It seems Germans are overly enthusiastic about the visit of presumptive US presidential candidate Barack Obama. Obviously no German has a say in the election, but putting that fact aside, it is still astonishing how enthusiastic many Germans are.
I for one will wait until he assumes office – in case he wins, of course. Personally I am not too sure whether his presidency would change anything. Sure, he’d be the first black US-president, so what?
Many people world-wide have resigned, given the hegemonial power of the USA. While on one hand the US claims to spread peace and democracy, on the other hand there exists a camp on Cuba which – according to the US administration – is not subject to the US legislation. Hence, while being home to many warm-hearted and nice people, the hegemony of the US seemingly led it to be home of a lot of ignorance as well. So people who you would expect to show compassion towards other human beings (including muslims) and show the cultural world-leadership claimed by them, just don’t seem to care. It seems the country that once helped liberate Germany from the Nazis has adopted some of the methods of their former enemies under the disguise of “The War on Terror” …
Many of the thoughts I have now remind me of the fears I had as a child when the “evil imperialists” announced SDI. These fears gave me some vivid nightmares as a child …
Let’s see whether a president Obama could or would change this.
True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else.
(Clarence Darrow)
// Oliver