The original idea for To Kinima Tou Ethnous (KTE) was first conceived in a Chicago hotel room when a small contingent of socially conservative and religious friends gathered to discuss Greek politics and current events. Initially, our intent was to create an organization dedicated chiefly to Hellenic politics – something that would eventually grow to become an electoral player.
When that initial meeting occurred, 2024 had already ushered in significant changes that marked the end of the traditional Greece I had once placed so much faith in as a young man. It became obvious to me that many foundational aspects of Greek society were being replaced by new values that did not reflect the history or ethos of Greece. I began to believe that the Diaspora was perhaps the only group that could help save Hellas.
Unfortunately, these changes coincided with the fallout of the 2009 financial crisis, which seriously damaged Greece’s economic and political agency. Greece did not – and still does not – possess the diplomatic status to resist orders from the European Union or NATO. Not only was Greece’s traditional culture slowly degrading, but we were becoming a vassal state of the United States and Europe. Our immigration policies, same-sex marriage legislation, and response to the looming demographic disaster made the intentions of the government obvious. It was evident that Hellenic society required a profound intervention to be lifted out of its current state. More specifically, it needed an intervention from abroad – one stemming from a group who loves and respects Greece, Greek culture, and Orthodox Christianity. The Greek Diaspora is a very well-educated, well-endowed, and well-connected group of people. We have risen to the heights of business, culture, and society in every city where we have settled, from New York, New York to Oxford, Mississippi. Despite multiple generations separating our community from Greece, the Greek Diaspora has maintained a strong dedication and love for the nation of its ancestors.
Our ethnic identity and heritage have become integral parts of our personal sense of self and social lives. However, our commitment to Greece has never been truly harnessed, as multiple political and legal barriers prevent the Greek Diaspora from engaging more actively in Greek society. And yet, unlike many other diasporas who have absorbed significant assimilating pressures and separation from their country of origin, Greeks living abroad maintain a greater continuity with their homeland.
These trends illustrate the potential for Greece to resolve its chronic problems by moving toward a politically, spiritually, and geographically unified Diaspora community. Of course, this theory is not entirely novel. Many of our greatest historical figures came from abroad; Ioannis Kapodistrias was born in Kerkyra while the island was a part of the Venetian Empire, living most of his adult life within the Russian Empire. The Filiki Eteria, the organization mostly responsible for the independence of Greece in 1821, was founded in Odessa, and the revolution of 1821 itself began in Wallachia, or modern-day Romania.
Thus, Greeks have always been a diasporic people since the earliest moments of Hellenic expansion and colonization of the Mediterranean. However, the only significant difference between modern Greece and our history is the sharp decline in Diaspora involvement over the past 75 years.
This phenomenon occurred as waves of emigration from Greece brought our communities away from the Eastern Mediterranean and toward the Anglosphere, where pressure to assimilate was much stronger than in Greece’s historical diasporic communities. Although the cultural religious continuity is still very visible, much of the physical and material connections between the Greeks and second or third-generation Diasporans have slowly vanished.
However, due to the historical connections and the ever-present Greek spirit within our communities, I truly believe that a new era of Diaspora involvement in Greek politics is not only realistic, but necessary.
KTE as an organization exists to bridge that gap: to build a community of passionate, patriotic, and religious Diaspora Greeks with our people in the homeland. We are striving not only to spread awareness of Greek issues, but also to facilitate our repatriation in a meaningful way.
For too many Greeks, the idea of settling in Greece, working, and buying property, is simply not a realistic option. KTE aspires to act not only as a community-building organization, but also as a lobbying group that can pressure the Greek government to change legislation, making it simpler and easier for us to become involved in Greek civil society.
We deeply appreciate everyone’s support thus far, and we hope we can continue to count on it as we expand our influence within the Diaspora and in Greece itself.