When I visited Ohio and saw how my wife’s parents made it there I was changed forever. Hardworking people building something out of nothing and propelling their children to a better world. You don’t need the details. But it’s alive and kicking. The rules are clear and millions of people do it, rags to riches. Back in 1776 they built something in the US that works. And it’s based on looking forward more than backwards like we do in Europe.
As a Greek of course I should be dismissive. Their “antiquities” are all recent and as Greeks like to say “when we were building the Parthenon they were all still collecting oats to eat.” But the joke is on us. Because European countries never really defined themselves as clearly and we are all suffering due to that.
Here is the briefest of histories of the region: Various ancients tribes came and went, Cretans had a good run, then Peloponesians, then we had city states that fought each other most of the time. When the Persians invaded, most Greek cities were on the Persian side. Athens pulled out a good trick, won some battles and then became the dictator of most of the region until their arch enemies the Spartans eventually destroyed them. King Philip and then Alexander the Great beat the rest of Greece into submission, Alex went off to conquer, the day he died everyone revolted against him. Then the Romans came, then the Romans split into East and West. The Eastern Romans started leaning into Greek rather than Latin, Christianity rather than pagans, Orthodoxy rather than Catholicism and their influence was growing and dwindling geographically for a good while until the Ottomans kicked their butt in a sweep up towards Europe.
This was the crucial part. Because when the Ottomans almost got Vienna, all of Europe decided to do something about them.
Essentially British, French and Russians agreed to make a modern state, call it “Greece” and have it as a buffer zone between Europe and the Ottomans. So in the 19th century we made up a new country, stuffed some stories from the past into our history books to teach the kids, brought a king from Germany and copied French and German laws, armies and anything else we needed to look and feel like a modern European country.
Where is the Greek dream in all of this? Well, there isn’t. The peasants that lived since 1453 under Ottoman rule remained pretty much as they were in terms of their values. That explains the enormous public sector we still have. That explains the corruption levels. Greece is not European anymore than Turkey is. Sure, being economically weak we end up having more stuff that looks European but in the Greek heart the dream is still Ottoman. A cushy job, a lazy life, money for nothing.
In many way, modern Greece is the poster child of everything I hope we can do better as we move ahead in an internet connected, AI enabled, confusing multicultural world. It’s never too late. We can build on those fantastic Greek philosophers with values and things to aspire too. Rules for life, not nationalistic propaganda. We can take “European values” that feel right. We can do better than claiming Greek is the magic language that beats all others. You don’t have to speak Greek or be Orthodox Christian to be Greek. You have to love this particular geography that gave birth to some great ideas though. You don’t have to be lazy, just appreciate slow living as a route to happiness and fullfilment.
I am not Greek because I hate Turks. I love them and their country and want to help promote everything we share. Including ancient Greek temples and other important antiquities over there. I don’t need to have wet dreams about conquering Istanbul and renaming it to Constantinople. Modern borders are fixed and there is no point fighting over them. Let’s be more comfortable with that, more confident in our values rather than crying over spilt milk and rocks.
It is often said that humans “need stories” to live. It is true. But when it comes to nation building we really should be much more careful what stories we choose to keep telling. Religions are suffering for the same reason. In England they recently decided that the concept of Satan is not useful. I agree. Ideas like justice or fairness do not need bogey men to be enforced. It makes sense that people living together should follow the same rules. Share values, not fairytales usually based on lies and propaganda that was made in a rush.
Building communities online has been much studied. There is an art and science to it. And we can learn from this field to improve how we behave as countries. People need to dream. Guiding visions, clearly projected are vital in companies, battles and everything we do. Much like a company mission statement, European countries need to go back to the drawing board and shed whatever is no longer useful. Millions of Europeans as well as many that are thinking of becoming Europeans need to know what we stand for. With clarity and stability. We are not forsaking our history. Just not letting it drag us down and divide us anymore.
But right now, for all its faults, the American Dream is still the business model to beat. Embrace the challenge and give them their dues.
