Hi all,
Today's post is written in simplified english, because this blog has finally broken the borders of the Greek country, has broken also the borders of the European Continent and has been reached at the edge of the world, up to the far East! :-P
After 8 months absence from the blogging activities, I should have many things to say from my experience of living and working in Shanghai of China! Well, I am back at home again but this time I would like to send a message to the people of PRC (People's Republic of China) :-)
Something that you may don't know is that China and Greece have much in common regarding the culture and the traditions, and that Chinese people respect the Greeks and admire the ancient greek civilization and philosophy, sometimes even more than we do! If you want to add a comment on this post, please show some respect to them too! :-)
08-08-08 was a historical date for all the mankind. It will remain as the date where China opened a window (not the door yet :-)) to the world! More than 4 billion people watched one of the best opening ceremonies at the history of the Olympic games! As a Greek, I am proud that some people (a few unfortunately) can understand the philosophy and the initial meaning of the Olympic games and the Olympic spirit. As a Chinese, you should be proud for your country too! Both China and Xi La inherited two of the oldest civilizations of the world! Even if nowadays we do not have much in common with our ancestors, it is good to get inspiration by their philosophy :-)
Many people complain and disagree with the modern spirit of the Olympics, with the unbelievable expensive opening ceremonies, with this hunt for success, glory and money, while at the same time the misery and poverty can be seen to the next door! At school, teachers use to teach us that at the ancient years, all the wars were ceased during the Olympic games and that the winning athletes were awarded olive wreaths in contrast with what is happening today, where these events are a good chance for "a few" to get money quickly and easily thanks to the evolution of technology and to the global sponsors. For most people, the modern Olympic games is one of the biggest marketing products, with more negative than positive parts for the most people of the country that hosts the games.
The example of the Olumpic games at Athens on 2004, is the most suitable for someone to claim that there is no doubt that the above opinions are (unfortunately) true. A small country like Greece, had to spend huge amounts for the Olympic games. The USA threatened that if the security was not controlled by the Americans, they should not allow their athletes to join the Olympic games. As a result, as a political scandal revealed some years later, some could spy even the personal conversations of the Greek Prime Minister through his mobile phone, during the Olympic games in Athens! Also, after 4 years, many of the constructions that were built for the Olympic games in Athens, have been abandoned and no longer exist. Now, the Greek economy is much worse than it was before the Olympic games. The cost of life has been increased dramatically the latest years, people with Master degree and PhD cannot find a job, the taxes have been increased and the economists say that the Greek people have to pay for many years in order the country to recover from the expenses of the Olympics.
After the above, you may think that I am against the Olympics.. No! I just described the dark side of the modern Olympics. Even if the meaning of the games has been lost, this should be another reason why we have to support the Olympic spirit! And the Chinese people seem that they have this spirit! They welcome you, they smile at you, they want to be friends with you! They have one dream! One dream, one world! A better world! The problem is not China! The problem is the rest of the world.. The "western world", the "modern" ones! Please, try not to be like them! Not to be like "us"!.....
/xie xie :-)
