"300" the movie

Well, I finally went to see "300". Like most Greeks, I was curious to see how Hollywood portrayed one of our most revered heroes, especially after the botched up jobs of semi-truths and senseatinalism it did with"Troy" and "Alexander".

I was not disappointed. The tradition of Hollywood semi-truths continue in this movie, where Xerxes reminded me of the caricature of a Hindu deity and the Spartans were portrayed just one step from barbarism. Not to mention that monsterous beings abounded, giving more the sense of a "Dungeons and Dragons" game than a historic tale of valour!

Of course, I realize that the move was based on a comic inspired by the historic tale, so I will give it leeway for that. On the other hand, visual impressions stick in our memory, as opposed to historical texts that fade away right after the test, and this worries me. Not that the sight of dozens of muscular men, sacrificing their lives for their country and their beliefs was not exciting. Not that this ideological part is not the truth. It is. Generations of Greek men for thousands of years have gone off to war with the sacrifice and devotion of Leonidas vivid in their mind. The valour they inherited from Leonidas' Spartans, drove Churchill to exclaim after the resistance of the Greeks who were attacked by Moussolini in 1940, "Greeks don't fight like heroes. Heroes fight like Greeks!"

I have read several negative comments in blogs and postings, poo-poohing the idea that the Battle of Thermopylae was heroic or even true. It's a pity that present day cynicism wants to destroy anything that even smells of idealism. I resent that. I confess that I'm a hopeless idealist and have remained one no matter what life has thrown at me. I can understand how the 300 Spartans felt as they stood poised to face thousands upon thousands of armed enemies. I can only aspire to such valor and heroism and sheer stubborness in upholding my ideals.

I wanted to go into detail about the inconsistences of the movie in comparison with the true historic account, however, as I was surfing the net, I found someone who has done it better than I can! Please take a look at this blog I am linking to today, it's worth your time:

"300" the movie: facts and fiction, by Konstantinos Kyriakis. This is one of the best analyses I have found!

Slavery in the 21st Century

We live in the "enlightened" 21st Century. The time many of us dreamed about as the age where man would have matured and become just a bit more noble, caring and responsible. How wrong we were!

As I watched "Blood Diamonds" on CNN two days ago I was dumbfounded by the enormous greediness that has replaced the age of idealism we who are a bit older, grew up with in the 60's and the 70's. The report started my mind to meander back into the definition of slavery and look around a bit to find how Slavery in the 21st Century is being handled.

I found this well-researched but quite disheartening survey by BBC that I believe everyone should study thoroughly. The following paragraph stuck in my mind and darkened my soul:

"Forced labour affects millions of people around the world. It can be found in every region, in almost all countries and in every kind of economy, according to the UN. It is defined as work which is exacted under the menace of a penalty and undertaken involuntarily. Forced labour can be imposed by the state or private agents and takes different forms, including debt bondage, chattel slavery and prison labour. A growing proportion of forced labourers are victims of human trafficking."

Very sombering thoughts.

I can no longer look at the few pieces of jewelry with diamonds I own, without remembering the image of the diamond buyer, who offered one-third of the low price the African was asking for. Only ten thousand dollars for dozens, maybe hundreds of carats of the coveted stones - stones that will sell at four to eight thousand dollars per carat to the starry eyed couple who will want to buy that eternal diamond ring for their engagement.

And that is only one way man is exploiting man and keeping him in slave-like conditions. Modern day slavery takes many forms as the BBC survey shows. It exists right next door, no matter where you live. Men and women are being exploited for gain, for sex, for slave labor and probably for a host of other reasons I cannot fathom.

My thoughts went to another kind of covert slavery very few people realize exists yet in which most of us participate. I am talking about the type of slavery we are inadvertently pulled into in the modern day consumption oriented society. The type of slavery that arises from the urge to buy, buy, buy in combination with banks eager to loan us the money to feed our buying habit with, until we end up owing the value of everything we own, plus almost our entire life's earnings to the banks that so cheerfully gave us those credit cards and loans.

We live and work solely to survive and pay our bills. There is very little opportunity for the majority of people even in the so-called developed countries to actually save or invest. Saving and investing is limited to the small percentage that keeps getting richer by exploiting the rest. You don't feel exploited? When was the last time you bought something you didn't really need? For me, it was yesterday!

If you get up every morning, go to work for someone else, and your paycheck just barely covers your basic needs [and your loans] until the end of each month, then you belong to that nameless, faceless mass that falsely considers itself free. If you have not borrowed money yourself but your government has borrowed so much that each of its citizens would have to work for 30 years to pay off, you too have been indentured.

A few days ago I discussed the Mutable Multiverse. I proposed that we can change our reality by simply focusing on what we want. I still believe this. In society, however, there are group dynamics that interfere. You may be focusing on a good life for yourself and your family, but there is a whole bunch of other people who are focusing on ways to profit in every way they can from you. Which vision will prevail?