Post by elreinh38 on Nov 16, 2011 20:42:43 GMT -5
A nation is successful only after years of struggle and determination. In The Rites of Assent, Sacvan Bercovitch discusses how the Puritans’ process of building their nation consisted of three stages: migration, discipline, then, progress. In Europe today, we see these three stages again as many European countries attempt to save their collapsing economies. Europe’s economy is in crisis due to high federal debts, weakened banks, and struggling governments. In Italy and Greece, the economic troubles have hit hardest as a result of the huge debts these countries carry, and their governments’ failure to address them early enough. The lack of fiscal discipline in the governments and among the people of these two countries has created a wave of problems. It has made the prospect of progress impossible for the time being, and has forced both countries to recognize a need for change. Italy and Greece, because of their lack of discipline and therefore inability to progress, show the need for a process of migration similar to that of the Puritans in order to keep their countries from failing.
Both Italy and Greece, in the past several weeks, have realized their dire situations and have decided to make changes in their governments to save themselves. In Italy, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi quickly lost support to Mario Monti, a former European Union commissioner, and has now been replaced by him. In Greece, Lucas Papademos, former vice president of the European Central Bank, has been chosen as an interim prime minister of a new government determined to save Greece. In both cases, respected economists are taking control, a drastic shift from the elected politicians who previously held office. As both governments change, the countries are migrating; they are leaving an old government and searching for something new that can help bring them out of this crisis. The previous governments of both countries failed to install the necessary measures needed when they realized that their countries were failing. This lack of discipline in the government led to not only failure to progress but worse, to a crisis.
As both countries take their first step towards stability through migration, Bercovitch’s next stages are ushered in. The new governments’ plans for helping the failing economies are different from anything that the previous leaders tried. In The New York Times, Rachel Donadion commented that, “The question now, in both Italy and Greece, is whether the technocrats can succeed where elected leaders failed — whether pressure from the European Union backed by the whip of the financial markets will be enough to dislodge the entrenched cultures of political patronage that experts largely blame for the slow growth and financial crises that plague both countries.” The changes that will be necessary to help these two countries out of their economic crisis will need to be drastic and new. Discipline has to be forefront in the steps needed to revive both countries. Lack of discipline caused the crisis and now, discipline of the people will be the only way to help them. As Bercovitch described, the first two stages are the only way to reach the third stage, progress. Italy and Greece face troubles very different from those of the Puritans, but their journey to first, progress, then to a successful nation, is similar.
Word Count: 544
Donadio, Rachel. "Greece and Italy Seek a Solution From Technocrats." The New York Times 10 Nov. 2011: n. pag. NYTimes.com. Web. 12 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/11/world/europe/greece-and-italy-ask-technocrats-to-find-solution.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&sq=Greece%20and%20Italy%20ask%20technocrats%20to%20find%20solution%20to%20their%20financial%20crisis&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=1&adxnnlx=1321119259-zdgkV0wdYuofN/QQ2vK5wA>.
Both Italy and Greece, in the past several weeks, have realized their dire situations and have decided to make changes in their governments to save themselves. In Italy, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi quickly lost support to Mario Monti, a former European Union commissioner, and has now been replaced by him. In Greece, Lucas Papademos, former vice president of the European Central Bank, has been chosen as an interim prime minister of a new government determined to save Greece. In both cases, respected economists are taking control, a drastic shift from the elected politicians who previously held office. As both governments change, the countries are migrating; they are leaving an old government and searching for something new that can help bring them out of this crisis. The previous governments of both countries failed to install the necessary measures needed when they realized that their countries were failing. This lack of discipline in the government led to not only failure to progress but worse, to a crisis.
As both countries take their first step towards stability through migration, Bercovitch’s next stages are ushered in. The new governments’ plans for helping the failing economies are different from anything that the previous leaders tried. In The New York Times, Rachel Donadion commented that, “The question now, in both Italy and Greece, is whether the technocrats can succeed where elected leaders failed — whether pressure from the European Union backed by the whip of the financial markets will be enough to dislodge the entrenched cultures of political patronage that experts largely blame for the slow growth and financial crises that plague both countries.” The changes that will be necessary to help these two countries out of their economic crisis will need to be drastic and new. Discipline has to be forefront in the steps needed to revive both countries. Lack of discipline caused the crisis and now, discipline of the people will be the only way to help them. As Bercovitch described, the first two stages are the only way to reach the third stage, progress. Italy and Greece face troubles very different from those of the Puritans, but their journey to first, progress, then to a successful nation, is similar.
Word Count: 544
Donadio, Rachel. "Greece and Italy Seek a Solution From Technocrats." The New York Times 10 Nov. 2011: n. pag. NYTimes.com. Web. 12 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/11/world/europe/greece-and-italy-ask-technocrats-to-find-solution.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&sq=Greece%20and%20Italy%20ask%20technocrats%20to%20find%20solution%20to%20their%20financial%20crisis&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=1&adxnnlx=1321119259-zdgkV0wdYuofN/QQ2vK5wA>.