CarlCook

CBT for actually getting out of a rut and sitting meditation (zazen) for staying out of it. There are many more things that help, like reducing alcohol and caffeine, regular exercise…. but meditation is what really changed the game for me.

I’d just recommend you start it with a qualified teacher. Or at least read up on it (I recommend https://www.mctb.org/ and “the mind illuminated”).

That is the thing with these „Einzelfälle“: Germany is deliberately turning two blind eyes to structural racism and fascism even though it is more than evident by now there are large parts of legislative, jurisdictional and executive bodies that not only sympathise with right-wing ideas but full on support nazi politics.

I appreciate Mrs. Faeser’s recent crack-downs against neo-nazi groups, but this were only the most extreme excrescences. What’s happening f.i. inside Hesse’s state police, once again an “Einzelfall” as uncovered by Jan Böhmerman’s team, is exemplary.

Other groups may act more cautiously but they are letting their hair down more and more. Just look at how the rhetoric of the CDU leadership changed in regard of the AfD!

I see the necessity in the moment and I do not blame the original set-up of the federal structures by the allied forces. In fact they were expertly carved out to on the one hand minimise the chances of a second “Hitler” while on the other hand maximise governmental and economic efficacy.

My point is rather that we must not underestimate the long term influence these people and their ideology exert. They may not have been the top decision makers, but over time they will attract likeminded people and foster parallel structures. If not actively managed/eliminated they will, on the long run, try to employ the same tactics again in order to come to power. And this is what we see today in many western countries, not only Germany.

I see the necessity in the moment and I do not blame the original set-up of the federal structures by the allied forces. In fact they were expertly carved out to on the one hand minimise the chances of a second “Hitler” while on the other hand maximise governmental and economic efficacy.

My point is rather that we must not underestimate the long term influence these people and their ideology exert. They may not have been the top devision makers, but over time they will attract likeminded people and foster parallel structures. If not actively managed/eliminated they will, on the long run, try to employ the same tactics again in order to come to power. And this is, what we see today in many western countries, not only Germany.

In deed. I believe the “Wirtschaftswunder” would not have been possible otherwise.

While understandable from a pragmatic standpoint (what do when everyone was in more or less?) Germany still struggles with this old Nazi-coteries in vital bodies of the state, like judiciary, the Verfassungsschutz, police and the military.

What pains me most - not only in Germany - is that everybody acts as there cannot be any Nazis as they were defeated in 1945. Quite on the contrary, it is evident today that the fight against fascism is a constant and deliberate effort of any free and democratic country.

Wait till you learn about who reinstated jurisdiction, police force, many federal offices, the Bundeswehr, in Germany after WW2….

This is unfortunately the reality, as especially the majority of the German media outlets still seem to try to rationalise and understand those “prodigial sons” (as they seem to perceive them).

However, exactly the opposite to winning them back to democracy is happening: Feeling their voice being heard and valued, they catch emotional tailwinds and become even more radical.

There always has been a solid 15% of the German population that is lost to democracy and favours fascist and extremely right-wing politics. This “nazi” foundation has always been well established in many governmental bodies and economic branches as they were necessary to keep the country running after the end of WW2.

Now they are employing the same tactics as before 1945: stimulating fear among disadvantaged population groups (if factual or imaginative) and scapegoating minorities (migrants) for everything bad.

The perceived hesitation and disagreement of the current government doing their part, many of the „Bio-Germans“ who feel disadvantaged turn to the idea of „the new strong man“ that finally „cleans up the cesspool“ they imagine the current political system to be.

If nothing drastically changes, I see whole federal states go lost to the AfD that especially in eastern states are nothing more than a thinly veiled new NSDAP.

Seriously though, the German liberal party (FDP) has dubbed renewable energy “freedom energy”.

By personal (yet anecdotal) evidence, I can testify that at least camomile works. The regular tea is not concentrated enough for me to have any noticeable effect, but the oily extract (apigenin) does wonders for my stressed-out brain!

Und Wissen ist halt nicht umgesetzt bekommen. Die Wenigen die von den bestehenden Verhältnissen profitieren sind wenig motiviert, diese zu ändern und haben unverhältnismäßig mehr Macht Änderungen zu verhindern.

Aus diesem Grund glaube ich auch, das wirkliche (systemverändernde) Änderungen nur mehr oder weniger gewaltsam möglich sind. Ob das am Ende (gut) funktioniert, ist wieder eine andere Frage.