Shadows and symbols
Talking to 
shadowkat reminded me again of the Chequers Affair, by which I don’t mean Theresa May’s Brexit plans but Margaret Thatcher summoning various historians and politicians in March 1990 to brood on the German national character and the dangers reunification would pose. The Powell memorandum from said day put it thusly:
We started by talking about the Germans themselves and their characteristics (…): their insensitivity to the feelings of others, their obsession with themselves, a strong inclination to self-pity, and a longing to be liked. Some even less flattering attributes were also mentioned as an abiding part of the German national character: in alphabetical order, angst, aggressiveness, assertiveness, bullying, egotism, inferiority complex, sentimentality. Two further aspects of the German character were cited as reasons for concern about the future. First, a capacity for excess, to overdo things, to kick over the traces. Second, a tendency to overestimate their own strengths and capabilities.
*looks at the current state of Britain after two years of Brexit madness*
Boy, was someone projecting or what?
More seriously, I don’t believe in „national character“. (Of either nation.) I do think, however, such portraits are always instructive regarding the painters, in this case, a bunch of influential Tories reflecting a widely shared mind set (and not just among Tories). And I suspect most, though not all, of the characteristics named are shared by two thirds of politicians in any given nation.
On the other hand, I also believe, current messy state of the world not withstanding, that we (as in we, human beings) can do better. Today (December 7th) is also the anniversary of what I still think is one of the most powerful gestures any politician ever made: Willy Brandt’s kneefall at the Warsaw memorial in 1970. Since I suspect many younger readers aren’t aware of what happened anymore, here it is, in an English language report:
I can’t think of a speech that could/would have conveyed what Brandt did with a gesture here. And it needed to be done - not as an ending, mind, but as something driving acknowledgment and repentance forward. The historical constellation is also important - if it had been any other post war Chancellor but Brandt, the meaning would not have been the same. He, who had been a resistance fighter and exile during the Third Reich, was without personal guilt. He wasn’t trying to wash away the blood from his own hands by assuming a general responsibility. He was really kneeling as the embodiment of the nation here, in a way heads of government rarely are when it comes to a nation’s responsibilities, as opposed to celebrations.
Brandt was anything but perfect. But, looking around the world right now, I wish we had more politicians in government who are capable of what he was, at his best.
This entry was originally posted at https://selenak.dreamwidth.org/1316803.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.
shadowkat reminded me again of the Chequers Affair, by which I don’t mean Theresa May’s Brexit plans but Margaret Thatcher summoning various historians and politicians in March 1990 to brood on the German national character and the dangers reunification would pose. The Powell memorandum from said day put it thusly:
We started by talking about the Germans themselves and their characteristics (…): their insensitivity to the feelings of others, their obsession with themselves, a strong inclination to self-pity, and a longing to be liked. Some even less flattering attributes were also mentioned as an abiding part of the German national character: in alphabetical order, angst, aggressiveness, assertiveness, bullying, egotism, inferiority complex, sentimentality. Two further aspects of the German character were cited as reasons for concern about the future. First, a capacity for excess, to overdo things, to kick over the traces. Second, a tendency to overestimate their own strengths and capabilities.
*looks at the current state of Britain after two years of Brexit madness*
Boy, was someone projecting or what?
More seriously, I don’t believe in „national character“. (Of either nation.) I do think, however, such portraits are always instructive regarding the painters, in this case, a bunch of influential Tories reflecting a widely shared mind set (and not just among Tories). And I suspect most, though not all, of the characteristics named are shared by two thirds of politicians in any given nation.
On the other hand, I also believe, current messy state of the world not withstanding, that we (as in we, human beings) can do better. Today (December 7th) is also the anniversary of what I still think is one of the most powerful gestures any politician ever made: Willy Brandt’s kneefall at the Warsaw memorial in 1970. Since I suspect many younger readers aren’t aware of what happened anymore, here it is, in an English language report:
Click to viewI can’t think of a speech that could/would have conveyed what Brandt did with a gesture here. And it needed to be done - not as an ending, mind, but as something driving acknowledgment and repentance forward. The historical constellation is also important - if it had been any other post war Chancellor but Brandt, the meaning would not have been the same. He, who had been a resistance fighter and exile during the Third Reich, was without personal guilt. He wasn’t trying to wash away the blood from his own hands by assuming a general responsibility. He was really kneeling as the embodiment of the nation here, in a way heads of government rarely are when it comes to a nation’s responsibilities, as opposed to celebrations.
Brandt was anything but perfect. But, looking around the world right now, I wish we had more politicians in government who are capable of what he was, at his best.
This entry was originally posted at https://selenak.dreamwidth.org/1316803.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.