Marc would have understood the general impact of what is going on in Greece. This morning I just automatically expected him to text me about it, then I remembered, he’s watching it from another vantage point.
The Greek referendum is both a political matter as well as economical one. Marc cared about the political process, and I care about management (after running preschools). We were a ‘unit’, we were like-minded about what makes something run well. We had an almost perfect parent-son relationship, and it bothered us both when respected people or countries suffered deep almost fatal challenges.
In the case of the Greek vote, will they agree to stick by their new President Tsipras & almost for sure go bankrupt and set up the old drachna currency or …. will they vote ‘Yes’ and accept more bailout assistance? When people are questioned on the street of Athens many are like teens mouthing off some assumed repression by Europe & the IMF. You hear, ‘Europe is throwing us to the dogs’! Those who vote ‘Yes’ will accept new austerity and hopefully a bundling of their debts into one debt, but you hear ‘the way things are going now is ‘suicidal madness’. But you don’t hear people say, ‘we did this to ourselves’!
It’s painful to watch politicians jerk people around like that; it’s even more painful to hear what people are saying is the matter with their country! The new President got peoples confidence by agreeing that the austerity measures were too grievous, too hard to carry out, etc. But ….. he had no ‘plan’! He had charisma and went to Russia, etc to try to ‘win, impress with his sincerity’ or something but he doesn’t have a’ vision’ for bringing stability or wealth to the country.
It’s a time of crisis and they need a strong man/woman of character to lead them back, or there will be chaos. It won’t be pretty. There are other European countries facing economic problems as well, and Europe really can’t take a lot of losses. Among many issues there’s high unemployment, terrorism, an influx of immigrants, and they need leaders who will help them, people with values, vision and a solid record.
When I was in Portland I was so impressed with who I met & how things were run. The detectives, D.A., court, reporters were exemplary. There are some spots that are vibrant and healthy in the world! It says in Proverbs, ‘how can you rule a nation if you can’t rule yourself’ (family)? (Paraphrased). Marc was so cool that way, really understanding that principle. I miss that strong guy!