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ANTI-ITHAKA
If you ain’t where you are
You’re no place.
James Tate
Although Peter Pappas’ avowed intention to leave the country in protest to the results of the presidential election is his own business, nevertheless, by making the announcement public through his e-magazine column it is no longer a private matter. And so I would like to comment on it.
From my perspective too, there is no doubt that the election results were a watershed; not only for the domestic repercussions which they entail, but also for the foreign policy implications of the event—one aspect of which is that no matter where you live or visit George W. by his actions, like Cavafy’s wild Poseidon, “will be there before you”. Therefore, is leaving the country really a solution?
After all, remember another of Cavafy’s poem, “The City”:
You said: “I’ll go to another land, another sea./
A city different will be found better than this…”/
..................................
New places you will not find, nor will you find other seas./
This city will follow you. You will walk the same streets./
And the same neighborhoods you will walk;/
And in the same houses you will get grey./
Always you will find yourself in the city. Don’t hope;/
Thre is no ship to take you elsewhere, no escape./
Remember too that Athenian restaurants now are as expensive as those in New York…
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/30 at 07:25 PM I assume this comment was meant for me, Orestes, and not Apostolos Vasilakis, so I’ll respond.
Of course, you’re right: Unlike the Cheneys, I believe a “private” issue is public once it’s in the public domain. Just let me say, briefly, that my wife and I are not leaving the country to “protest” anything: we’re leaving it to protect our (increasingly fragile) sanity.
Second, I don’t believe that any other country in the world today is like the United States — that is, American exceptionalism is here with a vengeance.
Finally, as regards the relative cost of restaurants in Athens and New York, that’s not why I’m leaving, that’s not why I’m going (to Paris, in any case, and not Athens), and eating in can be as much fun as eating out when you happen to enjoy the in in which you find yourself.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/01 at 04:41 PM
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