Q: Your Pappou left Greece in search of a better life. Isn’t KTE, as a nationalistic political organization founded by Greek Americans, going against what he left the country for by focusing on matters in Greece?

A: In general, no one has ever left Greece because they were fed up with the culture. Many people escape because they are war refugees or seek out a better life with greater economic promises. In the case of our grandfather, he left because of both.

However, when our grandparents left for America, they still considered themselves Greek and lived their lives immersed in Greek culture – leaving the soil made no difference in this respect. Greek matters have always affected Greeks worldwide, and all of our grandparents agreed with that when they were living.

KTE sees the state of America and the current situation in the Western World, and we see how the economic promises our grandparents were chasing are now greatly diminished. Now many Greek Americans crave a return to traditionalism and Orthodox spiritual life, and KTE does not believe they are easy to obtain in American society..

Q: What is the difference between a native-born Greek and a diaspora Greek?

A: There are numerous differences, both culturally and politically. Ultimately, KTE believes that Greece has rarely in its history been a state that has unified all Greek people everywhere. Although there are some cultural differences between Greeks living in Greece and those living in other countries, we are ultimately part of the same people.

There are certainly cultural differences between native-born Greeks and diaspora Greeks, due to Greeks abroad adopting traits from their host country. For instance, Greek Americans have adopted various aspects of American culture. Yet, Greeks in the diaspora still have a vision and a hope for a historical Greece with continuity from the ancient world up until today, where spiritualism and traditionalism was the dominant feature of our culture.

Today, we believe Greece is possessed by more modernism and consumerism than ever before – in other words, Western popular culture. For Greek Americans, these are concepts that weren’t present in the Greek nation our ancestors left. As such, KTE has two primary goals: to unite the Greek people with the Greek state politically, and to use the diasporic vision of Greece to inspire Greeks at home into reviving a traditional culture.

Q: How can you consider yourself part of a country unless you live there full-time or plan to live there full-time sometime in the future?

A: Because that’s not what the definition of a nation is. As stated above, residing directly within the Greek state has never been part of the definition for who is and is not Greek.

It is the firm belief of KTE that there is nothing magical about a piece of paper that says you are Greek. What truly matters is your culture, your religion, your ancestry and your language.

Through these four qualifiers one can reasonably define a nation. This is why KTE believes the millions of people with Greek ancestry living outside of Greece have strong ties to Greek society and the Greek nation.

Q: Greeks in Greece are very proud of being a vital part of the European Union. Europe has a set of beliefs involving inclusivity and free travel of persons within the European block. Is KTE anti-European?

A: KTE is not anti-European, but we believe the EU today is a counter-productive organization taking away the sovereignty of its nations. For instance, Greece’s legalization of gay marriage in 2024 came as a direct result of EU influence and from a national strategy committee headed by Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos, a former president of the European Court of Human Rights.

Greece’s decision to pass the Marriage Equality bill ignored statements made by the Church of Greece and the monastic society of Mount Athos in public opposition, consequently subordinating Orthodoxy’s place as the prevailing religion of Greece, which is enumerated in the Greek Constitution.

Why should Orthodox countries like Greece allow their values and religion to be dominated by the central government of the European Union? KTE maintains a vision for Europe upholding national sovereignty on interrelated religious and political matters.

Q: Homosexuality has been commensurate with Greece for centuries, yet KTE openly opposes homosexuality while calling itself a nationalistic organization. Why is this?

A: This is a common belief of the Western world, but it is a complete myth. In fact, many Greek city states had laws against homosexuality and several prominent philosophers have quotes condemning it.

“No one should dare have sex with the brave and free but their own wife, nor should he be allowed to have illegitimate offspring by concubines or childless and unnatural intercourse with men; even better, sexual intercourse between men should be once and for all prohibited.”

-Plato, Laws

The framing of Ancient Greece as a homosexual paradise was popularized by historian K.J. Dover, who wrote a book in 1978 titled “Greek homosexuality.” Much of the evidence he used was based on conjecture and assumptions drawn from fragments of Ancient Greek pottery and text. These theories have since been debunked and have no basis in factual reality.

KTE is against homosexuality as a political and religious matter, primarily because we believe Greece is and should continue to be an Orthodox country. As such, its laws should be made on behalf of the will of God and not of the will of its politicians.

Q: What is the ultimate goal of KTE?

A: There are two goals: firstly, to empower the Greek diaspora politically, and to give them a voice in Greece. The second is to use the energy and resources of the diaspora to revive and revitalize Greek tradition.

Q: How does a traditional culture compete with a progressive one?

A: Traditional cultures and progressive cultures are built on different sets of values. In progressive Western societies such as those found in the United States, Canada, Australia, England, etc., their culture is founded upon Enlightenment values of individualism, equality, liberty, self-determination and limited government, which arose in response to traditional values.

Greece is a traditional society based on collectivism, not individualism. Traditional societies are close-knit, and it is not the duty of the government to protect the rights of the people, but rather to protect the people themselves and to increase their wellbeing. This is consistent with Greek society being fundamentally established upon Orthodox Christianity and the past 2,000 years of Greek history being characterized by our adherence to Orthodox faith.

Elsewhere, in the Western World, the goal of society is primarily to protect people’s individual rights. KTE believes the United States and other Western cultures have done this while neglecting other deeper and more fundamental things that make up a society. By examining the fruits of Western culture, we see its modern and current values have become those of materialism and consumerism – a new American cultural imperialism.

At present, America does not spread its influence in a traditional society by the use of arms, but rather culturally through the spread of American consumerism. Today this spread has reached Greece and threatens to bring about the death of Hellenic tradition through a slow process of materialism and cultural erasure.

That is why our project, KTE, has an element of urgency to it. The Ottomans couldn’t destroy Greece in 400 years of occupation, but America is fundamentally changing Greek society and culture at an accelerating rate.

Hellenes everywhere need to re-embrace their traditional ways. Greece is not special because its people listen to American music or watch TikTok and eat hamburgers. It is special because it was founded upon values that oppose all of those things.