Great speech by Helmut Schmidt: The Ethics of Politics

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by ASWnut101

I thought you could speed type!:p (J/K)

You wouldn't recognize the English through the sheer number of typos!

Heh, Google is good at that.

You sure? You may want to change your mind, maybe. The following is a Google-translation of the paragraph I quoted in the opening post:

Originally Posted by Google

It in addition, bad compromises actually give - for example debited to third or debited to a later future. There are insufficient compromises, which do not solve the available problem, but only the appearance cause, as if they solve it. Thus thus the temptation faces the necessary virtue of the compromise to the bare Opportunismus. The temptation to the opportunistischen compromise with the public opinion or with parts of the public opinion returns daily! Therefore evenly also the compromise-willing politician remains dependent on its personal conscience. There are compromises, which a politician may not die, because its conscience contradicts. In such case for it only the open disagreement remains, in some cases remains only the resignation or the loss of the mandate. An injury of the own conscience undermines behaviour and moral - and the confidence of others into the integrity of the own person. In addition, there is the conscience mistake. The own reason can itself errs, then can also the own conscience err. In such case a moral reproach is not justified, nevertheless can from it a heavy damage develop. If in such case of the politicians it recognizes his mistake later then it comes before the question whether it is to admit the mistake and the truth. In such situation the politicians behave to once just as all too humanly, as everyone in this hall: Us all falls it completely heavily to grant its own conscience mistake and the truth about us publicly audibly.

Word-Salad!