General Political Views
This, along with my Greekness entry, is one of the most important that I've ever written. I first posted this with a regular date, but since this comprises most of my political beliefs, and since I also link to other important essays at the end, I've decided to future-date this. Please feel to read and comment on any of these, as I enjoy debating and answering questions.
This essay started out as a collection of comments in three separate threads on Facebook. Upon reading it, I decided to heavily revise it and present it in a more formal and readable manner. Hopefully, this will not confuse my readers.
Many people have tried to put me into one political category or another. I've been called almost everything: Liberal, Socialist,, Communist, Fascist and even Nazi! The last and Communist are the most ridiculous. If you were to ask me, personally, where I belong, I would tell you that, although I was born, brought up and still live in America and have no Hellenic blood, I'm strictly a Greek patriot and nationalist. But upon hearing that, most would automatically think that I'm purely a conservative. In fact, I have views from all over the spectrum. I believe in universal health care (including coverage for evidence-based natural medicine) and education and that roads, the fire department and certain utilities should be socialised. But the latter should not be universally given and paid for by all like health care and education, only controled by a single entity and given on a case by case basis. I believe that the elderly, the disabled and those who are truly poor should be able to receive benefits, although there are those who abuse them who shouldn't even get a penny. I'm also pro choice, pro death penalty and pro euthanasia (the last meaning not only the right to die but also the euthanisation of the criminally insane and babies born with severe mental disabilities which would prevent them from knowing basic things or taking care of themselves when they're older.) I also support full rights for homosexuals, women, the functionally disabled, minority religions, tobacco smokers, raw milk drinkers etc.
I find the ideas of Communism to be childish at best and insane at worst. The idea of classlessness, for example, is ridiculous in modern society. It might work for hunter gatherers and possibly horticulturalists or pastoralists, but it won't work for agrarians, industrialists or for those of us in the information age. I also don't agree with the notion of violent revolution of the workers, nor of civilians in general. While it was necessary at one time to fight (though I'd still say without violence) for worker's rights, I see unions as bloated, confusing, and often times unnecessary today. Nor do I like how people are forced to join them simply because they belong to a certain occupation. I don't approve of the way in which the American states sometimes act like little countries instead of uniting as one nation. I could never understand such a thing and believe that, local laws aside, a nation should be as one. But I don't believe in centralisation USSR style, as this is very dangerous, not to mention economically and culturally harmful. Furthermore, people should never receive the same amount of money when their work is vastly different. They should be intitled to their own private property and should be allowed to own their own companies.
I despise anarchy and don't believe in direct democracy, though that might be accomplished without the former. I'm also very much against protests and strikes wich harm the economy via blocking traffic and/or crippling the transportation system, as well as shootings, bombings and throwing rocks in shop windows etc. I firmly believe in Ησυχία Τάξις και Ασφάλεια, which translates to calm, order and security. It was one of the motos of The Revolution of 21 April 1967 and I wish it were followed more today. As for fascism (with a lowercase f, the capital being reserved for the Italian version), the term has so many meanings and has been used in so many ways that it's confusing even to historians and scholars. Here's Wikipedia's take on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism
while I can agree with some of it's tenets and think that there are times when certain ones should be applied, ordinarily, I believe in democracy, or to be more accurate, in a republic. I'm also certainly not as violent as what's depicted here, though I'm not a believer in world piece either. That is, it's a wonderful idea but is not realistic. Furthermore, I have no desire for my country to take over the world or start wars for no reason. I'm strictly a nationalist and have no time for such nonsense, being too absorbed in Greek politics to care much what others do, unless it affects Hellas.
As I said, I normally believe in a democratic form of government. But there are also times when I feel that military rule is necessary. Usually, this is the case when there is an above average level of corruption, lies and theft by the government, when most parties have become many faces of one whole, and when there are massive strikes, protests and demonstrations which run out of control with no way for the politicians to resolve them. I'm referring to Greece for the most part. America neither needs nor could handle it in the proper manner. Either the leaders would take it too far or the people would revolt and a bloody conflict or secession would insue. As it is, they're calling themselves a republic and slowly taking away rights, which is not acceptible. It's one thing to transition from military rule to democracy and slowly return rights in the process and quite another to do the reverse while claiming to still have freedom. I can think of two very successful Greek military regimes. The first was under General Ioannis Metaxas, from 4 August, 1936 until January of 1941 and the second, under Colonels Georgios Papadopoulos and Nikolaos Makarezos and Brigadier General Stylianos Pattakos, was technically from 21 April, 1967 until November of 1974, but those of us who support it put the end date at 25 November, 1973 when Colonel Papadopoulos was overthrown by the traitor Dimitrios Ioannidis. In any case, There are certain rights which, during a dictatorship, need to be suspended. These include obvious ones like freedom of speech and freedom of the press, but may also include ones which are done to cater to the supporters of the leaders. So they may strip rights for various minority groups, religious rights, rights on what to wear in public etc. All of these must be returned once democracy is restored and a good dictator will recognise that his rule is not meant to be permenant nor passed onto his children. There are also rights, such as what to do in your own home, how to raise your children (and whether you can keep them instead of having the state take them as the norm), to grow your own food, where to live, what to eat, the right not to get shot at for no reason or executed without just cause by those in power/under them, what to believe (even if you have to keep it private) etc. which should never be touched. In short, the public is a dictator's domain. The home always belongs to the people. Now am I saying that they have the right to go after innocent civilians and start shooting them for no reason? Absolutely not. But sometimes, healing takes sacrifice. Colonel Papadopoulos used to call greece a "patient in a cast". When you're in that condition, you can't go run off and do whatever. You must listen to the doctor's orders and there will be some necessary unpleasantness. Even when the cast is taken off, you should return to your normal activities slowly. But if you healed correctly, then return you shall, though hopefully much wiser for the experience. The same holds true for the return to democracy.
As for American politics, I have little to say on the matter. I don't follow them, except what I read on my friends pages on Facebook and that's hardly a good starting point to make accurate judgements. But I do think that some of their candidates need to have their minds examined, particularly those with such strong religious convictions that they would totally rewrite the constitution of their nation, ban the teaching of evolution and sexual education in schools, strip all rights from almost all minorities and force everyone to become Christians. I have no problems with Christianity, but these are hardly your average followers. I also have serious issues with radical Libertarians, with whom I've debated many times, and who would strip away all safety nets, even for the truly disabled and/or poor, and force them to turn to charities which may not even be able to afford to help them properly, since they would also have to take on the responsibilities of helping everyone else in the area. If Metaxas and The colonels, being ultra right wing, understood the necessity of social programs, what's the excuse of these people?
I don't really have much else to say, but you're more than welcome to ask questions or to ask me to clarify certain points. If you enjoy debating and are interested in my thoughts on other matters, I have written various essays on controversial and mundane topics. The full list, with a link to each, can be found here. As with this one, feel free to read, comment and share. I'm also including, in the comments to the current essay, information on both military regimes, in order to demonstrate my points on the benefits of a good dictatorship more clearly.
Essays Categorised
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150338713317371&refid=21
The following was posted as a comment after the actual essay.
Here is the comment which I promised you. I originally had this in my first essay but decided to include it separately so as not to destract my readers from the main points.
"For the record, when I say The Colonels, I'm talking about Papadopoulos, Makarezos and General Pattakos, who ruled during The Revolution of 21 April 1967. Metaxas ruled from 1936 until 1941.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_military_junta_of_1967%E2%80%931974
The Colonels and Metaxas before them also had some socialistic tendancies. Here's a bit on Metaxas, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4th_of_August_Regime
'Metaxas' government, initially unpopular, also gained popularity through an elaborate program to socialize the Greek economy, including:
• introduction of a minimum wage;
• unemployment insurance and the creation of a public employment agency;
• maternity leave;
• a 5-day, 40-hour workweek;
• guaranteed 2-week vacations with pay (or two weeks' double pay in place of the vacation);
• stricter work safety standards.
Many elements of this program persist in Greek economic policy. Metaxas' regime also founded the Social Security Institute (IKA) as well as the Workers' Center, which was established to look after workers' housing and recreation, among other things.
The 4th of August regime also initially stabilized the drachma (later replaced by the euro), which had been suffering from high inflation. Exploiting the newfound solidity of the currency, Metaxas' government embarked on large public works programs, including land drainage, construction of railways, road improvements, and modernization of the telecommunications infrastructure.'
There were some great public projects and economic miracles during The Revolution. Schools, airports, roads, hospitals, hotels,, the military museum and more were all built then. (They also brought plumbing and electricity to places which still didn't have them.) But most people don't realise that they were also the ones who started socialised education. I won't quote from this one, since it's quite long, but pay close attention to D and 11 through 15. Mostly, these deal with the economic side of things.
http://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v29/d314 "
These are the LJ links to some of those essays.
Views on The Death Penalty
http://theophania.livejournal.com/590068.html
Views on Sterrilisation
http://theophania.livejournal.com/590567.html
Views on Euthanasia
http://theophania.livejournal.com/594733.html
Views on Abortion
http://theophania.livejournal.com/596221.html
Views on War
http://theophania.livejournal.com/595917.html
Child Free
http://theophania.livejournal.com/575904.html
Femininity and Parenting
http://theophania.livejournal.com/589710.html
About Hellenic Polytheism
http://theophania.livejournal.com/596913.html
Religion in Public
http://theophania.livejournal.com/597213.html
This essay started out as a collection of comments in three separate threads on Facebook. Upon reading it, I decided to heavily revise it and present it in a more formal and readable manner. Hopefully, this will not confuse my readers.
Many people have tried to put me into one political category or another. I've been called almost everything: Liberal, Socialist,, Communist, Fascist and even Nazi! The last and Communist are the most ridiculous. If you were to ask me, personally, where I belong, I would tell you that, although I was born, brought up and still live in America and have no Hellenic blood, I'm strictly a Greek patriot and nationalist. But upon hearing that, most would automatically think that I'm purely a conservative. In fact, I have views from all over the spectrum. I believe in universal health care (including coverage for evidence-based natural medicine) and education and that roads, the fire department and certain utilities should be socialised. But the latter should not be universally given and paid for by all like health care and education, only controled by a single entity and given on a case by case basis. I believe that the elderly, the disabled and those who are truly poor should be able to receive benefits, although there are those who abuse them who shouldn't even get a penny. I'm also pro choice, pro death penalty and pro euthanasia (the last meaning not only the right to die but also the euthanisation of the criminally insane and babies born with severe mental disabilities which would prevent them from knowing basic things or taking care of themselves when they're older.) I also support full rights for homosexuals, women, the functionally disabled, minority religions, tobacco smokers, raw milk drinkers etc.
I find the ideas of Communism to be childish at best and insane at worst. The idea of classlessness, for example, is ridiculous in modern society. It might work for hunter gatherers and possibly horticulturalists or pastoralists, but it won't work for agrarians, industrialists or for those of us in the information age. I also don't agree with the notion of violent revolution of the workers, nor of civilians in general. While it was necessary at one time to fight (though I'd still say without violence) for worker's rights, I see unions as bloated, confusing, and often times unnecessary today. Nor do I like how people are forced to join them simply because they belong to a certain occupation. I don't approve of the way in which the American states sometimes act like little countries instead of uniting as one nation. I could never understand such a thing and believe that, local laws aside, a nation should be as one. But I don't believe in centralisation USSR style, as this is very dangerous, not to mention economically and culturally harmful. Furthermore, people should never receive the same amount of money when their work is vastly different. They should be intitled to their own private property and should be allowed to own their own companies.
I despise anarchy and don't believe in direct democracy, though that might be accomplished without the former. I'm also very much against protests and strikes wich harm the economy via blocking traffic and/or crippling the transportation system, as well as shootings, bombings and throwing rocks in shop windows etc. I firmly believe in Ησυχία Τάξις και Ασφάλεια, which translates to calm, order and security. It was one of the motos of The Revolution of 21 April 1967 and I wish it were followed more today. As for fascism (with a lowercase f, the capital being reserved for the Italian version), the term has so many meanings and has been used in so many ways that it's confusing even to historians and scholars. Here's Wikipedia's take on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism
while I can agree with some of it's tenets and think that there are times when certain ones should be applied, ordinarily, I believe in democracy, or to be more accurate, in a republic. I'm also certainly not as violent as what's depicted here, though I'm not a believer in world piece either. That is, it's a wonderful idea but is not realistic. Furthermore, I have no desire for my country to take over the world or start wars for no reason. I'm strictly a nationalist and have no time for such nonsense, being too absorbed in Greek politics to care much what others do, unless it affects Hellas.
As I said, I normally believe in a democratic form of government. But there are also times when I feel that military rule is necessary. Usually, this is the case when there is an above average level of corruption, lies and theft by the government, when most parties have become many faces of one whole, and when there are massive strikes, protests and demonstrations which run out of control with no way for the politicians to resolve them. I'm referring to Greece for the most part. America neither needs nor could handle it in the proper manner. Either the leaders would take it too far or the people would revolt and a bloody conflict or secession would insue. As it is, they're calling themselves a republic and slowly taking away rights, which is not acceptible. It's one thing to transition from military rule to democracy and slowly return rights in the process and quite another to do the reverse while claiming to still have freedom. I can think of two very successful Greek military regimes. The first was under General Ioannis Metaxas, from 4 August, 1936 until January of 1941 and the second, under Colonels Georgios Papadopoulos and Nikolaos Makarezos and Brigadier General Stylianos Pattakos, was technically from 21 April, 1967 until November of 1974, but those of us who support it put the end date at 25 November, 1973 when Colonel Papadopoulos was overthrown by the traitor Dimitrios Ioannidis. In any case, There are certain rights which, during a dictatorship, need to be suspended. These include obvious ones like freedom of speech and freedom of the press, but may also include ones which are done to cater to the supporters of the leaders. So they may strip rights for various minority groups, religious rights, rights on what to wear in public etc. All of these must be returned once democracy is restored and a good dictator will recognise that his rule is not meant to be permenant nor passed onto his children. There are also rights, such as what to do in your own home, how to raise your children (and whether you can keep them instead of having the state take them as the norm), to grow your own food, where to live, what to eat, the right not to get shot at for no reason or executed without just cause by those in power/under them, what to believe (even if you have to keep it private) etc. which should never be touched. In short, the public is a dictator's domain. The home always belongs to the people. Now am I saying that they have the right to go after innocent civilians and start shooting them for no reason? Absolutely not. But sometimes, healing takes sacrifice. Colonel Papadopoulos used to call greece a "patient in a cast". When you're in that condition, you can't go run off and do whatever. You must listen to the doctor's orders and there will be some necessary unpleasantness. Even when the cast is taken off, you should return to your normal activities slowly. But if you healed correctly, then return you shall, though hopefully much wiser for the experience. The same holds true for the return to democracy.
As for American politics, I have little to say on the matter. I don't follow them, except what I read on my friends pages on Facebook and that's hardly a good starting point to make accurate judgements. But I do think that some of their candidates need to have their minds examined, particularly those with such strong religious convictions that they would totally rewrite the constitution of their nation, ban the teaching of evolution and sexual education in schools, strip all rights from almost all minorities and force everyone to become Christians. I have no problems with Christianity, but these are hardly your average followers. I also have serious issues with radical Libertarians, with whom I've debated many times, and who would strip away all safety nets, even for the truly disabled and/or poor, and force them to turn to charities which may not even be able to afford to help them properly, since they would also have to take on the responsibilities of helping everyone else in the area. If Metaxas and The colonels, being ultra right wing, understood the necessity of social programs, what's the excuse of these people?
I don't really have much else to say, but you're more than welcome to ask questions or to ask me to clarify certain points. If you enjoy debating and are interested in my thoughts on other matters, I have written various essays on controversial and mundane topics. The full list, with a link to each, can be found here. As with this one, feel free to read, comment and share. I'm also including, in the comments to the current essay, information on both military regimes, in order to demonstrate my points on the benefits of a good dictatorship more clearly.
Essays Categorised
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150338713317371&refid=21
The following was posted as a comment after the actual essay.
Here is the comment which I promised you. I originally had this in my first essay but decided to include it separately so as not to destract my readers from the main points.
"For the record, when I say The Colonels, I'm talking about Papadopoulos, Makarezos and General Pattakos, who ruled during The Revolution of 21 April 1967. Metaxas ruled from 1936 until 1941.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_military_junta_of_1967%E2%80%931974
The Colonels and Metaxas before them also had some socialistic tendancies. Here's a bit on Metaxas, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4th_of_August_Regime
'Metaxas' government, initially unpopular, also gained popularity through an elaborate program to socialize the Greek economy, including:
• introduction of a minimum wage;
• unemployment insurance and the creation of a public employment agency;
• maternity leave;
• a 5-day, 40-hour workweek;
• guaranteed 2-week vacations with pay (or two weeks' double pay in place of the vacation);
• stricter work safety standards.
Many elements of this program persist in Greek economic policy. Metaxas' regime also founded the Social Security Institute (IKA) as well as the Workers' Center, which was established to look after workers' housing and recreation, among other things.
The 4th of August regime also initially stabilized the drachma (later replaced by the euro), which had been suffering from high inflation. Exploiting the newfound solidity of the currency, Metaxas' government embarked on large public works programs, including land drainage, construction of railways, road improvements, and modernization of the telecommunications infrastructure.'
There were some great public projects and economic miracles during The Revolution. Schools, airports, roads, hospitals, hotels,, the military museum and more were all built then. (They also brought plumbing and electricity to places which still didn't have them.) But most people don't realise that they were also the ones who started socialised education. I won't quote from this one, since it's quite long, but pay close attention to D and 11 through 15. Mostly, these deal with the economic side of things.
http://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v29/d314 "
These are the LJ links to some of those essays.
Views on The Death Penalty
http://theophania.livejournal.com/590068.html
Views on Sterrilisation
http://theophania.livejournal.com/590567.html
Views on Euthanasia
http://theophania.livejournal.com/594733.html
Views on Abortion
http://theophania.livejournal.com/596221.html
Views on War
http://theophania.livejournal.com/595917.html
Child Free
http://theophania.livejournal.com/575904.html
Femininity and Parenting
http://theophania.livejournal.com/589710.html
About Hellenic Polytheism
http://theophania.livejournal.com/596913.html
Religion in Public
http://theophania.livejournal.com/597213.html