The Greek predicament

Euro-austerity

It's no surprise am radio blames the Greeks, socialism, blah, blah.

Though I was astonished this morning when, sampling a bit of am for the first time in a long time, each of 5 stations in a row had blatherers on doing relentless right-wing blathering against Obama, against Greece, against Governor Wolf, and even against not only women's soccer (the US team just beat Japan in the Women's World Cup) but soccer in general.

US conservatives don't like soccer?

Sure.

And the US left loves it and wants to encourage its popularity here.

It's about cosmopolitanism.

But, anyway, respected discussion shows on American public radio are doing it, too.

Attacking the Greeks, I mean, blaming them.

In the latter case, it's the "big picture," pro-euro, anti-nationalist left pissed off at the more narrowly focused Greek government, trying to save the people of Greece from further devastation by the neoliberal-dominated global, German, and European banks, tools of the notoriously elite-controlled and democracy-deficited European Union.

They are much more worried about the euro unraveling, and then the European Union.

They really don't like the nation state, nationalism, and nationalist politics, especially in Europe, especially (in the end) in Germany.

Better, in the "big picture," in the eyes of this left, that Greece and the Greeks should get beaten to a pulp by the Lords of the Universe than that the European Union should be put in danger.

They seem to have no thought of blaming the bankers, bureaucrats, and government leaders who have refused to budge and have even managed just now to take a scalp, forcing the Greek PM to fire his finance minister.

That ought to be a re-assuring signal to the cosmo-left.

If he hasn't got the sand to stand up for his own team, how will he have the sand to tell them to shove it, when it comes to that?