1. The Pain of the Greek People Creates a
Political Tipping Point
The
pain
of
the
people
of
Greece
now
is
a
reminder
of
what
may
come
for
many
of
us
in
weeks
and
months
to
come.
It
is
reality,
the
truth
behind
the
bland
words
of
world
leaders.
For
most
of
us
in
the
developed
world
the
continuing
attempts
by
world
leaders
and
central
bankers
to
resolve
what
is
known
as
"the
Eurozone
crisis"
is
a
mere
backdrop
to
everyday
life,
like
the
hum
of
the
fridge
in
the
kitchen.
For
some
there
is
the
assumption
that
the
problem
will
be
sorted
somehow
and
normality
will
return,
for
others
there
is
the
acceptance
that
it
is
serious
and
may
be
impossible
to
resolve
easily;
more
generally
there
is
a
perception
that
if
the
Greek
debts
and
potential
for
default,
seen
as
the
core
of
the
issue,
are
managed
cleverly
the
likelihood
of
serious
repercussions
will
be
avoided.
There
are
major
flaws
in
all
these
assumptions
which
I
have
considered
elsewhere
in
other
articles.
Today,
and
indeed
every
day,
my
concern
is
for
the
brave
people
of
Greece
-­‐
not
the
politicians
there
but
the
men
and
women
who
have
been
bearing
the
brunt
of
a
crisis
largely
created
by
short-­‐termist
and
often
subjectively
motivated
European
leaders
over
many
years.
Imagine
how
you
would
feel
if
you
bought
a
paper
or
watched
the
news
and
saw
your
name
and
identity
denounced
day
after
day
and
in
excoriating
terms
for
laziness,
ineptitude
and
even
corruption?
Accused
as
being
the
cause
of
an
international
crisis?
Talked
about
condescendingly
as
if
you
were
a
child?
The
humiliation
for
a
noble
and
ancient
race
must
have
been
immense,
but
the
suffering
has
been
compounded
by
draconian
measures
imposed
by
a
government
the
responsibility
of
which
is
to
care
for
its
people;
instead,
the
Greek
economy
is
at
a
standstill,
job
losses
are
immense,
and
for
most
people
the
huge
tax
impositions
and
salary
cuts
are
unsupportable
and
unsurvivable.
There
is
great
poverty
and
suffering
in
Greece,
and
until
now
the
man
on
the
street
has
been
given
no
say
in
what
is
being
imposed
upon
his
country
and
himself.
The
people
of
Greece,
in
their
pain
and
courage,
deserved
our
compassion
not
our
judgment,
our
respect
not
our
accusations,
and
my
heart
goes
out
to
them
fully.
They
will
recover
and
be
stronger
for
the
experience
and
what
they
decide
to
do
in
the
new
era
they
create
may
be
an
example
for
the
rest
of
the
world,
as
has
happened
before.
As
they
move
forward
while
seeing
other
countries
crumble
after
them,
as
they
will,
I
wonder
how
much
compassion
they
will
feel
for
those
who,
painfully
and
cruelly,
helped
them
see
the
light?
It
was
inevitable
that
a
tipping
point
for
Greece
would
manifest
eventually
through
the
debacle
which
characterises
the
Eurozone
now.
This
time
is
a
tipping
point
for
Prime
Minister
Papandreou
who
seems
exhausted
by
the
incessant
need
to
appease
the
EU
and
also
his
own
political
party,
and
by
the
resistance
over
many
months
of
the
Greek
people
to
the
harsh
requirements
being
imposed
upon
them.
The
latest
demands
for
further
severe
austerity
measures
are
the
tipping
point
for
a
restive
population
which
is
suffering
greatly,
and
it
has
been

2. clear
for
some
time
that
the
constantly
increasing
pressures
on
Greece
for
more
debt
reduction
plans
would
become
uncontainable
let
alone
unachievable.
While
political
considerations
play
a
part
in
Mr
Papandreou's
recent
decision
to
hold
a
referendum
to
let
the
people
decide
their
future,
the
strategy
is
high
risk:
if
it
is
a
clear
choice
about
Greece's
future
in
the
EU,
the
result
is
likely
to
be
in
favour
of
withdrawal;
if
attempts
are
made
to
dilute
its
terms
so
as
to
be
meaningless,
there
will
be
huge
anger;
and,
on
the
wider
world
stage,
the
prospect
of
a
Greek
referendum
will
create
great
uncertainty
and
may,
indeed,
bring
down
the
house
of
cards
before
even
it
takes
place.
By
letting
the
people
of
Greece
decide
their
future,
the
game
of
global
monetary
chance
in
which
the
man
on
the
street
is
the
pawn
has
changed
forever.
The
leaders
of
France
and
Germany
and
indirectly
the
US
and
China
are
no
longer
in
control
of
events.
The
power
base
is
shifting
from
the
elite
to
the
community,
and
the
tipping
point
for
transformation
has
arrived.
At
last.
Article
Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/6666225
Author:
Claire
Montanaro