It is sad to watch a great nation bludgeon another weaker nation, a supposed ally and friend, into submission and humiliation, especially when both sides are at fault over a debt situation that has spiralled out of control. Yes, Greek voters did take the easy path since the 1970’s. I myself remember arguing against further integration back in the summer of 1991, when I visited the place. Older folk and younger kids, die-hard communists and fascists alike were all for it. I nearly got stabbed when I stated,

“One day German tanks will be rolling down the streets of Athens once more…”

I guess it was clearer for an outsider to see the logic in my statement. My argument back then, and remains to this day, was based on circumstances surrounding the American Civil War. The early United States was a federation of colonies with vastly different types of economies. When the incompatibilities between the industrialised northern states and the agricultural slave-based southern states emerged, the south dissented and formed its own economic federation. The North saw this as a catalyst of further disintegration, so for motives none other than self preservation they endeavoured to quash the Confederacy at all cost, and they did, paying an enormous price. This is how I saw Greece’s membership in this European Economic Community panning out. Once in, there would be a devastating cost to ever getting out.

Continue reading “The Fantasy Federation of Europe” →