A Cautionary Tale

Today it is raining. As is quite usual for us, when it rains, our morning newspaper – though double bagged – gets soaked through and through. I threw it in the garbage and called 1-888–JOURNAL to complain. Their automated system gave us a credit. That did not really solve it.

Then, curiosity got the better of me. I retrieved the paper and struggled on to the opinion pages. I was glad I did. There was an article by Takis Michas entitled “Athens Descends Into Anarchy”. It began thus:

“Greece’s public debt may reach 150% of GDP this year… But in the final analysis, the major issue confronting Greece may not be its solvency, but its governance.”

It goes on, “The country is at the mercy of militant activists who are inspired by various factions of the hard left.” Then it goes on to list some of them: Greece’s Communist Party, the anarcho-Stalinist Coalition and the International Workers’ Left among these. “…their followers have taken to harassing citizens and destroying public property – even taking over whole villages.”

Mr. Michas goes on, “What stand out in all these incidents is the authorities' inability or unwillingness to enforce the law…

“Many argue that Greece’s disintegration is the unavoidable consequence of the government’s attempt to enforce fiscal austerity.” Michas disagrees. “This meltdown can be seen,” he says, “as the product of the authoritarian left’s open attempts to exploit the economic crisis and destroy Greece’s existing democratic and economic institutions. What we are witnessing is not a descent into chaos, but… into organized lawlessness; sowing pandemonium and forcing Greece to default…”

Michas states that according to polls, the Left only enjoys the support of 13% of the population. He concludes by saying, “The problem… lies with the political and ideological passivity of the parties that do represent Greece’s broader middle classes. The tolerance these democrats have shown toward their totalitarian counterparts has allowed the latter to play a leading role in shaping Greek public discourse.” Michas asks, “Do they imagine that the favor would be returned if the… Left were in charge?”

As such, this is a cautionary tale for us as well. What the people of America still fail to understand is that the ideological Left will not be content to rule over a capitalist/democratic system. They fully intend to change it and make it into their own.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/