Because we have had more than enough of the typical and simulated greetings each New Year΄s Day;greetings which very few people believe or take them seriously, I shall dare to replace these with certain pointers so that we won΄t forget who we really are where we are really going.

I would therefore like to put forward the following requests:

1st) Put down your forks,your spoons and your knives,and stop chewing everything at any time,just to forget that you exist.Now is the time to give a bit of thought as to where exactly you are going and what exactly you are doing with your lives and emotions.

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The mobile phone is not a “Greek invention”, and it was never used extensively when it first appeared in the market place approximately 20 years ago.These facts are fully understandable if one takes into consideration that Greece is not an industrially developed country,and at the same time its socio-economic structures are not comparable to the highly developed and multidimensional systems which are in place in the developed countries of Western Europe, in the United States and in Japan. Nevertheless, during the last five years, Greek citizens of all ages and economic backgrounds have endorsed the mobile phone in their every day life to such a degree that it has evolved into an addiction and a paranoia in contrast to what exists in the developed societies of the world.I assume that there are many reasons for this extreme facet concerning the use of the mobile phone in Greece;we shall examine here three of these reasons.

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The following lines from Chapter 21 of the children΄s tale “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint Exupery(1900-1944), describe the conversation between the “wise” fox and an “alien” boy,the little prince,explaining to the young boy the true meaning of life.The French writer in this story has used the personality of the “alien” boy to present us with many truths about our lost innocence and the opportunities we still have to come to respect once again the “sanctity” of life. The illustrations in the book are the writer΄s.

And he(the little prince) went back to meet the fox: “Goodbye,” he said. “Goodbye,” said the fox .”And now here is my secret,a very simple secret:It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” “What is essential is invisible to the eye,” the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember. “It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.” “It is the time I have wasted for my rose…” said the little prince, so that he would be sure to remember. “Men have forgotten this truth,” said the fox.”But you must not forget it.You became responsible forever, for what you have tamed.You are responsible for your rose…” “I am responsible for my rose,”the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

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Today, many economists and social scientists have expressed the opinion that too much emphasis has been given to the whole concept of “globalization”during recent years. These intellectuals point to the fact that in one way or another, globalization has existed since ancient times, beginning with the Persian Empires and the Hellenistic Empires, and later on the various Roman Empires. Their position could be said is an accurate one within an economic or even an administrative context, but it is not quite accurate within a socio-cultural or anthropological context. The recent version of “globalization”which was initiated by the United States after WWII, not only aimed at controlling most of the world economically and administratively, it went much further and was much more “satanic”.

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This personal letter is directed to a real live person, a very good friend for almost twenty years. We became very close friends, as well as with her husband, first of all because I gave to her two sons the best of me as their private tutor, starting from late childhood up to the very difficult teenage years. As her husband had said many times, I was a different type of teacher, one who functioned on the ideals of ancient Greece, not only promoting the sanctity of knowledge but also the importance of freedom- freedom of expression and freedom of thought. My points of reference were always the spiritual and intellectual world of the children. I do not expect my friend to read this letter, due to various circumstances, but I would like it to serve as a sociological testament concerning today΄s human “craziness” which is quickly engulfing all social groups and all families, in most of the “developed” and “developing” countries of the world. I believe that a real and personal description of simple everyday human exchanges can better demonstrate the true existential condition of society than a “scientific” study whose essence is a one-dimensional dogmatic view of life based on established norms and values.

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The following quote is a brief excerpt from the book”The Death of the Family” written by the world famous psychiatrist,Dr.David G.Cooper(1931-1986),who was one of the founders of the anti-psychiatry movement in the West during the 60s and 70s.

“One of the main functions of the teacher,then,is to progressively break down the pervading illusion of impotence.Not only in academic institutions but in every institution in our society.People must be helped to realize how the power of the ruling elite and its bureaucracy is nothing,nothing but their refused and externalized power.Then it is a matter of recuperation of that power,and the recuperative strategy is quite simple:act against the “rules”and the act itself converts the illusory power in them into real power in us”

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Having taught children and young people for the last 35 years,especially children and young people with learning disabilities and behavioral problems,I want to touch on and discuss briefly a recent phenomenon,especially in developed societies,the question of teenage addiction to “chat sites”and “chat rooms” on the Internet.They spend incredible hours every day,chatting(written form) in front of a computer screen with strangers, distorting the basic social functions of interpersonal relationships,as well as the dialectic process in human evolution.This is once again,a perfect tool of “globalization”, promoting a “virtual reality” content in the minds and souls of young people.

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