sotosblog

Dear Mr. President,

The current Greek Prime Minister must have been unbearably pushy to secure an official visit to the White House –an importunate invitation seeker, no doubt; it’s not hard to tell. So, I can sympathize with your decision to give up.

Why not, one might argue. Besides,  Greece is viewed by tradition as a developed Western country of great historical significance, and one which upholds the democratic values, while maintaining strong ties of friendship with the United States. Right?

However, Mr. President, we feel you are about to welcome the head of a government whose record of a persistent rule by decree, along with a shameless defiance of Supreme Court rulings against it, has outscored within just one year in office the total of like decrees issued by the military junta during the latter’s full seven years term –the same military junta former President Clinton, in the words of the American Press, clearly suggested that the American Government had erred in supporting, in a move to defuse anti-American sentiment in Greece during his visit to Athens, the cradle of democracy, in November of 1999.

Therefore, while one might rashly imagine you are probably making for a conventional rhetoric of support, Greeks have not yet ruled out that you will learnedly rise to the legacy handed down by your predecessor, instead of keeping to a protocol quite unbefitting the occasion; and we fairly hope that you will set the record straight with your guest, at the opportunity of his visit to Washington D.C.

Please don’t get me wrong: I am not snitching on my country, but I am, rather, standing up for democracy before the eyes of the world. And I am accordingly writing to you, counting on the very words you once said to all those who wonder if America’s beacon still burns as bright today [i.e.] that the true strength of your nation comes from neither the might of your arms nor the scale of your wealth, but from the enduring power of your ideals –spotless democracy being no doubt the dearest among all of the precious rest, as you will wholeheartedly admit, I am sure.

Dear Mr. President,

One last thing before I spare you of our troubles, just in case your guest fails to bring it up during his stay there. Greeks would readily cheer if you were to throw in your weight as President of the United States on the issue of War Reparations which still stands between Greece and Germany, pending to this day since the end of WWII, as we follow an evidently fruitless policy of appeasement towards an intransigent Berlin. A simple concern and that alone, if you would express it, will do. And the world shall then echo the Greeks deeply recognizing down to their hearts the fine message you will thereby send to all who presume of you nothing more than customary impartiality, yet on an issue which historically, ethically, and even legally certainly extends beyond that and above it, as I am confident you as First American Citizen realize to the fullest.

Most respectfully,

Sotos