Many countries have in one way or another adopted something similar, Haiti exactly the same.
In essence these three words are the quintessence of modern day cohabitation and, to a large extent, they can be seen reflected in the global community:
liberte: I can speak freely, to anyone, to the world (well, most of the time, anyway...)
egalite: we are equal -- just check this when you are on-line, say even in a bog standard forum; we are equal!
fraternite: when an e-friend was undergoing a major operation, I wrote mentioned it online. Hundreds wrote back to say they are praying, thinking and supporting! Not important, you say, what counts is the doctor who performed the operation (open heart surgery).
Wrong: the patient was reading all of this, his courage rose sky-high. It is no small thing to know that someone half way around the world is thinking of you...
Speaking with a friend, he claimed that in Greece, this motto has been abandoned politically. Whether it was ever a la une is unknown. "Suffice it to say" he said "that it certainly does not apply in this hard-line stalinist Soviet country":
liberte: OK, no problem, as long as you say what we prefer, OR no-one listens to you (whereby, say whatever you like). Liberte of action is less open: business etc is grudgingly tolerated, small-scale. For large scale, the politicians in power must be made privy and party to the project and expect part of the action.
egalite: there is us and them. Politicians in Greece and civil servants are allowed to receive kickbacks. For the rest of the population, this practise is called fraud. Politicians are also unaccountable for their actions, which makes things even more pleasant. So egalite only for politicians, between them.
fraternite: you kidding me???? The spoils are for me, my close family, and friends, all within the political establishment. There is us and the rest. Fraternite... really!
An interesting view on the present day of the country that invented democracy and which, in the year 2k had near-triple the per capita of its huge neighbour, an empire not so long ago (Turkey).
Now Greece is distinguished by the 5th highest worldwide unemployment rate, it has received the largest amount of foreign aid ever recorded in the world history, it has numerous opportunities for growth yet chooses to elect a prime minister whose conduct and declarations remind us more of parodied African chieftains than a contemporary leader of the western world.
The only consolation for contemporary Greeks is to look back at what their country once used to be.
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