Soultana Kalligas- Patience, Grasshopper 23012009

ATHENSPLUS • FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2009

OPINION

The superhero within BY NICK MALKOUTZIS

“It seems to me that you have found the courage that others could not find / You alone have the wisdom to take this world and make it what it needs to be, wants to be, will be.” When African-American poet, author and musician Gil Scott-Heron sang those words in 1974, he would never have imagined witnessing a week like this in his lifetime. Scott-Heron rose to fame in the 70s and early 80s for the political nature of his songs, often slamming the state of the economy, the environment and the ripping apart of America’s social fabric. Perhaps his most famous track, also penned 35 years ago, is “The Revolution Will Not be Televised.” Of course, the revolution was televised this week. We often talk about how “the world is watching.” Well, this week it was listening and reading as well. The Texas-based Global Language Monitor said that President Barack Obama’s inauguration had generated an unprecedented 35,000 stories in the world’s major newspapers, television and radio broadcasts over a 24-hour period – about 35 times more than the last presidential swearing-in. The massive global interest is proof, if it were needed, that much of the world currently sees Obama as its leader, not just America’s. Obama is a man of hope, as the now iconic poster designed by street artist Shepard Fairey has seared into our collective conscience – and this is exactly what the world has invested in him. Of 17 countries polled on behalf of the BBC World Service, an average of 67 percent of people believe that

Obama will strengthen America’s relations abroad. The watching world has also figured out Obama’s work schedule for him: 72 percent said that dealing with the financial crisis should be his priority, followed by withdrawing US forces from Iraq, tackling climate change, brokering peace in the Middle East and supporting the Afghan government against the Taliban. To say that expectations are high would be an understatement. We expect a farsighted view in foreign pol-

Path to salvation His decision to choose cooperation rather than confrontation and vision rather than narrow-mindedness has shown the way icy after eight years of myopia, so the world can be a safer place. We expect Obama to solve America’s ills, such as the failure of its financial system, so that we in turn can reap the benefits. It was illuminating to see how many of the world’s leading newspapers, such as Le Figaro, Die Welt, The Guardian, The Times, The South China Morning Post, El Universal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune all led with Obama’s pledge to begin “remaking America.” An America remade, we believe, will result in a world realigned. Like a superhero, Barack Obama must get the planet spinning on its axis again. Or, as Australia’s Daily Telegraph put it, “Barack Obama’s first task: Saving the world.”

CAPTAIN AMERICA (MARVEL) REPLICA & OBAMA: MANOS SYMEONAKIS

Yet, this disregards the whole essence of Obama’s success so far, which has been based as much on him inspiring others to exceed themselves – such as the young who took an interest in politics for the first time and the old who were prepared to trust one more time – as it has on him exceeding the expectations of others. So, the real question is not “How will Obama save the world?” but “How will the world save itself?” His decision to choose dynamism over inertia, cooperation rather than confrontation and vision rather than narrow-mindedness has shown the way. It is up to others to follow. When Obama said on Tuesday, “The world has changed and we must change with it,” it was not just a message to Americans but to the watching world, Greece included. In a week when Greek farmers geared up to take what they want by force and the government prepared to cave in, the need for change became

blatantly obvious. In a week when the government and the opposition attempted to catch each other out by paying surprise midnight visits to police stations, the bankruptcy of the status quo was clear for all to

see. In a week when a court ruling backed the legitimacy of private college education, while the government gazed at a blank slate, the danger of inaction stared us in the face. What this week should tell us is that a suited and booted superhero is not going to swoop in and make things better. Unless we also “pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off” and demand better, we are destined to live in the shadow of change. The absolute need for strength in numbers rather than the power of one was something that Scott-Heron recognized very well and was actually the subject of his 1974 song. Its title? “Ain’t No Such Thing as Superman.”

COMMENTARY

Patience, Grasshopper According to recent research by international consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Interior Ministry, Greeks spend an average of 207 hours per year waiting in lines at public service offices. No wonder I became such a procrastinator after I moved to Greece in 2007. A snail-mail thank-you note to my grandmother took a ride with me daily everywhere I went as I conjured up the patience to go to the post office for stamps. I hadn’t updated my bankbook in so long that, the next time I had it done, it took at least five minutes to print everything – adding even more to my personal average of hours spent in line. For those sharing in my suffering, rejoice in hearing that there’s a solution to public service phobia. Step 1: Be prepared to spend at least one hour in line, even if there are only five people ahead of you. Expect it

[ANA]

BY SOULTANA KALLIGAS

and you are less likely to be frustrated. Step 2: Expect to be told that you do not have all the necessary paperwork or that what you want done is impossible. Know this and you will be psychologically prepared for the inconvenience – or argument – that will ensue. Step 3:

How to achieve zen Arm yourself with a book focusing on effective interpersonal communication, which you will read as you wait in line

Arm yourself with a book focusing on effective interpersonal communication, which you will read as you wait in line. Follow these three easy steps and I promise that, when your turn comes, it is highly probable nothing that could happen will affect you negatively; you will have a perfectly zen reaction, much like the one I had the day I went to my local Social Security Foundation (IKA) office to get a health booklet. Experience had taught me that I’d be there for a while and I was also ready to be given bad news about what I needed to get done. So, after taking my number, I sat down and pulled out Irvin Yalom’s “The Schopenhauer Cure,” thus passing the time. Lost amid the exaggeratedly civilized dialogues between the therapist and his team of patients, my number was called. As the woman took my paperwork and was doing her thing, a la-

dy cut in front of me to ask if there was a chance her number wouldn’t be called. I turned to her and calmly said: “Well, that’s the IKA risk, isn’t it? You never know if you will get your work done.” She gave me a bewildered look. Undaunted, I continued, “If you interrupt the employees, they will take longer to serve me and, therefore, your turn will never come.” Since that day, with the help of prose that puts me in zen mode, my fear of running errands involving the Greek public services has vanished. So think about it: With the three aforementioned steps, not only can Greeks get all their work done without frustration, we will also be 207 hours ahead of the rest of the world in reading.

HAVE YOUR SAY Send your comments to [email protected].

11