Alexi Giannoulias: Hope for the future

Alexi Giannoulias: Hope for the future

Dear friends,

With exceptional joy we watched last week a dynamic and very promising member of the Greek-American society announcing his candidacy for the U.S Senate in the upcoming 2010 Elections.
Alexi Giannoulias, 33, serving as Treasurer in the State of Illinois, the youngest elected politician in the US, declared himself ready to claim the seat in the U.S Senate held until last year by Barack Obama.
As Omogeneia, it is very important that we support Alexi's campaign with our vote and financial contribution to the extent possible. If elected, he will be the second member of our Omogeneia, besides Republican Olympia Snow, to hold a seat in the 100-member Senate, the most important executive branch of the country, since the retirement of Democrat Paul Sarbanes in 2007.
Giannoulias
Regardless of our political conviction, his success is relevant to all of us for not only he is going to strengthen the Greek voice in the American decision centers but mainly because he expresses the idea of change for a better future in the country.

He aims at the future while respecting the traditions and values of the land. The U.S has been a beacon of hope for millions of people searching for new opportunities and hope in their lives; it has been a beacon of hope and the "promised land" for most Greek immigrants such as Alexis' parents. Alexis draws his inspiration from his parents; he opened his candidacy speech with a reference to them that touched us all:
"My parents came to this country as Greek immigrants with no education, little money but a belief in the promise of America - that if you were willing to work hard and make sacrifices you could accomplish anything. To preserve that promise and change our state and country for the better, I am running for the United States Senate seat once held by my friend and mentor, President Barack Obama.�
The American President inspired him to devote his career to helping and offering his services to the public with the simple but strong conviction �that it was possible for good people to build a state and a nation where everyone, not just the privileged few, had a very real chance to succeed�.
Alexi Giannoulias' vision sums up to a new politics, "the politics of the future", which will "bring back the integrity of the process of doing politics" by opening - as he promises - a large new chapter in the history of the U.S. He places his emphasis on issues having to do with education, equal opportunities for everyone, public health, the environment, alternative energy sources, transparency and changes for the recovery of the economy.
We indeed live in a time that is crucial for humanity's future as we experience the collapse of the old way of doing politics, the financial structures, as we know them, and are at the threshold of big changes on an international level and in all expressions of life. We need to re-introduce to our everyday life the eternal Hellenic values of human dignity, freedom, democracy, justice, peaceful coexistence; we need to use reason, dialogue, offer equal opportunities to all, and be in harmony with the environment; most importantly, we must have love in our heart for if we influence our part of the world with it, then the entire universe will be also influenced as we are all part of it.
Alexi and President Obama share a daring vision for the future, adopting new ways of doing politics so that this country may once again become "the land of opportunity and prosperity". As he characteristically said in his speech: �We are at a seminal moment in this nation's history, where the decisions that are made over the next few years will shape our Nation for generations�.
Young people like Alexi express the necessity for a more humane society and the optimism for a better tomorrow for all. His candidacy makes us all proud; his election will encourage the younger Greek-American generation. Let us support him, by supporting the future of Hellenism in America but also the future of this hospitable land.

Theodoros G. Spyropoulos



The World Council of Hellenes Abroad, known by the acronym SAE, is 5O1C3, not-for-profit, non-governmental organization, recognized as the formal link that unites world Hellenism and represents Hellenes worldwide before the Hellenic State.

Alexi's roots
mother
Alexi Giannoulias was born on March 16, 1976, in Chicago, of Greek immigrants. His mother is from Chania and his father was from Kalavryta. He speaks Greek and is proud of his Greek origin and roots.

He emphasized in his speech that his parents taught him that in a crisis you have two choices: "Sit back or stand up. And they didn't cross an ocean to sit back. But for too many, for too long, it's been too easy - to complain, to blame others, and to sit back.... But maybe, just maybe, out of the daunting and intimidating problems that plague our nation, we have a once in a lifetime opportunity for a generation to stand up and lead us into a new future."

In a recent interview he said: "I owe my public career to my parents, and I shall always have the opportunity to help my parents' land. In my heart, I hold dearly my parents, Greece, Cyprus and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and as another Alexander, I love Macedonia, motherland of Alexander the Great."


Obama

American President Barack Obama has been and continues to be a mentor, friend and inspiration to the Greek politician.

He was elected State Treasurer of Illinois in 2006 with the encouragement of the then Senator Barack Obama, for the election campaign of which he had worked in 2004, when Obama was running for Senator.

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