Greece has become a joke. And a decidedly unfunny one at that.

The country is about to conduct a referendum on Sunday. The outcome may determine whether the nation remains part of the European Union and a partner in one of the world’s pre-eminent international consortiums.

How did it come to this?

http://www.macropolis.gr/?i=portal.en.the-agora.2686

It sickens me.

I’ve had the pleasure and the privilege of visiting my ancestral homeland three times. I know of the country’s rich history. I am acutely aware of the pride the Greek diaspora around the world have of this place. It’s magic is beyond belief.

Now it’s about to be reduced to a bit player, an outlier on the world stage.

The nation cannot pay its debt. Other European nations have grown weary of bailing out the Greeks. Frankly, who can blame them?

What’s more, the Greeks are letting their own pride take them down the road perhaps to further ruin.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras opposes further austerity measures designed to enable Greece to pay its debts. He is urging a “no” vote on the referendum, suggesting that it will strengthen the country’s hand and enable Greece to reopen negotiations with the EU.

All the while, the country — this cradle of western civilization — is being relegated to some peanut-gallery place on the world stage.

Those of us around the world who are proud of our ethnic inheritance are saddened beyond words by what’s happening there.

My own hope is that the majority of Greeks let some common sense rule by voting “yes” on the referendum.

As the essay attached to this post notes, the Greeks are left with two options. One of them is bad; the other is worse.