History: the Stigma of Greek Americans

Although the actual number is unknowable, the melting pot known as the United States of America is home to approximately 340 million people. Of that total, roughly 230 million are adult U.S. citizens. If you were to poll those adult citizens about what it means to be a U.S. citizen, most would likely refer to the dictionary definition: a legally recognized subject of the United States of America. While that response is technically accurate, neither the answer nor the dictionary definition truly encapsulates the word's meaning as it was first conceived. Had you asked the same question on September 12, 2001, you would likely have received an answer that more closely reflected its true significance. On that day, adult U. S. citizens united and became a force of nature not felt since December 8, 1941.

The term “citizen” originates from the Latin word “civitas,” which means “city.” The Romans adopted the idea of citizenship from the ancient Greeks, who had established city-states in southern Italy and Sicily much earlier. As noted in the previous paragraph, the modern interpretation of the word does not reflect the original Greek understanding of what it meant to be a citizen when it was first developed 2,700 years ago.

So, how is this related to Greek Americans?

There are only about 3 million adult Greek American citizens, slightly less than 1% of the total population. In the 21st century, Greek American citizens are generally no different from the rest—they live in homes, work, raise families, and sometimes cast votes on election day. Where is the stigma in that?

My beef is that Greek Americans have a unique responsibility that extends well beyond that of other American citizens. This is because America would not exist without the generations of their Greek ancestors who fought and died for the original experiment in democracy and the right to freedom as part of their citizenship. It is an inherited responsibility, a legacy embodied in the true meaning of citizenship as it was originally intended.

 Greek Americans are the direct descendants of those who faced impossible odds when the Persian military, assembled by the Great Empire of the Orient, sought to conquer, slaughter, and enslave them. The Persian force was hundreds of times greater than their own and had never lost a battle; in many cases, its sheer size prompted surrender before a battle even began. It seemed an impossible dream for the Greeks to defeat the Persian Empire. And yet, that is precisely what they accomplished by employing strategy rather than relying solely on size and brute strength.

A decade later, the Persians returned with a vengeance and an even larger military force, supported by a naval fleet of over 1,200 warships. Once again, the Greeks triumphed against impossible odds to defeat the Great Empire of the Orient. But you protest... that was 2,500 years ago.

What about in World War I, when the Greeks joined the Allies and defeated the Bulgarians at Skra-di-Legen? This Macedonian front victory convinced Germany and the Central Powers to agree to an early armistice rather than continue to fight.

What about during World War II, when the Nazis and their Axis co-conspirators were relentless in their occupation and plunder of Europe? Once again, the Greeks declared it was better to die free than to be enslaved by the Axis.  Their stunning victory over Mussolini’s Italy forced Hitler’s formidable military machine to occupy Greece— thus delaying the Nazi invasion of Moscow, which allowed the harsh Russian winter to devastate his armies.

Most importantly, America’s founding fathers, who were students of the original democracy experiment in ancient Greece, were profoundly influenced by the lessons learned from that first instance of a state governed by its citizens. As a result, America’s Declaration of Independence and its groundbreaking Constitution were drafted using the same principles as their ancient counterparts.

Without the experiment of Athenian democracy and the compelling power awakened in the spirit of its citizens, there would be no America, no British Magna Carta, or even a French Republic. Today, there would be no stream of refugees risking life and limb, leaving everything behind in the desperate hope of finding a better life for their families under the watchful eye of Lady Liberty standing in New York Harbor. For a moment, consider what the world would be like without the influence of American democracy as a modern force for liberty.

Therein lies the stigma of Greek Americans. Now that they are third and fourth-generation Americans, with only a distant connection to their ancestors’ plight as refugees, they dismiss the honor of those family members who lived, fought, and died for that sweet taste of freedom.

Without the perspective of the Greek struggle that began in the late Stone Age, today’s Greek Americans cannot fully comprehend how fragile our freedom truly is. They assume it is their entitlement, not realizing that it stems from a 2,500-year-old idea articulated on a piece of parchment and endorsed by patriots who understood the darkness within the human psyche. They do not recognize that there are individuals right now, positioned just behind that parchment, who would betray it— seeking more power for themselves and aiming to eliminate our American freedoms. Freedoms earned by centuries of Greek blood spilled long before the parchment was ever conceived.

  Greek Americans go to work, raise their children, and lead their lives while neglecting their sacred responsibility to remind all Americans of the journey it took to get here. America is at a turning point. The latest generation of modern Americans has been born complacent— never giving much thought to the winning lottery ticket they were given at birth. Instead, they have surrendered their ultimate power to their representatives, who have become addicted to the power granted to the political class.

Americans are either naïve or in denial about the motives of those who choose government as their vocation. They presume that a legislator believes in his party's mantra and its platform's words. Today’s Americans dismiss the all-consuming obsession- once in power— to remain there. They embrace the slogan and abdicate their primary responsibility to remove those who do not fulfill their obligations to... We the People!

No other American citizen is a direct descendant of democracy’s birth or more obligated to enlighten the rest of us about the frailty of our freedom. No other American citizen has a blood legacy tied to the original struggle. Greek American citizens have neglected their responsibility to remind and urge the rest of us to defend our most precious gift.

And for that dismissal of responsibility, they disrespect every ancestor in their lineage, tracing back to the first indentured Greeks who were offered full Athenian citizenship if they became oarsmen on Athenian naval ships 2,500 years ago. Those were the first humans to make the ultimate choice that would become an American slogan: Give me liberty . . . or give me death! They were the citizen crewmembers of the ragtag Greek naval warships that defeated the Great Empire of the Orient, whose ruler was intent on dominating the world. Dripping in irony, the descendants of that very same Empire of the Orient are back today, demanding “death to the American infidel” as they stir the same cauldron— born again under the banner of Islamist fundamentalism.  

Greek Americans must embrace their role as the special protectors of the freedom bequeathed by the original free citizens— their ancestors. They must rise to their responsibility and inspire the rest of us, who enjoy this gift of freedom without fully comprehending how close it is to vanishing.

Καρδιά, σοφία, τιμή και δύναμη!