Radicalism in Greece

A golden dawn is breaking in the stricken state of Greece.

A party of fascists and far-right nationalists calling itself Golden Dawn has broken into the national political scene in Greece during the last year.

The fact that such a party exists and garners support is disturbing enough on its own, but the story gets worse.

Of late, the party has begun managing services that the crumbling government cannot provide because of austerity measures.

Fascists patrol the streets as a perverse sort of police force, harassing and beating immigrants and those who do not agree with Golden Dawn.

They are preying on the security fears and anger of both the lower and middle classes, who suffer greatly under government austerity.

The anger of the proletariat about austerity is absolutely justified.

Austerity measures often hurt the poorest people the most, and everyone who is not already extremely wealthy feels some kind of pain from them.

Golden Dawn channels this anger into appalling xenophobic and fascist fantasies. It should instead be directed toward the corrupt elites who put Greece in this position in the first place and who are now allowing the rest of the Greek people to be punished with an austere stranglehold.

Of course, the majority of the Greek people are not to blame for these disturbing developments. Golden Dawn has bypassed democratic means of gaining power and is using ridiculous emotional appeals and intimidation to attain their goals.

Nonetheless, 22 percent of Greeks support the fascists, and that number is far too high.

The rest of Greece could suffer not only from austerity, but also from the rise of fascism that has resulted from it.

The story of Golden Dawn in Greece serves as a warning for the United States. The idea of austerity is coming to the forefront of American politics and public life.

Rising tuition costs, slashed funding for public education, downsizing or destruction of social programs — these, among others, are measures that we are told will help us pull out of our economic downturn.

The seeds of austerity have been sewn. What will we now harvest? The poor are being decimated, and the middle class is being dismantled. The rich , the very people who often influence the making of these decisions, are the only people who are safe.

Make no mistake. The blame for this damage to the lower classes sits with the
decision-makers.

It does not sit with immigrants. It does not sit with the impoverished who simply want a better life.

The American people must not fall into the same line of thinking that Greece has. We must have compassion and care toward our fellow Americans, especially those who have the least.

At a minimum, we must not allow the elites to get away scot-free from the austerity debate. We must ensure that any measures to improve our economy, spending cuts included, do not unfairly affect those who can least afford it while the few at the top are unaffected.

­— estahr@indiana.edu