In celebration of the Greeks who have mounted the first successful battle against the financial overlords of Europe to whom the prevention of starvation is “radical left”, an opinion shared with most European media outlets, here’s a video about a virtue, for which there is, let us not say fittingly, no English, Dutch or German word. It is perhaps best understood as a more self-explanatory version of the term “nobility”.
“Uncommon is the highest virtue, and unprofiting, beaming is it, and soft of lustre: a bestowing virtue is the highest virtue.” - N, TSZ, The Bestowing Virtue
Coming of age as a thinker in the 21st century in one of the most radically protestant countries on Earth (protestantism teaches that ones acts have no impact on ones greater destiny), I have been conditioned to a cynicism which makes it astounding that the elections weren’t successfully rigged to avert this outcome. If perhaps the not quite absolute majority seems a bit coincidental… in any case, whatever subversive countermeasures from Berlin and Washington are taken the next months, an Ukraine style coup d’Etat in Greece seems a bit far fetched even for NATO standards. Of course they will find other means, though as the video points out, Hitler too suffered his first structural defeat at the hands of the Greeks. We’ll see - for now let us enjoy the rare sight and sound of politicians with a pulse.
Country Suicide rates per 100,000 people
Austria 13.8
Belgium 18.4
Britain 6
Canada 10.2
Czech Republic 12.7
Denmark 11.3
Finland 16.5
France 14.6
Germany 10.3
Greece 2.9
Hungary 21.0
Iceland 10.4
Italy 5.5
Japan 19.4
Luxembourg 9.5
Mexico 4.4
Netherlands 7.9
New Zealand 11.9
Norway 10.9
Poland 13.8
Portugal 8.7
Slovak Republic 10.9
South Korea 24.7
Spain 6.3
Sweden 11.1
United States 10.1
Source: Washington Post.
Greece, been twice. Lovely people. Have yet to watch the channel four view. Don’t think I will. Wouldn’t want my experience tarnished!
Interesting. I see my own country isn’t doing too badly here either.
The interview despite being with a politician, is actually very beautiful.
I had rarely seen an actually human political before.
In 2007 Germany raised its retirement age from 65 to 67 in 2007 on the other hand Greek workers were retiring at age 58 with 80% of pension payments and they were agitating for a lower retirement age. It wasn’t until around 2013 the age of retirement increased.
Greece reminds me of The Ant and the Grasshopper, one of Aesop’s Fables, providing an ambivalent moral lesson about the virtues of hard work and planning for the future, something the Greeks are now/have been facing.
What makes you think this particular outcome was not rigged. I think you fail to see the bigger picture. One nation at a time, until complete chaos reigns and order at any cost will seem desirable.
Finally the people of Greece are standing up to the ECB and the German government. Let’s hope that the other long-suffering peoples of Southern Europe follow suit.
Perhaps this is the first step in taking control of Europe away from parasitic financial elites, and giving power back to ordinary citizens.
The Greek can do that because they have time enough due to their retirement age: 58 de jure, 50 de facto.
No violence, please!
And they should not demonstrate against countries and people, thus nations. They should demonstrate against empires, against the EU, against the ECB, against the dictatorship of the EU , against the Fed and other powerful private banks, against the WTO, against the globalism in general.
You can see Tsipras is as scared as his financial man told us they are in the link in the OP. Then the thunder…
Those courageous Greeks…they don’t dissolve and change under pressure like other nations, their will is like the string on a bow. I guess part of their power is that everyone keeps underestimating them. Fear works differently on people.
Judging from the speed at which the Greek left is rowing back from their earlier posturing this seems to be rapidly turning into a storm in a teacup. Kind of sad, actually. We could do with a healthy injection of social conscience into our political diet, I think.
