All those who lambaste the political system for its failure to produce an Obama for Greece would rather hand air time over to his absolute opposites, every night.
Okay, we get it! Greece does not have politicians that can measure up to Barack Obama.
Does it have a university like Harvard to educate the student that may one day become something of an idol?
Or does it have anything like the Harvard Law Review, which would allow a young man to get his teeth into the meaty tasks that would help him become like Obama one day?
What about non-governmental organizations of the sort that the African-American senator worked at as a young man, acquiring his first brush with politics in the ghettos of Chicago?
And let’s not forget so much of the Greek media, which laments and decries the absence of a leader like Obama in Greece? Shouldn’t they be asking themselves: Do we have the media outlets that would seriously address the kind of political proposals put forward by Obama? Or are we stuck with many different versions of the National Enquirer, with news outlets that deal with politics only when there’s scandal involved?
Sure, Obama is a wonderful phenomenon but he did appear out of the blue.
He did not even manage to emerge from a system similar to the Greek one.
Because the Greek political system (lamented by the talking heads for not producing anyone like Obama) is not an isolated island in a sea of meritocracy. It is not a dot in the white paper of the media, of Greek business and Greek institutional bodies. It is a product of these factors. As far as nepotism goes, of course it’s rife in politics but have we taken the time to address the flaws of Greek universities or even of the Greek media?
There may just be 300 people in Parliament but there are thousands involved in politics in Greece. Statistically, one of them may very well be like Obama. Perhaps there’s even more than one. Without doubt there are people with good ideas, interesting proposals and alternative plans for exiting the multifaceted crisis we are experiencing. Wejustdon’tknowwhotheyare. You see, all those who lambaste the political system for its failure to produce an Obama for Greece would rather hand air time over to his absolute opposites, every night. They prefer the babble of vapid politicians than moderate political rhetoric which fails to increase ratings or to drum up amusing antics. And even when someone says something even moderately reasonable they go unnoticed or, worse, are ridiculed: “What’s with that guy?” “What planet did he come from?”
The idlers have it right after all. Because chances are – and this is a terrible realization – that all those looking so anxiously for a Greek version of Obama will only eat him alive if he ever does appear.
Published in Kathimerini newspaper 11.11.2008
