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Mikis Theodorakis answers Justin Goldner

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Author: Newspapers

Publishing date: 06.08.2004 16:54

Mikis Theodorakis felt so concerned that he wrote a long letter to a young American student from Philadelphia.

On 20 July, a young musician addressed to Mikis Theodorakis in the Guestbook of our Theodorakis Homepage about his declarations on the War in Iraq.

Mikis Theodorakis felt so concerned that he wrote a long letter to this young American student from Philadelphia.

Both texts have been printed in a Greek and an English version ("Kathimerini" - "New York Herald Tribune", 29 July).

It is important that these letters be known worldwide. Therefore we publish them on our Internet site.

‘‘Play your part. Realize your power and resist. You are the hope.’’

(Title chosen by "Kathimerini")

The statements about “Bush’s America” that offended you so much were made, naturally, in the heat of the moment, as I was watching on television the terrible bombing of Baghdad, an image of biblical catastrophe.

It was understandable that my statements reflected all my indignation, the injustice that was overwhelming me, my horror at the mutilated children, the justifiable – completely justifiable – rage that we all felt and of course our demands that the crime stop and that the perpetrators be punished.

Before I talk about the real image I have of your country and its people, I want, first of all, I to remind you that these generalizations and identifications of leaders with their countries is a common phenomenon, especially under conditions of historical intensity: for example, Pericles' Athens, Roosevelt's America, Stalin's Russia, Mao's China, Castro's Cuba, etc. We say that “the Italians” attacked us during World War II, that “the Germans” occupied us, and you say that “the Japanese” attacked you at Pearl Harbor.

There are many such examples of the identification of an entire people with a leader, for good or for bad. Subsequently life reveals that the particular people had their own opinions and their own objections to the particular leaders. In any case, willingly or unwillingly, they were identified with them.

They say that the images of the bombing of Baghdad and of the dead and mutilated children never reached the American public, with the result that these statements I made did a lot of damage to me and to my image among the majority of Americans who not only did not identify with George Bush, but many of whom fought strongly for peace.

However, I still do not regret these statements, even though they were formulated with the – unjust to some of you – generality I referred to above.

Most of us here in Europe recognize that the high percentage of support for Bush, from which it appears that the vast majority of Americans identify with him, is due partly to the traditional respect Americans feel for their constitutional symbols, particularly in a time of war; but above all to the obvious brainwashing they’ve been subjected to because of an unholy alliance of reactionary circles in the US, circles - which unfortunately control, at the present moment, the economy, the Pentagon, the White House and the major sources of mass communication. A brainwashing that was ultimately transformed into ideological terrorism.

I believe that today humanity remains speechless at the unprecedented phenomena such as that of the highest public officials who, without attempting to hide it and without shame, admit to being major shareholders in oil companies that lay claim to the Iraqi oil deposits and for that reason send 500,000 American soldiers to destroy a country and a nation for the sole reason of enriching themselves. An open and shameless commerce in blood, before the astonished eyes of the peoples of the universe!
US Vice President Dick Cheney and a number of other representatives and agents are doing business, disgracing their institutions with lies, distortions, threats and pay-offs. Deceiving the American people and disdaining international law, they use the military superiority of the USA to murder entire nations, simply so that they and their ilk can benefit financially.

This image, that is projected abroad by a great country like yours, is certainly unique in history. The problem, of course, is how this group with its racist, reactionary, and even, I might say, fascist perspective came to the summit of power and to be able to sit on the back of this great country with such democratic traditions.

In any case it is true- and this is something that the ideological leaders of the governing elite have stated - that Iraq is just the beginning. So we must expect new wars, until they have achieved their fundamental goal: that is worldwide military domination, as the foundation for economic and political control. The dreams of the 21st century “Made in America” conquerors which, if you scratch the surface, will reveal the same disgusting faces as various former barbarian conquerors, who, guided by similar plans and dreams, spreaded fire, iron, dead and ruins in their wake, just as is happening in Iraq.

This is what the people of Europe saw and that is why, with an unprecedented participation that reached 98% they poured out into the streets to shout their opposition to the war and their love for peace. This image of the people still exists today. It is a simmering fire, ready to burst into flames at any moment. Let us not be disoriented, then, by the image of relative calm which is due chiefly to the fact that the leaders of Europe could not express the will of their own people. It is true, however, that even these people, deep down, share the great fear which above all shapes the attitude of the European leaders towards the US in the face of the colossal military and economic strength of the only superpower and of the looming threat of reprisals.

Today governments and peoples are terrorized – this is the reality.

And I believe that this is what should interest and concern the American people most- the fact that the country that made such sacrifices and such great efforts for freedom in the last two great wars, functions today in the consciousness of the peoples of the world, and especially of Europe, as an aggressive power that sows fear around it, in a word, which is terrorizing the world.
Yes, Mr Bush, who sucks on the candy of terrorism from morning to night, operates, in the consciousness of the free people, as an arch-terrorist. He, who is supposed to fear weapons of mass destruction, has in his hands a thousand times greater means to wreak destruction of biblical proportions, and which he does in fact use against women, children and entire countries, as the rest of the world watches live images of the general slaughter in direct broadcasts on TV. Really, such hypocrisy!

But unfortunately, this is the reality. At this moment, peoples and governments are frozen by powerlessness and fear. Don’t think that the smiles of the various leaders who visit the White House indicate accommodation with Cheney’s plans.

Of course there are leaders who disdain the will of their people. But the majority pay their respects out of fear and calculation. You see, President Bush holds missiles in one hand and dollars in the other, Do you like this image?

Personally I have been and continue to be a great admirer of the American people. I am familiar with the social and national struggles they have made to achieve political, economic and social rights.

Moreover there are also the millions of Greek Americans like a living channel between the US and our country, so that we are fully aware of the positive and wonderful things that have happened there until now, in science, in art, in culture…

Concerning culture, where to begin and where to end? The novel, poetry, music, dance, cinema, painting, sculpture…how beautiful America was when all these arts were flourishing with international brilliance and influence! Even more, I should say, I admire your popular music from jazz to ballads to rock music.

I have often said it and I will say it again: America today is so strong, so capable, but also so rich from every perspective that it could, by means a simple decision, fill the universe either with complete happiness or complete misery. Unfortunately for everyone, for the time being it has chosen the latter.

Having said all this I wish to conclude by saying that right now my thoughts are turning again towards you Americans. You already did it with the Vietnam War, where you, the people, and above all the youth of America joined together decisively in tough, mass struggles, day in and day out to put an end to that unjust slaughter.

But today, as I said, the peoples of the world feel paralyzed, weakened. Their leaders are a loss. Everyone is waiting for something worse, a new conflict, a new bloodshed, without being able to do anything to stop it, because everyone depends, in one way or another, on the Colossus, before which they all tremble.

This is why I believe that in this nexus of forces, opposition and international balances, the one force capable of reversing the negative position and image of the US is the American people itself.

You write that I should not blame the
whole American people for the politics of Bush, which means that some – many – disagree with it. But this depends on you. On how strongly you can make your presence felt. Where are you? After some demonstrations during the early phase of the invasion of Iraq, instead of your opposition growing stronger every day, I hear no more about you. However the “delivery” of Iraq and the chaos continue, and there is a continuing risk that other countries might be Ťliberatedť, as members of your governments assure us.

Apart from the thousands of Iraqis I spoke about earlier, 151 of your soldiers lost their lives in Iraq. 151 American mothers lost their children. Why? Was their country in danger? The “reasons’ for the war were revealed to be brazen lies. In England, the man who revealed this was found dead. What are you doing?

You write that I should not hate all Americans. I don’t hate them. You, who disagree with all this, we feel with you, we’re on the same side. We believe in you. But play your part! Be conscious of your strength and resist. Not in the next election. NOW! With every legal and peaceful means at your disposal. You are the hope.

By means of resolutions, demonstrations, public meetings, which should grow larger and broader every day, you can lay the foundations for the overthrow of this gang that, with one quarter of the votes of the American people, has turned the USA into an aggressive and barbarous power that sows tears and suffering throughout the world and terrorizes ordinary people. The whole conspiracy is being revealed right now as reports emerge of the lies about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction.. Blair's chair is shaking, Bush's popularity is waning.

A few days ago in the New York Times, an air force officer named T. Mike Mosley revealed that the war in Iraq had essentially begun a year ago with bombing raids to destroy select targets in order to paralyze the defense system of the Iraqi army.

He also revealed that for every bombing raid, in which it was forecast that at last 30 women and children would be killed, the approval of Donald Rumsfeld himself was required. This gentleman approved fifty such raids.

I believe that these facts, which are gradually coming to light within your country will help the large majority who have blindly followed Bush to finally see the reality of the situation.

Finally, with your votes, you must drive out of office this gang that has shamed the history of your tradition, terrorize and brazenly spread death and catastrophe, changing the face of your country, damaging the image of American in the eyes of the world.

You have only to lean towards the sources of humanitarian and democratic tradition among the founders of American independence to realize the extent of the destruction which is going on today to the image of your country and reputation.

By helping it to go back to the road of peace and respect for the rights of all men, all over the world, you will be helping both yourselves and all of us who like me, have shed our blood so that Hitler’s fascism would be defeated. Which is why we love viscerally, passionately, freedom, democracy, human rights, and above all peace.

Mikis Theodorakis
Athens, 21.7.2003

Based mainly on the translation from Greek by Š Gail Holst, July 2003

Justin Goldner's letter

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