Happy Greek Independence Day !

President Trump has officially proclaimed  March 25, 2018 as Greek Independence Day, calling on the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities . I'm not sure if breaking plates is in order or what. The President praises Greece as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy, a rich and glorious heritage, resplendence of literature, philosophy, and science , yada yada , This seemed odd and I suspected there was something more to this .

Greece does celebrate winning it's independence from the Ottoman Empire in a war officially declared on March 25, in 1821. This would be a bitter pill day for Erdogan of Turkey who still represents the counter claimant of some Greek Revolution territorial claims. Erdogan has vowed to remove all foreign flags from land that once belonged to the Ottoman Empire . We expect and overlook this kind of talk from Muslim's . Turkish and Greek navies frequently face of at disputed islands in the Aagean Sea and the conflict prevents gas exploration that the Greek economy sorely needs. Turkey is presently invading Kurdistan as we speak . If Kurdistan isn't legitamate then it would be Iraq but Turkey is there. "The Republic of Turkey is a continuation of the Ottoman Empire", President Erdoğan said on Feb. 10, 2018.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras paid a visit to the White House last year. A topic I'm sure Trump and Tsipras discussed is Greek security interests . In Trumps remarks he hit on how Greece is one of the countries that has been paying their fair share in our military alliance . Trump expounded on shared values like individual liberty and democracy that are traditional Greek and American values, but not  exactly Islamic . In fact Minister Tsipras stated at the celebration in Greece today that “Greece is facing the future with optimism and is standing up as a modern, European and democratic country with social justice, equality and total respect to the freedoms of the individual” , should rightly be taken as a slap in the face to Islam  or any Ottoman Empire having aspirations of turning Greece Islamic again . 

Trump was heavy on praise of individual liberty , democracy , the ancient legitimacy of the Greek culture in his declaration. This making such a huge deal of this Greek Independence day there certainly has a somewhat subtle deeper deeper connotation it this context . Any ideas Recep Tayyip Erdogan may have been entertaining of a revived Ottoman Empire have hit a snag . It's like springtime after the Obama presidency . Happy Greek Independence Day in America !