Our culture and politics vs. madness

The following text is part of a paper that my friend Jake from Wisconsin wrote. He had to interview someone from a different culture and he chose me. (For those who don't know, I'm 1/4 German and 3/4 American. I have the citizen-ships of both countries. I was born in LA California and currently live in Cologne/Germany.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Nic was very interested in having someone to speak to about his German heritage; he was convinced that German culture was very different in some ways from the way we live our lives in Wisconsin. He did in fact bring up several different places and ideas that had significance in moral, social, and technical ways.

One of the places we talked about was his school. He recently had graduated from “Gymnasium”, which is the advanced version of high school in German education system. I was surprised to hear him describe how the education system works: “Everyone is sent to different schools after 4th grade”. The teacher recommends one of three levels for the student to go on to based on their academic performance. They are “basic”, “mid-level”, and “advanced”, or “gymnasium”. Basic level students usually go into the work force while gymnasium students usually go to university for further education. When he asked me why I found that strange, I told him that I found it unusual that his culture was able to determine how a person will go through life based on their grades prior to and including grade 4. He agreed with me, and he noted that it is a contemporary argument to move the German educational system toward a less deterministic perspective. On the other hand, he offered his social critique of our educational system, and felt that even though his system was flawed, it was the better choice overall. “After all, even though not everyone goes to university [in Germany], those that do, do not have to go into so great debt- it is mostly paid for by the government”.

This conversation inevitably led to politics, which Nic was very interested in. He recently had watched the republican presidential debate and had been very confused by some of the antics of American politicians. One scene from the debate had stuck in his mind and he wanted to discuss it with me. A gay soldier, he said, had sent in a video question regarding LGBT rights in America. The audience had actually then boo’d the question before allowing the nominees to reply. He was shocked by this, and by (what he perceived as) the political platforms of Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum that were avidly anti-gay. Living in Cologne, and being gay himself, Nic admitted to never having seen LGBT rights as a social issue. “We are not treated differently. We have [civil unions], and I have never been singled out for being gay.” When I brought up the idea that it would likely be very controversial for an “out” politician to gain prominence in our political system, he laughed at our ignorance. “What does that have to do with their politics? Our minister of foreign affairs (a position similar to secretary of state in the USA) is gay and out, and doing a good job.The mayor of Berlin was just re-elected for the 3rd time (each term is 5 years) and he is also gay and out. That they are gay is not brought up by our pundits. [The pundits] talk about real issues like debt, and what politician has the best plan; who cares if the politician is gay?” This, he felt, was a justifiable reason to feel morally and politically superior to the United States. “I know my politicians are good, and I know, [regardless] of their [political party], that they want to do good by me. We really trust our politicians.” 

The trust Nic had in his government was something new to me. I found his, and presumably Germany's moral/political stance refreshing. Unimpressed by our own attitudes toward sexuality and the way we treat it in America, his tone reflected a belief that his perspective was not just that of Germany's, but of a universal truth that cried out from inside each of us.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

posted with Jake's permission