March 25, 2021, was the 200th anniversary of Greek Independence from the Ottoman Turks.
On May 29, 1453, Sultan Mohamed breached the walls of Constantinople (modern day Istanbul), ending the Byzantine Empire and thus beginning 400 years of Turkish occupation and rule over the Greeks.
The Greek people were veritable slaves of the Turkish colonialists and entered a period of darkness, as their Orthodox Christian faith and education was outlawed.
The Greeks would not be deterred. The Orthodox Church and the clergy played a tremendous role in keeping their Christian faith alive and resorted to teaching the faithful at night, even in hidden caves.
Finally, on March 25, 1821, the yoke of subjugation was thrown off. The Greeks reclaimed their nation and began building a modern democracy. Harkening to ancient Greece as “the cradle of democracy,” Greeks like to say they invented democracy.
What does this have to do with Convention of States?
Quite a lot. Read on, because it may sound a lot like America in 2021.
After 400 years of enslavement to the Turks and 160 years of hard-fought independence, Greece gave away their sovereignty by joining the EU in 1981.
The Greek people survived World War I, World War II, and a post-war communist revolution. Then their politicians voluntarily subjugated themselves to the bloated bureaucracy of Brussels.
The Turks continue sabre rattling at the northern border and in the Mediterranean to this day. The fall of the Iron Curtain saw an influx of migrants from neighboring northern countries like Albania and Bulgaria.
Unrest in the Middle East and Africa since the 1980s provoked unfettered migration from the east and south, resulting in the current refugee crisis.
According to reporting from The Guardian, more than 42,000 men, women and children are estimated to be in overcrowded refugee camps on the islands of Lesbos, Samos, Chios, Leros, and Kos. Those refugees are forced to remain on the islands until "their asylum requests are processed by a system both understaffed and overstretched."
Sound familiar?
Socialist governance in Greece grew through the 1990s. The Greek economy was at the precipice of financial bankruptcy because of socialist public policy, like “free” healthcare and generous government retirement plans (think Social Security) along with a bloated bureaucracy.
The Greek government was forced by their EU partners to adopt “austerity” policies in 2010, which led to mass unemployment and civil unrest.
Upon my last visit to Greece in 2012, my Athenian cousin told me, “Greece isn’t Greek anymore.” In the Spring of 2012, anarchists were taking to the streets of Athens regularly. Our hotel overlooked Parliament Square where police in riot gear stood vigilantly 24/7. The public plaza was festooned with graffiti and broken marble from the nightly rioting.
Like Americans, Greeks are a proud people. I am doubly proud to be an American of Greek descent. My paternal grandparents arrived at Ellis Island on July 1, 1922, from Thessaloniki (Alexander the Great territory).
My maternal grandparents arrived at Ellis Island on November 15, 1931, from the island of Lefkada. As most immigrant stories go, they were coming to America for a better life, safety, and sustenance. Tune in for more on that in a future episode.
As I read a few articles today about the commemoration of Greece’s 200th Anniversary of Independence, I marvel at the parallels between our nations.
Greece is known as the cradle of democracy, while the United States is known as the birthplace of modern democracy. The United States fought a revolutionary war to throw off the yoke of a tyrannical king, then fought a Civil War that ended the scourge of slavery.
Now, after 245 years of independence, we see the bloated bureaucracy of the swamp in Washington, D.C., politicians and activists threatening tyrannical one-party rule, a daily deluge of social anarchy, and chaos at our southern border.
Daily news reports bring stories of politicians and institutions seemingly competing with each other to give away our hard-fought independence and sovereignty.
I reflect upon my cousin’s musing. Is America “American” anymore? Do we hold fast to the uniquely American self-evident truths of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?
Do we as Americans eschew the bonds of tyrannical government and unelected bureaucrats? Do we strive to be the nation entrusted to us by our Founders in the U.S. Constitution? Do we proudly declare another uniquely American epithet that all men are created equal?
Will Americans rise to fulfill Abraham Lincoln’s challenge?
“…that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Gettysburg Address
November 19, 1863
Lincoln further declared in the Gettysburg Address:
“Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.”
Will America endure? She must. I have faith that America will remain American.
Citizens concerned for the future of our nation--under a federal government that's increasingly bloated, corrupt, reckless, and invasive--have a constitutional option.
We can call an Article V Convention of States to bring power back to the states and the people, where it belongs. Be a 21st Century patriot. Join us and sign the petition at www.conventionofstates.com.
