To the Editor:

During the last few months, as we all know the Greek government is negotiating on the international scene about the name of a neighboring country which has the potential on encroaching on Greek sovereignty down the line.

One main leverage the Greek government was given is the two great gatherings of its citizens: one in Thessaloniki and one in Athens. The more people at these protests the more the leverage the Greek government has against the other side by saying: “Look, I will have a revolt in my hands if I don’t follow the people’s wishes.”

The Financial Times the day after the Athens protest had first page pictures stating: “hundreds of thousands of people in Syntagma Square…” and The Economist, February 10, 2018 edition, reported “more than a million-people demonstrated in Greece against their neighbors disputed use of the name ‘Macedonia. . .’”

Nevertheless, the chief of police in Athens rushed to report that only 140,000 people showed up and not hundreds of thousands as claimed by others. Your newspaper in the February 10-16th edition reported “well over 100,000 protesters…”

So, the foreign press says millions of Greeks are united as a nation fighting for their history and survival and yet the Greek leadership and media say only a hundred thousand or so showed up. Why?

WHAT IS WRONG WITH US?  What happened to our Hellenic culture? Do we even know what it is? I bet that less than one out of 100 Greeks worldwide know the definition of the word Hellene or Hellas, our official name. Why? That’s a complete failure of our schooling, our churches, our elders, our leaders, and everyone else who claims to be in a responsible and leadership position in our culture.

Again, I ask: WHAT IS WRONG WITH US?

Dr. Alexander G. Alemis

Chicago, IL