How Germany is changing Melancholic thoughts on a country that I love, but
no longer recognise. When I was a child in Germany, some things
were ugly on the outside, but pleasant on the inside. The houses they had
built after the war were ugly, as were the hairstyles, the furniture and the
fashion. But what was pleasant and plentiful were the
old houses in the cities, the winding streets, the bridges and rivers, the
fortresses and castles. The rich nature everywhere, the well-kept parks and
the large forests, the fields and the vineyards, the sea and the mountains. And people were content. Most had a job. And
almost no-one had to fear for their future, or their security, or that of
their children. There was the cold war, but it seemed remote and didn't
affect us directly. Most of all, people were more alike. Most spoke the same
language. They felt at home in the same culture. And they enjoyed the same,
principal values. Those who had come here to work and who spoke a different
language were viewed as guests, and if they wanted, they could usually stay.
They were treated with respect, and the same was expected in return. Times
are changing Today Germany has become a different place,
and it is continuing to change, permanently. The houses built today are nicer
than those constructed after the war, even if not as pleasant as those from
one or two centuries ago. The furniture is nicer, and the fashion and
hairstyles are, too. But the streets are in need of repair. The
schools are slowly falling apart. And on the pavements, in the cities, the
homeless sleep at night. Many people have worse jobs than before, and they
can afford less things that have a permanent value, like houses or flats. The
streets are crowded with large, heavy lorries with foreign license plates,
bringing goods in and out of the country, to be processed cheaper elsewhere,
with traffic jams everywhere. The parks of yesterday are barely being tended.
And outside the cities, in some forests, wolves are howling like they last
did centuries ago. Most of all, people have changed, they feel
more rushed and under pressure. Many fear for their future and their safety,
and that of their children, if they still have any. People are worried that
they soon will be owning less, and perhaps that is why some have the urge to
show even more that they do own something. Cars are larger than before, and
the people in them more aggressive and reckless. Those making the most money
take it from others unchallenged, keep some of it and hand the rest upwards. Politicians
and lobbyism In politics, those who have increasingly attained
power overestimate themselves and are more and more removed from the needs
and opinions of those who voted for them, and who in a democracy they should
naturally be representing. Instead, these people are often driven by simple
and overrated ideologies, more than ever wittingly or unwittingly adhering to
the wishes of those who, with a mixture of coddling and manipulation, have
enforced this to the disadvantage of all others. In these times of lobbyism
and one-sided medial distortion, with little balance, ethics or humanist
values, the richest of the rich reign once again. Through the shifting of political
responsibilities towards European agencies, German parliamentarian democracy
has been weakened. Through the introduction of the Euro, the possibility of a
devaluation of national debt has been taken. Through the shouldering of debt
of other European countries and private banks, every German citizen has been
made responsible for the mistakes and greed of others. And through the
introduction of an anti-debt regulation in the constitution, the path for
further privatisation has been paved. A
changing society And last of all, and again as a consequence of
political decisions, many people on the streets and in the cities don't speak
my language anymore. They don't live my culture. They don't know my country.
And many of them don't even seem to want that. Many of them have come here
because they wanted to worry less, and the rich beckoned them in because they
demanded cheap labour and uncritical consumers, and the ideologists because
they like to dream. But where all these new people should live, and where
they should work, and who should pay for everything, till and if they ever
earn their own money, no-one has ever clarified. Some of these immigrated people seem less and
less to respect my country, its people and its values, and they are changing
the tone and the atmosphere in this society profoundly. They voice their
demands loudly and take it as given that one supplies them with all of what
other people in this country have worked hard for generations to attain. In
their demands and ideas they are supported by some who are from Germany, but
seemingly don't like it very much. Most of all, no one asks if all this change is
actually deemed desirable by most of those who have been here longer.
Instead, one has imposed a unified ideological mindset on the outside and an unrefrained neoliberalism on
the inside. It is the worst of both worlds, and it destroys all that once
made up our culture. Freedom
of opinion At the same time, I have to worry about still
being able to say or write something like this. Quickly and easily words like
populism or agitation are used, and it supposedly always is about equality
and tolerance. But curiously enough, it's never about the tolerance towards
those who adhere to the common rules and laws of this society and
consistently demand that from others, too. Freedom of opinion has become a
foreign word. Instead, those who make and impose the new moral rules are
increasingly resorting to any means. One has learned very little from the past in
Germany. Under the fascists and in communist Eastern Germany, one neighbour
denounced the other, some people their own partners, and sometimes even
children their parents, because the children didn't know better and one had
told them in school that it was right that way. And always, afterwards, one
shook ones head and allegedly asked how all this could have happened. Prescribed
intolerance And now, in this country, once again
generations of people are being raised, in schools, in universities, and by
politics I don't understand, and through media that either is owned by the
state or again by the very rich. And the people today learn that intolerance
against those who think differently, who voice criticism, and therefore are
portrayed as intolerant, is totally alright.
Denunciation, too. Defamation. Isolation. Or hate and violence. In fact, much
is just like it was those times before. But today, people seem less educated,
less informed and more manipulated than they have for a long time. That scares me. Because again, most people are
just learning off by heart what supposedly is right and what is wrong,
instead of learning to think on their own. Is it in our genes? Is it our
culture? Are we, on the whole, just too stupid? It may be of advantage to
adapt and go with the crowd. But it can be really sad. And it makes life
difficult for those who aren't fooled by bread and circuses, who still have
some education and the ability to think for themselves, who can hear the
nuances and perhaps have a better feeling for the essence of things. What I am sure of, is that the only people who
really profit from all this madness are very few, very rich people, somewhere,
in a very different world from mine and that of most others. I love this country. But it is not my Germany
anymore. Your thoughts?
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