Angela Merkel, Na Klar!

Who runs the world? Obviously Angela Merkel. Merkel is our Queen. Tumblr is run by theycallmejaycee & peridot-tears.

[thatswhywelovegermany]

The really scary result of this election is that the right-populist, open nationalist, and in the recent time more and more racist-leaning AfD is the  S E C O N D   S T R O N G E S T  party in east Germany.

[kahba000-deactivated20171025]

lollll “open nationalist” as if thats a bad thing????

[racistspiderman]

why are germans so whipped lmao

[gruene-teufel]

Thankfully the East Germans are waking up

[allamericankindofguy-actual]

OP, please explain why nationalism is bad

[thatswhywelovegermany]

Exclusive nationalism as represented by the AfD aims at aggressive differentiation from other nations. The idealization of the own nation with the aim of a unity between people and territory is often accompanied with exclusion and discrimination, in extreme cases with forced displacement or extermination of minorities that are perceived as foreign or detrimental to the own national corpus. Examples apart from German National Socialism are the Italian Fascism and the ethnic cleansing during the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s. Exclusive nationalism claims a monopoly of loyality and interpretation. The individual must no longer regard its religion, home, or political opinion as identity-establishing focus of its thinking and acting, but only the nation. This can lead to the relativization or even depreciation of the individual, culminating in the sentence “You are nothing, your nation is everything.” Exclusive nationalism often culminates in chauvinism and hate against other nations leading to war. These days with mankind having weapons capable of annihilating human life (or even life on earth in general), wars are more dangerous than ever.

That’s why the nationalism represented by the AfD is a dangerous thing.

[allamericankindofguy-actual]

So basically it’s bad because pride in your heritage scares you. Got it.

[thatswhywelovegermany]

Got it not entirely.

It’s a difference to invite others to share your pride in the heritage (as I try to do with this blog) or to reject others because they don’t have that heritage. It is the latter that is part of the dangerous exclusive nationalism that I am warning against, while I would appreciate the former as healthy patriotism. There may be a thin line between them.

[allamericankindofguy-actual]

It’s not necessarily bad to “exclude” people from being part of your national heritage. I wouldn’t want a British person saying they’re glad they helped us go to the moon when they didn’t.

[thatswhywelovegermany]

Obviously, that British person would be talking bullshit, so there’s no point in excluding him, he is already out. But with the live TV coverage of the moon landing provided to the rest of the world for free, the USA has invited the rest of the world to take part in their national pride, for good reason.

BTW, I take a certain pride in the fact that the brilliant head who helped the USA to the moon was a German. At the same time, my pride is quite a bit restrained because thousands of forced workers died during the development of the basic technology of the moon rocket during world war II. I have visited both the site of the development and of mass-production of the A4/V2 rocket and was awestruck by the brilliance of mind and disgusted by the disregard of the lives of fellow human beings. Which, according to nationalist ideology, were NOT fellow, but inferior.

That said, it is now midnight in Germany. I am going to sleep now. Let’s continue the discussion tomorrow. Good night.

[naklarangelamerkel]

Tl;dr --

Patriotism doesn't mean blind nationalism.

[thatswhywelovegermany]

The really scary result of this election is that the right-populist, open nationalist, and in the recent time more and more racist-leaning AfD is the  S E C O N D   S T R O N G E S T  party in east Germany.

[kahba000-deactivated20171025]

lollll “open nationalist” as if thats a bad thing????

[racistspiderman]

why are germans so whipped lmao

[gruene-teufel]

Thankfully the East Germans are waking up

[allamericankindofguy-actual]

OP, please explain why nationalism is bad

[thatswhywelovegermany]

Exclusive nationalism as represented by the AfD aims at aggressive differentiation from other nations. The idealization of the own nation with the aim of a unity between people and territory is often accompanied with exclusion and discrimination, in extreme cases with forced displacement or extermination of minorities that are perceived as foreign or detrimental to the own national corpus. Examples apart from German National Socialism are the Italian Fascism and the ethnic cleansing during the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s. Exclusive nationalism claims a monopoly of loyality and interpretation. The individual must no longer regard its religion, home, or political opinion as identity-establishing focus of its thinking and acting, but only the nation. This can lead to the relativization or even depreciation of the individual, culminating in the sentence “You are nothing, your nation is everything.” Exclusive nationalism often culminates in chauvinism and hate against other nations leading to war. These days with mankind having weapons capable of annihilating human life (or even life on earth in general), wars are more dangerous than ever.

That’s why the nationalism represented by the AfD is a dangerous thing.

[allamericankindofguy-actual]

So basically it’s bad because pride in your heritage scares you. Got it.

[thatswhywelovegermany]

Got it not entirely.

It’s a difference to invite others to share your pride in the heritage (as I try to do with this blog) or to reject others because they don’t have that heritage. It is the latter that is part of the dangerous exclusive nationalism that I am warning against, while I would appreciate the former as healthy patriotism. There may be a thin line between them.

[valyrfia]

Germany??? Are you okay???

[bookshelfdreams]

no

[official-nordrheinwestfalen]

i dont understandWhats happenin in germany right now and?

It’s election day and the “we’re not nazis just concerned citizens!”- nazi party got like 13 % which is… way more than they should have

[sodiscreetlysympathetic-deactiv]

… 

[official-lidl]

@official-angela-merkel an was hast du in diesem Moment gedacht?

[animestan69]

Nicht and Heidi Klums Lidl-Fashion-Kollektion, that’s for sure

[animestan69]

[naklarangelamerkel]

On world stage, Germany cautiously moves to the center as US eyes the wings

Germany has been reluctant to assert itself globally. But as relations with the US come under strain, Germans increasingly see the necessity of taking a leading international role – particularly with Angela Merkel as the steady hand.

“It is pushing Germans out of their comfort zone,” says Ulrich Kühn, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington and the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg. “But what we see right now are rapid developments. We really see shifting tectonic plates of geopolitics.”

If it is largely the German instinct to focus inwards, he adds, "the German public has understood this is not possible anymore.”

[fyeahtheresamay]

Prime Minister Theresa May with Chancellor Angela Merkel at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany

[naklarangelamerkel]

First off -- noooot a fan of HuffPost. At all. Second of all -- the saga of China trying to one-up America continues. ~PT

[famehunting]

[odinsblog]

Me too, Angela. Me too

[naklarangelamerkel]

A look inside the daily life of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a former chemist who hosts international diplomats and can get by on only 4 hours of sleep

Angela Merkel is hosting the G20 summit in Hamburg. Here's a closer look at the German Chancellor's daily life.

[allthingsgerman]

G 20 - A summary

[ifreakingloveroyals]

Cambridge’s Abroad: 1,330/∞

↳ Germany 2016

[vodkastinger]

Hillary and super awkward baby Angela Merkel! :D

(dpa) - US Senator Hillary Clinton smiles as she stands next to Angela Merkel (L), Chairwoman of the CDU, after receiving the German Media Prize 2004 in Baden-Baden, Germany, 13 February 2005. Clinton was awarded the prize for her exemplary engagement advancing the role of women in the world of politics, society and media.

[naklarangelamerkel]

Look, I don’t agree with Angela Merkel’s vote

But I am mildly disgusted with the extreme reaction on here to one single vote over gay marriage, which she probably knew would be approved. I’m speaking as a (centrist) bi woman as I say this. 

The woman is a 63-year-old conservative whose father was literally a pastor. There is a long lifetime against her when it comes to the embrace of same-sex marriage, not to mention the fact that the majority of the world did not support it for several decades. The fact she caved and allowed this vote and spoke to a lesbian couple has to mean something. 

I re-iterate - I support same-sex marriage. But we are denouncing her, reducing her actions on the LGBT community to one action: marriage. Lest we forget, she called out Russia on doing nothing about Chechen death camps rounding up homosexuals, something the American president failed to do. 

But her stance on an issue honestly shouldn’t erase the fact that she helped potentially save thousands upon thousands of lives by allowing a million Syrian refugees into the country, when other nations literally built fences to keep them out, and focused on deporting criminals. That is compassion. 

Merkel also correctly sees European unity as essential to peace. She’s a fierce advocate for it. She understands the importance of freedom of movement between member EU states, easier trade as a means of improving prosperity, and that sometimes it’s better to approach things rationally.

So yeah. You don’t have to thank her for the legalization of gay marriage in Germany… But erasing some major things from her biography, ignoring the lives she helped, and forgetting how healthy Germany seems to have been under her leadership overall is really discomforting to me. 

[naklarangelamerkel]

tl;dr – progress is progress, and credit goes where credit is due. One of the best things a politician can do is admit she was wrong, and progress the people accordingly.

[gimmeaglimmer]

I’m not angry because she voted no and because I think she disrespects queer people, I just think her flip-flopping tactics are wild and random and there is no persuasion behind it, she doesn’t act out of a deeper belief but only out of a will to secure her own power…before the 2013 elections the topic was the change to renewable energies and now it’s equal marriage rights. It doesn’t fucking matter, it could just as well have been a new right on stopping animal cruelry or whatever, choose for yourself…if Merkel sees a personal advantage in something, she’ll fucking use it, no matter what

I honestly believe that she didn’t vote no because she wanted to disrespect lgbt people or anything, or because she grew up that way, but simply and only for the reason that she wants to appease some of the old homophobic people who’re voting for her party, she wanted to stop them from choosing AfD instead, that’s all…

[naklarangelamerkel]

She’s a politician.

The trouble of being a politician is that you need to help yourself to help others, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Let’s not forget how her ratings dropped after stepping her neck out to let in refugees.

But that’s the thing, isn’t it? Through Greece and refugees, she has had to make calls that brought her popularity down, brought down the approval of the people and her fellow politicians. And God knows you can’t continue to do things like stand against Trump as the “Queen of Europe” and let in refugees if people disapprove of you so much that they take that power away from you. Regardless of whatever liberal successors she may have, her track record shows someone who has acted practically and even humanely.

You’re right. She is self-centered, determined to appease to the old conservatives behind her as long as it keeps her in power. She is a politician through and through. But it’s hard to trust other people to do the job you’ve been struggling to do so long.

And her one vote against progress was strategically placed. The one time she votes nay is the time when it wouldn’t have mattered anyway.

She’s a politician. That’s already an unforgivable role. As a leader, she is already responsible for both suffering and progress of millions. But at the end of the day, she’s a smart politician, and one who uses her wits to push for progress.

She is power-hungry. She’s also realistic. There are times when the end may just justify the means.

~PT

[naklarangelamerkel]

Europe 'more determined' than ever to fight climate change: Angela Merkel

Speaking a week before hosting a G20 summit, she called global warming an "existential challenge" for humanity and said the 2015 Paris deal was "not negotiable".