Greece prides itself on the strength of its democracy, but despite the number of demonstrations which have taken place outside its parliament, their politicians like to stress that modern Greeks' enthusiasm for protest shows an 'admirable continuity with the golden age of Periclean Athens'.
Is it any wonder the Greeks are upset with their present situation when their politicians are so utterly blinkered?
Richard North has followed this Greek tragedy for some time and believes Greece's association with the Euro will fail and result in problems for the UK - as if we haven't enough. Yet I agree. There are so many faults within the EU structure which have been allowed to grow out of control with hardly a word of protest from any of the 27 nations. Let's not forget the EU's auditors have refused to sign off their accounts for some years. Why isn't that a serious concern of member nations?
Also there is the 'small' fact that one of the member nations hasn't had an elected government for over a year - a record last set in November 2010 by Iraq. This does pose the question 'is government necessary' but that's for future discussion.
I'm sure many of you will be following the Greek situation with varying degrees of interest but may I suggest you read this because it's written by a Greek.
In the past few months I've read of demands to sell off Greek islands and other assets. Why not I thought, most of the UK doesn't belong to those who owned Britain of 100 years ago, but long ago the British stopped protesting at being bought out by other countries.
Many of the UK's future heritage sites are owned by foreign companies. The London Eye is one. Much of Scotland's land belongs to foreigners and we give it away regularly without a whisper of complaint.
The Greek protests are complex but they're similar to what was left to us during the Labour years. We're not in a position to criticise the Greeks.
The remains of ancient Athens will hopefully still remain in the country's hands, but who knows? Gordon Brown suggested selling off the white cliffs of Dover to raise money for his extravagance in supporting radical left-wing Labour funding lobbyists.
My bet is that the Greeks don't sell their heritage to others. They may be bankrupt but the people know what is of value to them. Their history. They'll protect that stoically and with a determination which has yet to been seen in other countries which have been subjected to the power of the EU. Ireland is but one example - with its two referenda.
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