really, I don't expect them to take a crash course of Greek political life to write an article. We've been getting this info over a looong period here, and I still have trouble keeping up.
but I didn't ever connect "bad government system" with Greece. Whenever Greece gets mentioned, it's like, oh, Greece? Yeah, they invented democracy.
Bear in mind that the modern independent Greek state has only existed since the mid-18th century (before that, it was 400 years under Ottoman rule). And since, we've had some major Balkan wars, a war with the Turks, two world wars (with a dictatorship in between), and a junta. To say nothing of being a pawn in games played on a major bigger board. Those things leave behind a certain mentality in government and society than isn't easy to just shrug off-there's been ups and downs, politically (obviously, right now is not a high point)
And yeah, kudos on Obama, but I'd be wary of anyone hailing him as a solution to all problems (well, maybe a solution to grammar abuse by US presidents).
Also, about most cops in the US being essentially good guys...hm. I have a lot of American friends who would strongly disagree with the statement. If I were you, I'd research that statement a bit.
I sympathize about the mind in knots thing. As for wanting to do something-well, between the recession and global problems the current generation is facing, there's no shortage of possible things to get mad about anywhere in the world. As long as we're not lulled to a sense of compacency and apathy, I have to believe things can because even a little less bleak.
To borrow something I heard a former University dean say on TV the other day: "There's no such thing as heaven. Let's work on making hell a little bit better.'
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branchandroot
Re: 2/2
Date: 2008-12-22 08:13 am (UTC)Well, most european news sources give vague "Greece's current government in the midst of political/corruption scandals' quotes, and really, I don't expect them to take a crash course of Greek political life to write an article. We've been getting this info over a looong period here, and I still have trouble keeping up.
but I didn't ever connect "bad government system" with Greece. Whenever Greece gets mentioned, it's like, oh, Greece? Yeah, they invented democracy.
Bear in mind that the modern independent Greek state has only existed since the mid-18th century (before that, it was 400 years under Ottoman rule). And since, we've had some major Balkan wars, a war with the Turks, two world wars (with a dictatorship in between), and a junta. To say nothing of being a pawn in games played on a major bigger board. Those things leave behind a certain mentality in government and society than isn't easy to just shrug off-there's been ups and downs, politically (obviously, right now is not a high point)
And yeah, kudos on Obama, but I'd be wary of anyone hailing him as a solution to all problems (well, maybe a solution to grammar abuse by US presidents).
Also, about most cops in the US being essentially good guys...hm. I have a lot of American friends who would strongly disagree with the statement. If I were you, I'd research that statement a bit.
I sympathize about the mind in knots thing. As for wanting to do something-well, between the recession and global problems the current generation is facing, there's no shortage of possible things to get mad about anywhere in the world. As long as we're not lulled to a sense of compacency and apathy, I have to believe things can because even a little less bleak.
To borrow something I heard a former University dean say on TV the other day: "There's no such thing as heaven. Let's work on making hell a little bit better.'