Political Ash Wednesday in Germany

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It’s a typical day in Berlin. Specifically, in the Reichstag Building at Brandenburg Gate. Politicians from both sides of the spectrum- the ruling coalition on one hand and the opposition on the other- convene to discuss (and dispute) laws and regulations designed to keep people safe and regulate businesses to make Germany a better and more attractive place for residents and visitors. There are some critiques and sometimes political insults- especially against the right-winged Alternative for Germany (AfD). But nonetheless, business is professional and the laws are passed or rejected without much fanfare.

That is unless it’s Ash Wednesday and you find yourself in Bavaria.

Every year, each political party to their quarters in Bavaria. There, the boxing gloves go on, the beer is flowing from the barrels, the crowds go wild and each of the prominent politicians have at it on the mikes- free-wheeling insults thrown at other political parties and certain people, complaining about the problems that Germany is facing and trying to rile up a jam-packed audience who in the end jeers, boos and hollars at them, while holding up the beer steins, the beer filled to the brim and spilling over.

Every year since 1946, Germany has held its annual Political Ash Wednesday rallies, where parties gather to Bavaria to unload their frustrations that had been brewing for the past 364 days. Yet the origin of this event goes a lot further back- specifically, the 16^th century.  In 1580, farmers convened on this day to the market square Rossmarkt in Vilshofen/Danube to discuss and complain about the current events and other items affecting their business. The politics of Bavaria and later the German empire were added to the mix in the 19^th century. Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist Party (NSDAP) used this day to convey his message of a pure Germany, which garnered thousands of supporters and paved the way to his claiming power in 1933. He kept the tradition until World War II broke out.

After the war, the tradition was revived in 1946 and in the same city as in the past. For the first six years, the Bavarian Party (BP) was the only party that kept to its original tradition, yet in 1952, the Christian Socialists (CSU) joined the fray as an attempt to steal away supporters from the BP. The Social Democrats joined the rally in 1965 with their own agenda, but being held at Wolfersretterkeller in Vilshofen. As of today, eleven parties have held this traditional rally in Bavaria but in different cities:

Free Democrats (FDP): Joseph-von-Fraunhofer-Halle in Straubing

Green Party: Landshut

Left-wing party „Die Linke”: Passau

Ökologische Partei (ÖDP): Passau

Republican: Geissenhausen

Pirate Party: Straubing

AfD: Osterhofen

The CSU has held their rally at Dreiländerhalle in Passau since 2004 as it can hold up to 6000 guests. Passau has become the main attraction for the rallies for half the parties have met there to express their colorful views to their delegates and supporters.

However, the Political Ash Wednesday events can also be found on the national level. For the past two decades, one can find such events in Apolda (Thuringia), Marne (Schleswig-Holstein), Volksmarsen (Hesse), Fellbach (Baden-Württemberg), Recke (NRW), Demmin (MV), Biberach an der Riss (BW) and Wallerfangen (Saarland). Biberach is the meeting point for the Greens and Wallerfangen for the Linke. The Christian Democrats (CDU) have held such events in more than one of the aforementioned cities.

If there is a comparison for Political Ash Wednesday, one could do so with the Presidential Campaign in the United States in general. We mustn’t add Donald Trump in the mix for he is the “krassest” of examples for political insults and making fun of people in the most degrading fashion. Subtracting him, the Presidential Campaign does not include the beer but it does include complaining about the situation affecting the country and playing down the other candidates’ promises of making it better for everyone. It does include strong messages that arouses the masses and encourages them to support their candidates. For the political rally in Germany on this special day, it solely has to do with addressing the problems and the “problem children,” which strengthens the German (and to a certain degree, European) stereotype of complaining, daily, profusely and professionally. It makes a complaining choir sound like a discord, especially if one has too much to drink.

If one needs an idea how a Political Ash Wednesday works, have a look at a couple examples for you to listen to. Examine their views, their facial reactions and gestures and the crowds that roar over the events.

Then look at a typical US Presidential Campaign Rally:

And then look at Donald Trump:

If there is one thing that they have in common, it’s in connection with the  GIF-pic at the beginning of the article. It had been originally been planned to beused to talk about Hamburg’s governmental elections and the successful attempts to solidify the existence of the SPD and Greens and the (near) ouster of the FDP and AfD in response to the scandal in Thuringia. Then after watching the speeches on this Ash Wednesday, it came to this commonality that is typical of politics in general: Politicians may be the biggest role model for the public and they debate on laws that are supposed to help people. They are the ones that hold the torch. Yet on a day, like Ash Wednesday, they go unplugged, strip down, and show their teeth, bashing anyone trying to dethrone them.

If Ash Wednesday is the day for using the witty tongue and creative insults, they come but once a year in politics.  This means we don’t need a day for bitching and complaining, unless you are the typical German politician who holds it in until this special day, then lets loose over a stein of beer. Since we have this, Bavaria will forever be in the minds of many who use this day to unwind and unload.

And with that, raise your beer steins and “Prost!”

The Bavarian Party, which re-established the Political Ash Wednesday Rallies, still exists as a party. Yet unlike its heyday in the 1940s, when it garnered 21% of the votes and rivaled the Christian Socialists (CSU), it has averaged only 2% of the votes since the 1970s. Today only three districts are controlled by the BP. Its main platform is an independent Bavaria as a country and not part of Germany. This has been rejected by the CSU and other parties.

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Berlin Wall: Keeping the Memory Alive

 

Germany has had some problems keeping the memories of the past alive. This goes back to the end of World War II and the topic involving the German Question: “Who are We?” and “What can History teach us from this ordeal.”  While we struggle to keep the memorials devoted to the Holocaust alive to remind ourselves of what happened during Hitler’s Reign of Terror, others elect to eradicate it- either because it was too traumatizing to even talk about it (the German Population suffered as much as the Jews and Minorities that were persecuted and suffered in concentration camps) or because it is considered  “harmlos”, something that is a typical genocide because other countries have witnessed it and the people who lived through this have long passed.

The same holds true for the time after the War, as two Germanys were divided for another 45 years, 21 of which was through a series of concrete walls, barbed wiring and border guards, ordered to shoot escapees on site, who wanted to flee to the West. During the time of East Germany, the people were under surveillance by the Stasi and tortured if they were suspected of not behaving like a communist.

While many of the people living during that time are beginning to pass, we’re being confronted with keeping the memories of 1989 alive. It was an iconic moment, for the Walls that cut Germany and its capital Berlin into two have come down, yet thanks to the increase of development through urbanization and modernization, much of the memories of the Wall and the Events that led its the Fall are starting to fade, being pushed into the backburner. People born on or after 1989 have little recolection of the events that ushered the new republic of Germany and with that, the new world order, as far as Democracy is concerned.  For many, they have the mentality of “History is History; It’s the Future we’re concerned with.”

In this documentary, Richard Quest of the American news network CNN looks at the Berlin Wall in the present and two generations with different mindsets: those who have experienced it and those who were born afterwards. The goal is to bridge the gap between the two so that this important event is passed down to the next generations in order to understand the significance of the event. This was produced in 2012 as part of the series Future Cities.

Link: https://edition.cnn.com/videos/business/2012/03/26/future-cities-berlin-quest-urban-landscape.cnn

 

 

 

Genre on 1989: The Magic Lantern by Timothy Garton Ash

To understand the magnitude of the Fall of the Berlin Wall on 9th of November, 1989 and the implications it had on international politics and the way of life between East and West, there are some key literary pieces one should read before traveling to central and eastern Europe, for the topic on the differences between East and West is still being talked about to this day, which includes discussions on their nostalgia, the differences in development and modernization of the basic infrastructure in both regions and lastly, societal issues including income disparity, unemployment, violence and/or xenophobia and other issues.

The first book that came to mind, and one that I read prior to emigrating to Germany is a key piece by Timothy Garton Ash entitled „The Magic Lantern.“ This piece was written in 1990 and has been rewritten and edited many time since then. The book looks at the revolution of 1989, from the author’s point of view, in the capitals of the four countries behind the Iron Curtain: Poland, Hungary, German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and Czechoslovakia.

One has to keep the background information in mind. Mr. Ash had been behind the Iron Curtain as a student in East Berlin during the early 1980s, studying at Humboldt University, but was also at the Free University in West Berlin on the opposite side of the border. His experiences there can be found in the book „The File,“ which was published in 1997. In that book, he mentioned that he was under surveillance by the State Security Police (Stasi) while in the East.

In the Magic Lantern, Mr. Ash focused on the revolution that started on the grassroots level but later turned into an event that became known as the domino effect. For the grassroot part, the countries found sophisticated ways of pressuring their communist regimes to submit to their demands for peace and democracy. This included rallies by young people leading free democratic organizations, religious organizations and even groups that opposed the brutal regime. They were sophisticated based on lessons learned in the past, that demonstrations outright without creative back-up planning led to army forces of the Warsaw Pact to roll in and quash them, putting many key players behind these protests into prison. Some even died from being tortured by the countries security police forces in their respective countries. After the failures in East Berlin (1953), Budapest (1956), Prague (1968) and Warsaw (1983), the opposition needed time to retreat, replan, reenvision and reenact the movements in an attempt to put enough pressure on the regime until they finally conceded. In some cases, the leaders were pressured by Michail Gorbachev to allow the borders to reopen, thanks to his policies of Gastnost and Peristroika.

The end result of these grassroot movements came with free elections in Poland, the peaceful funeral of Nagy and the opening of the gates between Hungary and Austria, the Magic Lantern movement in Prague under Havel, and of course the peaceful demonstrations in East Germany, which culminated into the Fall of the Wall. Yet with these grassroot movements came the downfall that happened in sequential order. It started in Poland, then worked its way to Hungary. Once Honecker was removed and replaced by Egon Krenz, the Wall fell in East Germany. And lastly, the Czechs had their say and were granted freedom and democracy Velvet style. In each of the countries, it was only possible thanks to the pressure on the dictators to either step in and accept or step aside and resign. Ash, who was following the events live, documented the events through interviews, observations and collecting enough experience to later make him a journalist and later a scholar for Central and Eastern European Politics and History.

The Magic Lantern does answer a lot of questions about the motivations towards the movement to bring down the Berlin Wall and open the gate between East and West Germany, such as how the movement was started to begin with. Like in the other regimes, the SED Government under Erich Honecker was one of the most sophisticated but brutal regimes in history in terms of its infrastructure, law enforcement and education. Those who remained in East Germany had to submit to the policies of Communism, learning Russian and the ideals of Marx and Leninism. Christianity was suppressed as far as it could go. Those opposing Communism were either spied upon, imprisoned or in some cases, expelled by being sent to the West. There was systematic desegregation between those who support Communism and those against thanks in part to the role of the Stasi of documenting every move made by its citizens. Ash was one of those targeted during his visit, according to his book „The File.“ And if they were not killed in an attempt to flee over the border, they convened and found creative ways to „end the war,“ as one person mentioned in the Magic Lantern.

This „war“ was in reference to a perpetual war which started in 1939 with World War II, continued after the War ended in 1945 and Germany being a battlefield between the US and the Soviet Union until 1990.  If this was what one of the residents mentioned in the interview with Mr. Ash, then the war would be considered the longest in modern history. Mr. Ash fought his way back into East Germany in July 1989 and followed the events that unfolded afterwards, both there and beyond, seeing the stalwarth regime of Honecker crack at the foundations, as many East Germans fled to the West via Prague and Budapest going into Austria. It followed with peaceful demonstrations in Leipzig and spreading throughout the country. Gorbachev hinted to the Politburo that „Life punishes those who wait,“ resulting in Honecker’s removal and replacement with Krenz.

And the rest was history. Once the Wall fell, people celebrated and pushed for German Reunification, which happened 11 months later. Once the Wall fell, as Ash stated, the other countries toppled much quicker than thought. It even resulted in the break-up of the Soviet Union, which concluded at the end of 1991.

Ash’s book, The Magic Lantern, traces all of the events that marked that watershed. Once one dam broke, all the others followed, no matter how sturdy the dam was. And when all was finished, it was a fresh clean start for the region, painting it the way it should be. The Magic Lantern provides you some places in the capitals worth visiting, where the demonstrations took place. Many of them have been considered historic sites with tour guides being provided. The book is the best starting point to finding out the past of the countries and how they have been progressing ever since.

Ash’s book does raise one question that is affecting global society at present: Do we have another domino effect in the making and if so how? We did see it with the Trump effect, with Donald Trump winning the 2016 Presidential Elections with his far right stance. This influence has stoked far-right thinking and the strive to break away from international organizations, even with the European Union. Some countries have gone far right in their elections since then while other far-right countries have become stronger in countries still governed by the middle. However, with environmental issues coming to a head, and green movements growing everywhere, inspite denials from the likes of Trump, it makes a person wonder if the Greta Thunberg effect will create a revolution that will not only have a domino effect on the countries, but will set the world straight once and for all, just like in 1989. This question I hope will have answered, regardless of who’s willing to step up to the podium.

Author’s Note: More on Timothy Garton Ash, his life and works can be found here: https://www.timothygartonash.com/

 

It’s time for Americans to stop wasting time complaining and bashing and tackle the issues at hand- Unplugged Version

Author’s Note: If a person wants another example of how freedom of speech is being altered to the benefit of the select few, here’s one worth chewing- when you write a letter to the editor to a local newspaper, only for the editor to leave out certain (but also very important points) because of the concept of limiting the amount of words per article. Granted limitations are necessary to prevent guest writers from writing novels of work. However, such limitations can result in the meaning of the work being either destroyed or altered, thus putting the author in a position of humiliation, being asked what the point was or what garbage was he writing. An example of this came from a recent letter to the editor from a local newspaper in Minnesota, where the writer went into detail, only for the editor to not only gut it but also alter it, causing confusion, while at the same time, angering the author. The shortened version is here, whereas the uncut version is below. 

 

Having lived away from the US for almost 20 years and settled down in Germany, I usually try and stay out of politics as much as I can. I usually follow the events from my hometown newspaper in Minnesota and for some reason, I happen to reach the letters to the editor section of the newspaper, where people write and bash other people, especially when it comes to politics. Sometimes the letters to the editor I read in my hometown newspaper are absurd and mind-scratching. How we waste our time complaining about people and bashing political parties instead of being a united community is beyond me.
Yet after over a decade absence from writing a letter to the editor, I feel it is time to speak out, asking everyone if they have either looked at themselves in the mirror or have read their writing before having the editor of the Pilot post it online and in print. Because what I have seen in American media is nothing but World Championship Writing (I elect to use Writing instead of Wrestling) where instead of body-slamming, choke-slamming and suplex slamming people, we are seeing people slamming each other in the media. And while our illustrious „President“ indulges in this type of mayhem- after all, he does it everyday with Twitter- this type of turmoil is turning us off every day by the thousands, both in America as well as abroad.
As I write this, I’m reminded of the ice shelves in Greenland and Antarctica breaking up in large chunks, causing sea levels to rise and storms of biblical proportions to ravage even our own backyards. Not a single farmer will be able to plant their crops this year because the fields are either under water or too wet. We’ve set the record for the warmest temperatures for 18 out of the last 20 years, with tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths attributed to heat stroke, cancer and other dangerous ailments. Our oceans are covered in plastic, and marine life is fading faster than what scientists have even expected. Depression and drug use are on the exponential rise. I don’t think I’ll remind you about a friend, classmate or family member you know who died of opiod overdose. I‘ve lost two in five years. And yes, lest we not forget that the US has become a gun republic, where instead of constructive face-to-face conversations about issues we have, we have either social media, the gun or both. Sadly, most of us elect both.
And what do we have in response? The NRA? Hillary’s e-mail scandal? Trump’s collusion with Russia? Elizabeth Warren’s claim of being Pocahontas? Stormy Daniels? Facebook and Privacy? All of this in the newspapers or social media or even both. Again, we unfortunately elect to choose both weapons instead of seeing what’s going on outside our homes and jobs.
My intention is to bash neither the liberal nor the conservative, no matter how extreme we are. I have as many friends and family on the left as they are on the right, both in the States as well as abroad. And I’ve respected the opinions and stances of both, even though I have my own political views (which I will keep private- my choice). What I really ask of you is to just simply knock it off. Quit this garbage! What’s done is done! Water under the bridge! Finito! We should be more concerned with what’s going on around us and what we can do to right the ship and move forward.

The United States has been a leader in advanced science and technology, international
relations and even environmental policies that have been in place since Obama and are still working even as Trump tries to dismantle it and deny what is going on in our world. And while Trump continues to play golf at Mara Lago, twittering and slamming other people regardless of color, gender, religion and even sexual preferences, let’s just simply do our part and show the rest of the country and the world that we are better than this.

It all starts with two of the most important dates that will dictate our future: November 3, 2020 but more importantly, right now. What will you do to make a difference? I hope it’s the right thing that everyone will be happy with.

Thank you.

 

 

As agreed beforehand, the name of the newspaper was left out and some parts altered to protect its identity and prevent any problems on the part of the writer. However, the difference shows really well. 

 

 

Genre of the Week: Opinion Rhapsody- Bry Logic

It is hard to believe that 28 years ago, the rock music group Queen, released one of the best songs of the 1990s. Entitled Bohemian Rhapsody, the song was produced in 1975 but was introduced for the first time in the film Wayne’s World. It was one of the last songs for lead singer Freddy Mercury, who succumbed to bronchial pneumonia in connection with AIDS, in November 1991.

No one ever thought that a parody of the song would be created and released. Yet in this Genre of the Week, the group Bry Logic did just that. The song Opinion Rhapsody was produced towards the end of 2018. It has been making its rounds in the social media and it combines politics, social media and another classic into one. That classic aspect you will see in the video below.

Opinion Rhapsody shows how these three elements are affecting not only American society today, but in other countries as well. And while the scenes do look rather ridiculous on screen, it does present the underlying problems we have today and will continue to have before the “big bang” happens. Two of them are very obvious: can you identify them? And if you can, think about what you can do to help, especially if you have a grudge against a person or group because of differences caused by these two elements?

After all, after watching this clip, it will give many an incentive to congregate to church for the next service or have a picnic, where eye-to-eye, personal contact has become a luxury than a necessity.  😉

 

 

 

The Art of Forgiveness and Friendship

I would like to start this journey with a quote by Ritu Ghadourey about forgiving others for hurtful actions: A broken friendship that is mended through forgiveness can be even stronger than it once was. 

As I entered the US for the first time since 2015, I noticed right away how deeply divided the country was (and still is)- more so than when Barack Obama was president. The first impression of this was how the media was involving itself. Once toted as the main source of information to allow us to think about the events, talk about it and even take action, America’s media today  is making the decisions for us, without even allowing us to think of the reasons for the actions taken by President Trump, his members of the Oval Office and the special investigations councillor Robert Mueller, who is trying to dig dirt and undermine the president. With each character coming on screen to muckrake on both sides, one has to wonder if this is just another Hollywood film that is screaming to be booed and jeered. And with each repetitive claim by the president that there was no collusion between him and Russian president Vladimir Putin, how many times will he say it (even when jumping up and down on the trampoline) until we all figure out that he’s indeed a liar and a crook.

We do know however, that despite my detestation of watching Trump and all his cronies on TV while having breakfast, we do have one variant that is working against us: With each action committed on both sides of the aisle, regardless of hate crimes, bashing media outlets, making false statements and the like, we are hurting ourselves and others, to a point where we may never talk to our neighbors, friends and family members ever again. Our belief in the media is deceiving ouselves and not allowing us time to think about the issues at hand.  And our actions towards others is making it difficult for us to come to terms with the people we hurt the most.

Inspite of this however, I learned most recently that even the most painful actions done onto others can be forgiven, if one is willing to reach out and ask for it. In some cases, it can forge friendships that are better than the last one. I have a couple examples which show that forgiveness can be sought and new friendships created.

A few months ago, a friend of mine from Arizona, named Calvin, was approached by a former high school classmate named Jared after a 20+ year absence. Both of them were playing American football at a high school in Tucson; yet Calvin, who was too skinny to play lineman, was bullied by Jared and several other players, who were three times his size and thought he was gay.  One day, Jared had the cheek to pee in Calvin’s sports locker. Upset that he was being treated unfairly and was not getting enough support by the coaches, Calvin quit the team and eventually changed schools, where he ran in cross country and excelled in fine arts in Casa Grande, graduating with honors and eventually moving onto college at the University of Minnesota and later into teaching in Osnabrück in Germany.  We met while I was an exchange student and we shared some stories of our time playing football in high school. We both hated the sport as we were “bench-warmers,” which was equally as degrading as being bullied. Jared reached out to him one day in May after Calvin wrote of his experiences of being bullied on facebook, in response to an increase of cyberbullying at his former high school in Tucson. Jared was principal there and had to sit a person, who was robbing others of lunch money down, and tell him what he did to Calvin. He looked him up and reconnected. Then after reading his article posted on facebook, Jared wrote a long letter of apology to Calvin explaining that his lack of self-confidence was the catalyst to doing what he did to him. In response to the letter, Calvin forgave him, explaining that what was done was wrong but it’s nothing compared to what is going on in the present. 

In the present means the days of social networking, cyberbullying, grooming, happy-slapping and the like. Let’s put it this way, as much as I was bullied in high school 25 years ago, I was thankful that the internet did not exist in its present-day form. Otherwise, …….

Calvin’s suggestion to Jared was the same as offering a good starting point: “Together, we can set examples for other kids to understand that what is being done to others, even online, is wrong and not tolerated.”  In other words, the willingness to make peace and work together to ensure that no one else gets bullied  were two giant steps to forging a good friendship and they have since been on good terms. 

Yet sometimes people can hurt each other to a point where they basically break off all ties, even if one was unaware of the actions committed. Sometimes such actions can be the result of the “My way is the highway” mentality. Others have to do with cultural and personal differences between the two people. Normally when ties are cut like that, then it is too late and even impossible to make amends.

That is unless one of them reaches out to ask for peace. This happened to another friend in Kiel, a while back and to this day, he’s figuring out the reason why and finding ways to reforge a friendship with this girl. Her name was Karin and she and Nick were attending college in Berlin in 2014. She was a very nice girl, as Nick described her- a deeply devoted Christian, kind but had that magic that got Nick interested. They had been working together on a project when they suddenly “butted heads” during a dance at one of the assembly halls.  How this happened was not explained but attempts to reconcile even online failed, and they broke off all contact after the project was finished, but not before havig hurt each other verbally, resulting in after-effects that were lasting for months after the break-off. Nick was moving on with his life when Karin suddenly re-appeared on his facebook page, offering peace to him. In response, Nick replied that under the conditions that we’d meet and talk about it would that be considered. Two hours of deep conversations brought forth forgiveness and establishing the building blocks for a restart, despite them having partners and full-time jobs.  Yet this example came with a lot of strings attached, which was the fact that she was not ready to be friends just yet; she needed time as the healer though they are still communcating to this day but not on facebook. Nick is hoping that it will happen someday as it would give them a chance to chat online about their jobs and families and just be friends. Let’s hope that their road to friendship is a smooth one there.

But looking at both examples, one has to ask ourselves how much damage has the United States done to its people and ts allies. The country has alienated its long-time allies of Europe and Canada and embraced Russia, Saudi Arabia and North Korea, although with the third example one can agree with re-establishing ties with Kim to a certain degree. The US has alienated its own people while our president is watching families and friends fight over politics, like it was a wrestling match. And even the media outlets are equally bad with each one having their own “Mean” Gene Okerlund and their sets of wrestlers trash-talking to the audience. No wonder why we have a combination of George Orwell’s 1984 and the Spanish Civil War all at once, when American society is conditioned to think one way or another. To sum up the situation, we’re living in a society where the media has control of the lives of Americans, and Americans can choose who to befriend and who to dump, based on which political alliance they are in, thus polarizing ourselves, our friends, family members and our neighboring countries. A sad devlopment and one that could destroy the fabric of democracy should the trend continue.

Stern Magazine

Yet inspite of all this, I have learned to separate politics from friendships and family to avoid any inner-strife. But most importantly, to forgive others for their mistakes. Yet it will be a difficult drive to make amends with the  people we hurt the most. While some allies like Canada and Great Britain will be ready to forgive right away,  others like France and Germany will be even more difficult because of the damage inflicted already. But the most difficult will be the ability to trust each other and be willing to work together. That includes rebuilding the trust between the government, the media and the people. I guess it is similar to the example with Karin and Nick. If one person offers peace then it is because the other has the characteristics that is liked (and blessed in Christian terms) and that the person wants to reforge a better relationship than before so that they can work out the bigger problems they are facing. And we have more than enough to go around.

After the third day of listening to politics at a hotel in Pittsburgh, I decided to tune it out because it was a waste of time and energy. I decided that if people want to know more about our situation in Europe in comparison with the US that we would be truthful about it, but ensure that we are not enforcing our opinions onto them but to get them to understand the situation from a neutral person’s point of view.  At the same time, however, I’m taking an advice that was based on the stories that I just presented with Jared and Calvin on one end, but also with Nick and Karin on the other. If we hurt the ones that care for us, regardless of difference and opinion, we apologize and forgive. Forgiveness is free and can forge better friendships than in the past.  And this is what is needed in this day and age as we have bigger issues to handle and little time left to get them done.

And with that comes a pair of quotes to end this topic on how to reforge a friendship through forgiveness:

Forgiveness is the best form of love. It takes a strong person to say sorry, yet it takes a stronger person to forgive. 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: While these two examples are true stories, for the purpose of protecting their identities, the names of the people mentioned as well as the places where the stories took place have been altered. 

Leipzig Book Convention 2018: No Record but Lots of Suspense

LEIPZIG-  If there is one theme that would sum up the 2018 Leipzig Book Convention this past weekend, it would be suspense. While members of the committee had expected another record year with a possible 300,000 visitors, that mark was missed by a long shot and for the first time in six years, the number of visitors at this year’s convention had decreased. 271,000 visitors went to the convention that took place from 15th to 18th March, a decrease of 14,000 from last year’s number of 285,000.  But despite the decrease, there was a lot of suspense in this year’s convention, which goes beyond the theme of Romania as the guest country. Here are some examples based on the author’s annual visit together with family members:

Snow and Cold- The decrease in numbers had a lot to do with Old Man Winter’s last grasp. Snow and blowing snow, combined with extreme cold temperatures brought vast parts of central and northern Germany to a near standstill, with parts of Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia taking the brunt of the storm.  Frozen overhead lines and crossing points were additional factors that led to the shut down of the main railway stations in Leipzig and Halle (Saale) and the cancellation of train services spanning seven German states and points to the east. This led to overfilled streetcars and buses to the Messe Convention. Adding traffic jams on the major highways also because of blowing and drifting snow and many who wanted to go to the book convention decided to stay home- at least until the sunniest day of the convention, which was the last day (Sunday). But even then, the one critique point that seems to be the problem in Germany is snow removal, where much of the parking lots were still unplowed when guests arrived on Sunday, undoubtedly the peak of the four-day long convention.

Fighting the Right- Another factor affecting the numbers is the increase in the number and influence of the far-right media. Several publishing companies producing such propaganda in newspapers and books were present, mostly in Hall 3. This included Compact and Neue Stimmen, a pair of most prominent magazines that have ties with the far right groups including the Pegida, National Party (NPD) and Alternative for Germany (AfD), the third of which is currently in the German Federal Parliament as an opposition to the newly created Grand Coalition with the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats.  Especially on Friday and Saturdays clashes broke out between the far right and far left, resulting in police involvement and arrests. As they wanted to avoid massive conflicts like it happened at the 2017 Book Convention in Frankfurt/Main, it was met with partial success for despite measures to prevent violent outbreaks, the far right, with its anti-democratic and anti-European policies kept many away because of their strive to commit strife. On the flip side, several prominent authors who have written about right-wing terrorism and its threat to democracy were on hand. One of them, Norwegian author Åsne Seierstad, won the European book prize for her work on Anders Breivik, a far-right terrorist who killed 77 people in two separate attacks in 2011. People like Seierstad believe that right-wing extremism has been on the rise since then, including her home country.

Peaceful Co-existence- While the snowstorm and the far-right made waves in the media, one aspect that was seldom touched was religion. In Hall 3 there was a section where Christianity and Islam were in peaceful co-existence of each other. At least four booths with publications and newspapers on Islam and another seven on Christianity were found clumped together with people gathering to both sides of the aisle. Interesting was how the two religions attracted the people. On the side of Islam, people came in droves because of their interest in the religion and the literature that pertained to it. This is disregarding how it was written- which was either German or Arabic with a couple English examples.  This included the Islam Newspaper in German, which judging by my observations, has a lot of culture and history, but go along the mentality of the Native Americans as described by historian Dee Brown: “We are still here.” Why? Because of attempts to suppress their culture by the domination of Christianity and the western way of life, one can see that Islam still exists and the impression is that they are open to anyone wishing to learn at least a bit of the religion. There had been fears that the religion would dominate the European landscape. That is not true. The people of Islam wish to have a sort of peaceful co-existence that has not existed for a long time, for many since the time before the Arab Spring of 2011 which led to millions fleeing the war-torn areas. On the other side, Christianity was presented in a marketing fashion. While on the way to the main entrance of the convention, we were greeted by hippie-style Christians who gave us a free coupon to one of the booths that was giving away books dealing with stories involving Christ, philosophy and the existence of God. Another booth was continuing the Martin Luther celebrations of 500 years ago by illustrating the printing press used to produce the 500 Theses written by Luther. And then there was Christianity in the form of music and schools that offer both. Target language was both German and English and they attracted a fair number of people. Yet despite the moderate increase of younger people joining Christ, the numbers have decreased on a global scale thanks to corruption, sex abuse scandals and attempts to associate Christianity with far-right figures, such as US President Trump. One can see the desperate attempts to convince people to join by giving away books upon leaving the Buch Messe- and seeing tons being discarded in garbage cans in the parking lot. It does appear that if Christianity was to regain its original form, it may need to separate itself from politics and reinvent itself by adapting to the needs of today’s generations, a step that has been taken in some aspects, like homosexuality, but in others- like tolerance- it’s having problems doing.

Blocks at the Manga-  While the Manga exhibition, located in Hall 5, attracted its typical individuals, which included superheroes, waitresses in short skirts, aliens, and people dressed up in outfits dating back 125 years ago, one has to look more carefully at the trends that a person can find. While the theme from last year  was lighting in Japan, this year’s theme seemed to be boxes and its several shapes, designs and sizes. No matter whether they were lunch boxes, jewelry boxes or even mini-storage boxes or even designer boxes  found at booths like the Sega games, it was a real treat just to see these boxes while looking at the products typical of Japan, which include stuffed animals, sweets, games, books and even dishware, just to name a few.

Thinking Scandanavia- To round off our tour of the Buchmesse, we have some literature recommendations worth noting. One of the unique aspects of the convention was found at the international book section in Hall 4 and in Scandanavia. Consisting of Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finnland, the themes most commonly written by authors in the region  consists of mysteries, tourism, mental well-being and lastly photography. Two books that represent fine examples of such works is a Danish work by Meik Wilking entitled The Little Book of Lykke: The Path to being the Happiest People in the World, which focuses on the Danish secret to being the happiest society in the world. This includes the way of life, physical and mental well-being, mentality towards materialist items and money as well as the power of the bicycle.  Another is a collection of night-time and sometimes underwater photography by Finnish author Petri Juntunen entitled “At the Heart of It All,” where he brings the new meaning of photography to light, as he focuses on relicts and other non-life forms that are shone down by a ray of light, showing the interest from above.

To sum up the visit and the highlights, the 2018 Leipzig Book Convention may have not set any records this year, yet judging from the news and my own observations, one could not get enough of the suspense that was presented, both positively as well as negatively. Still, as themes, such as religion, extremism, social and cultural issues and current affairs (such as environment and climate change) become the everyday norm, such book conventions like in Leipzig and also in Frankfurt/Main will need to adapt in a way that these issues are addressed and people understand them and take action. This action should also include putting an end to hate and violence, a commodity that has always been a burden to society but one that seems to become a universal problem on all fronts, especially since the end of 2015. It is only hoped that the next book convention will bring about constructive themes and discussion instead of propagizing hatred and inequality based on things we don’t like.

The next Leipzig Buchmesse will take place  from 21st to 24th March 2019. To see more photos of the Buchmesse, please click here as it will take you to the Files’ facebook page and its photo album. Please feel free to add your photos and impressions of the Buchmesse. We love to see them. 🙂

Don’t Plan for 2020; Plan for the Now and the Future

 

Dear fellow students, former students, friends and those loving a chat with an American expatriate,

Over the years, many of you have taken a keen interest in knowing about my country and its culture, including those who either have been in Minnesota, where I was born and raised, or are planning to go there. I had many who have spent time in Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as in New Ulm, Fargo, Worthington, Winona, Duluth  and Rochester (and the Bluffs Region). I even had a former student who was an exchange student at a high school in Waseca, located between Albert Lea and Minneapolis and is where I came into the world almost 40 years ago. Many people have been asking me what my stance is on this year’s elections and despite my voting for my candidate of choice whether I would be happy with the result.

I’ve decided to put this to rest before I utter a word about it to my next class- and waste a couple valuable sessions in the process, because it is a library’s worth of explaining how messed up the United States of America has become, especially since the Elections of 2001 and the infamous hanging chads.

Last year while preparing a presentation for a lecture with a couple colleagues, one of them had a cheek to predict the end of the world and that anything we do is fruitless at this point. At that time, we didn’t have the debates but had prominent people vying for candidacy as the next President of the US by visiting regions and communities. We didn’t have a below-the-belt style of locker talk as we had in these Elections. Despite her being a devout Christian- a Lutheran- I played down her comment as absurd and totally unrealistic.

I can no longer say that when I read the results and after watching the debates, while draining the keg at the same time. In fact, if the opportunity arises, I would still like to ask her whether she holds this opinion and if so, why.  In response to what I saw in the Elections, as well as everyone else, it is as follows:

The role of the President of the United States is the most unwanted, underappreciated job of any jobs in the country. To get to where you are, you have to undergo the same procedures as Homer Simpson did when he joined the Stonecutter’s Society- getting spanked with a stick and getting humiliated in the process. This is what we saw with Clinton’s e-mail scandals together with the Benghazi affair on one end, and Trump’s Aryan rhetoric during his campaign speeches, sexual harassment lawsuits and ruined businesses. Once the ass is swollen, the media exploits you like a soap opera show and turn every debate into a wrestling match regardless of gender and who is refereeing- er moderating the debate.

With every debate I’ve watched, even over a few rounds of Flensburger Flotilla and wine, the first impression I had was any tag-team match between Velvet McIntryre and Princess Victoria vs. the Fabulous Moulah and Wendi Richter would trump the verbal spats the two candidates had. And these matches of the 1980s were real and not scripted, genuine and not choreographed, tough knuckled and not pussy-like.  And you wonder why professional wrestling of the Eighties was one of the best products produced on TV.

And now what? As a new member and leader of The Stonecutter’s Society known as the President of the United States, with a swollen ass and a bruised ego, you have a country to lead, many angry people to calm down and countries to impress. My prediction is simple: you will never make it past one year. And even if you did, the United States of America will never be the same as it was before the elections took place. It was becoming a stranger during the days since 2000. With the results of the Elections and the writing on the wall, the country where I grew up, with its pride in history, culture, landscapes and even literature, with friends and family alike, has become a total stranger. It used to be an example to follow, it is now divided like Spain prior to the Civil War (1936-39), conquered by hate and segregation similar to Germany under Hitler, an anarchic state where ideas are not welcome and selling one’s soul to Satan in order to get ahead is the norm. In four years, we could see the country as either an authoritarian state or one that is on the brink of a Nebuchadnezzar-style uprising and raid.

And what will become of the republic that we have followed for over 227 years?  A faded memory.

But it is not too late. Our votes were not fully wasted. We have a democracy but it is the one which we the people can run. While we may have voted for the lesser of two evils in the elections, it is only we who can make the changes. Why wait until the next elections in 2020 when we can make a difference? After all, with all the hatred we expressed to our candidates and the people who supported them, it is time that we take action to handle the problems the US has on its home front, let alone with other countries. I really doubt the winner will hold to his promises, nor do I think Washington can afford to rollback policies of the Reagan era, let alone prepare for the 2020 elections. We have pressing issues to deal with. And the list is long: The environment, immigration, improving foreign relations, helping war-torn countries rebuild, rebooting health care, restructuring the education system, improving the infrastructure, and so on. No president can handle this alone in four years, if he survives it. I don’t think anybody in Washington can handle it, but bickering and bitching will be a waste of time. We’ve tried two different policies since 2000 and neither one worked. I doubt the next style of policies will be any better. Therefore it is up to us, we as an international community to handle these problems head-on.

Did I use the words international community?  You bet I did.

We are no longer the people of the United States of America. We have no association between the Republicans and Democrats. We come from different backgrounds, but have the same problems as everyone else in the world. Instead of relying on politics as a way to providing comfort, we should go out there, see how things work in other countries and regions and see if we can work them into our system and our lives. We should implement the ideas we ourselves have and ensure everyone can benefit from it. We should create agreements that will benefit everyone and not the select few. We should pray for and help those who are unloved, underappreciated, narrow-minded, helpless- strangers, friends and family alike- and open the doors for God to help and bless us whenever we and they need it. We should read the Bible, Quran and other religious works and understand why the power of work and prayer works. We should learn about the other person and include him/her in our society. If fire and war hits, we should go and help them rebuild. After all, we all have a purpose in life. It is how we handle our lives that is the hardest to do, especially if we make decisions that can alter our course for the good.

While the next president will make many promises and break them, it is up to us to make and carry out solutions to the problems that we are facing, for it is we who cannot afford to wait until 2020. It is we who cannot afford to watch events to unfold. It is we who cannot afford to hide behind people whose purposes are to hurt and destroy other lives for their own gain. I know that there are more than enough unloving people out there, but we need to take action to persuade these people that we the people are doing this for their good. Believe it or not, the person predicting the apocalypse at the beginning of this article, I found her such a quote some weeks later that said just that:

We need to love the unloving, take action to help others in need and let the world under one God decide our fate. The more good we do, the better place we’ll have for generations to come and the more pride we have in ourselves that we accomplished something our president had previously promised but never carried out.

The future is now, not in 2020. We have to shine now, because we are now in uncharted territory. How events will unfold will depend on our actions and not that of others. So don’t wait, act!

I could say more but in case you want my personal opinion about the elections between Donald Trump and Hilliary Clinton, and the state the US is in, this is my honest to God truth. We can talk about how the political system works and other issues to be resolved. However, sometimes the truth can be hard to swallow and we need time to digest it before we can decide what to do next. In my opinion, I will keep teaching and talking about my culture in comparison to Germany, continue to write my column pieces, exploit the sides we don’t read and talk about, and help those who wish to have a better life. After all, that is my sole reason for being here on this planet.

Genre of the Week: Alternative Für Deutschland by Jennifer Rostock

Source: Pistenwof/Festival of Summer/Wikimedia  Link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AJennifer_Rostock-7.jpg

Founded in 2007, the band Jennifer Rostock has its origins that are considered unique. It features Jennifer Weist and Joe Walter, both natives of Usedom, located in the German state of Mecklenburg-Pommerania, who were childhood friends and gifted musicians. They later met fellow members Alex Voigt, Baku Kohl and Chris Deckert in Berlin and Werner Krumme while at a music workshop in Rostock. Their style of music consists of a combination of punk, electro-pop and Berlin-rock and since their founding, they have become popular on the German rock music scene, having released seven albums and toured in the German-speaking countries so far; that despite having songs released in German and English.

However, despite their punk lifestyle, they also have a world view on politics and have been engaged recently as more and more people are leaving the traditional German parties of the Social Democrats (SPD) and Christian Democrats (CDU) and joining the far-right party the AfD (Alternativ für Deutschland), whose policies consists of tax relief for the rich, less money for social and health care and banning Muslims and other groups from living in Germany- including stopping the influx of refugees entering Germany. With local elections to take place in Mecklenburg-Pommerania and Brandenburg this fall and on the eve of the federal elections next year, this band has taken an unusual approach to their music style by combining political propaganda and piano and producing a sing provoking the people to think before voting and/or even joining the AfD. Check out this video that was released recently:

Being short and to the point, each statement about the AfD and their policies are presented in an advertised form but with Weist having the confrontational gesture indicating that unless a person wants a brawl, and has the mentality of a Nazi that they should join the AfD, unless they have some time to think about it first and look for other party alternatives. The song is similar to all the campaigns that are going on in the United States, especially between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Speaking from an American expat’s point of view, such a provokative song would go great for people seriously thinking about voting for Donald Trump, whose policies are exactly the same as that of the party led by Frauke Petry- no immigration, expulsion of minorities out of the US, the return to isolation (which would be a first since the 1920s), and having a wall along the Mexican and Canadian border. This in addition to controlling the media and the freedom of speech among the American people. It makes me wonder how Weist and Co. would craft their song in English and address it to the public similar to that what she is doing for her people in the north of Germany. Music is powerful and controls the mind and hearts of those who listen to it, influencing them on what they think and sometimes do. It can be peaceful, but it can present a type of music that is classical but whose lyrics make it unusual and stunning. The AfD song by Jennifer Rostock may be considered a propaganda song supporting the party, but it has the typical German warning that you see in pharmaceutical commercials:

Zum Risiko und Nebenwirkung, lesen Sie die Packungsbeilage und Fragen Sie Ihren Artz oder Apotheke (Talk to your doctor or pharmacy about the risks and side effects of taking this medication)

For this song, which has won the Genre of the Week Awards, the first international Award by the Files, the slogan behind the song about the Alternative for Germany party goes along the following lines (something that voters in Meck-Pomm, Brandenburg and the rest of Germany should consider before going to the polls:

Zum Risiko und Nebenwirkung, lesen Sie über die politische Partei und ihre Agenda und fragen Sie die Experten. (Talk to the experts and read about the political party you are voting for).

Or in American English: Thinking about voting for the AfD? You better know what you’re getting into.

Should Jennifer Rostock decide to write and sing about Donald Trump, what should go in there? It should be similar to what she sang about the AfD. Go to her website (here) and offer your suggestions. 🙂

 

Don’t Swaggartize Our Facebook Posts With Your Politics!

To begin my commentary, I would like to start off with an excerpt from the book of Proverbs 28:25-6:

A greedy man stirs up dissention, but he who trusts in the Lord will prosper. He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe.

One should perhaps add in the book of Proverbs that one who blindly follows a liar with a potential of interrupting conversations for political promotion is more of a fool than those who are self-righteous and believes not in Jesus but his own tuition.  Since the nominations of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton for US president (even though Jill Stein and Gary Johnson should also be added to the mix), the era of poli-bashing has taken hold on the American landscape. At the family table, fathers and sons are fighting from different political poles, putting others in the middle, like it happened during the Cold War with a divided Germany. Locals in different countries are asking us American expatriates what we think of Donald Trump (which many of us have compared him to Adolf Hitler). Friends are unfriending or even blocking others on facebook because of political opinions, which I think is pathetic and shows me what the late Günter Grass once stated: “If you have 500 friends on facebook, you really have no friends.”

Point taken!

But there is another trend in social networking which has become an annoying trend: A friend posts a comment about an event on facebook only to have a person on his/her friends list market politics and bash the candidate with his own post, when the story posted on facebook is anything BUT relevant.  Take this example that I experienced  most recently:

I post a commentary about me switching bike dealers after they overpriced us (family and me) for bike repairs and inspections, which included overcharging for the repairs on my end but not charging for the inspection on my daughter’s bike when we ordered a part, but giving us the “Oh by the way, you have to pay for the part AND the inspection.” treatment, when the part arrived- in other words, withholding information without informing the customer in advance!   This is in addition to bad service we (as a family) had been receiving prior to that. We basically posted by saying “Have a nice life, your competitor is around the corner!”

In response, one of the people in my network had the cheek to market politics by saying:

And that’s how capitalism works!! The customers decide who survives and who fails. Now imagine it was a government entity that treated you like that. What is your recourse, especially if you have no other option than to deal with them (i.e. DMV). I’m sure your complaints about one or more government union employees would be handled in a timely and efficient manner… 

Furious, I had to reply in a fashion similar to Walter Sobjeck in the Big Lebowski which went along these lines:

You’re a child who loves to enter a cinema in the middle of a religious film, not knowing which actors are playing Jesus Christ, Pontius Pilate, Joseph, Mary and the Three Wise Men, let alone when Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead!

In response, another conservative replied with this comment:

The government is ALWAYS the issue….they set the prices for everything….you should have gotten into healthcare a few years ago….the money is already spent.

And my response:

 The government is NOT the issue here. We’re talking about the Geoff Schaffer approach to customer service, which is always making the customer happy (no matter what) and if so, they will come back. This bike shop was a family owned business until they expanded in 2010. Since then, they’ve thrown away the concept of honesty and family friendliest and have started doing the Trump approach which is customer selection- a blow to winning any customers.

(The name Geoff Schaffer was used as a replacement of the manager of a restaurant in Iowa whom I worked for during the summer breaks from college,  because of privacy reasons, by the way.)

Not to worry though, many people in my network have dealt with similar issues, regardless of which political side they are on. But the point is that the intrusion of personal posts for political gain to provoke a political argument can be best compared to the preaching of televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, whose religious commercialization influenced the lives of many Americans and Evangelicals during the 1970s and 80s. In fact, as a child growing up in Minnesota, I can remember his TV shows and commercials dominating the airwaves, even though we had four key channels, including public television, with every fourth household having cable TV.  His preaching from that bygone era can be seen today, like in this video below:

Many people loved him, yet there were many who thought he was as annoying as the people who have intruded on people’s privacy on facebook, to a point where his defamation flocking would await him, like in this infamous “I’ve sinned….” sermon:

His confession revealed two things that are worth noting in this article:

1. The value of the sermon or lecture spoken unto by one person has to equal one’s actions. One cannot have a double standard like Mr. Swaggart has, but also one’s lecture or sermon has to include hands-on experiences.

2. If one enforces onto others, then one has a problem in life which cannot be dealt with alone but through help.

The second one has nothing to do with politics and who is at fault but one where a person’s life is not what it should. Sometimes these people are hanging on to the nostalgia that had existed 30-40 years ago and cannot adapt to the changes that we are facing even as we speak. There are some who have missed one train too many in their lives and are struggling to salvage what is left of their lives. This includes pivotal years where decisions made can have an impact on a person’s life (that is a separate article for next time).  And there are some people whose children have disappointed them in their development- some justified and some not. Their attempts of molding them into their liking fails and they become the black sheep in the family. The same applies to friends and peers, whom they knew in high school but have become strangers since then.

All of them have one thing in mind, they have at one time in their lives listened or watch a Jimmy Swaggart sermon and learned a great deal about getting involved in other people’s lives by invading them and impose their ideas . And even though Swaggart has produced some great sermons, the people are following the directions the wrong way.

Yes, people like you!

I could point my fingers at Swaggart for his religious “morals”, but it would be the same as deferring responsibility for all the personal problems in life onto Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.  But Swaggart’s rhetoric and tactics have given some people the wrong idea of getting others involved- preach on the outside while hiding from the real problems on the inside.  Sometimes too much of a good thing is not good at all, especially when infringing on topics with their own political agenda, almost all of which are irrelevant.

So knock it off! Think before posting your political comments on other’s facebook posts. Because one day, you may receive a comment by saying:

You’re out of your element!

And if Jimmy Swaggart is still preaching these days, let us hope he preaches about respecting people’s rights and preferences over politics before the US Presidential Elections. After all he has taught us on how to swaggartize others, he owes us that sermon at least. Only then will he be forgiven of all his sins.

Amen!