Homesick for a dictatorship

[Skybird]

"Glorification of the GDR has reached the centre of society."

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...634122,00.html

It can be explained, to some degree. But neither in full, nor can the transfiguring lies be explained.

What can reason or education acchieve here? Nothing.

Frustrating.

[Thomen]

Originally Posted by Skybird

"Glorification of the GDR has reached the centre of society."

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...634122,00.html

It can be explained, to some degree. But neither in full, nor can the transfiguring lies be explained.

What can reason or education acchieve here? Nothing.

Frustrating.

Mhm.. if they pay back the money they recieved, sure.. why not.

I remember the reunification, it was a happy time that turned sour pretty quick with the economic recession of the early -90's. The recessions always tend to make people long for the times when they weren't just little toy boats on the waves of the huge market economy - ocean.

[Thomen]

Originally Posted by OneToughHerring

I remember the reunification, it was a happy time that turned sour pretty quick with the economic recession of the early -90's. The recessions always tend to make people long for the times when they weren't just little toy boats on the waves of the huge market economy - ocean.

You are correct. It went sour pretty fast. Recession in the 90's may have been one contributing factor, but not the biggest one, IMO.

Alot of people in the western part got disillusioned pretty quick when everybody heard what it will cost and who is going to pay for it.

[Respenus]

Welcome to the democratic republic of Slovenia, where the Party rules everything and you are forbidden to express your "negative" opinion of the Government in public or be remove from it. Forbidden to work or to express one self, the Party has total control over the media and the intellectual and academic circle with few allowed to express their true opinions. If you want a People's Republic, look no further, everything you need is in Slovenia. Come and send them to us, the Party will gladly accept them to strengthen their illusions of a democratic country.

[Buddahaid]

I miss feudalism...

Buddahaid

[August]

It's things like this that make me believe that this golden age of European stability and peacefulness will be relatively short lived.

It would be interesting to see the age demographics of the poll. Birger, 30, is probably too young to make a good assesment of how things actually were before the fall. Most folks have fond memories of how things were at age 10.

Originally Posted by CastleBravo

It would be interesting to see the age demographics of the poll. Birger, 30, is probably too young to make a good assesment of how things actually were before the fall. Most folks have fond memories of how things were at age 10.

Could be, but that doesn't mean that things actually were that bad for, say, 10 year old's in GDR. Everything that had to do with the states responsibility over the people was taken care of and there was plenty of youth clubs etc. Less drugs, less gangs, less crime, etc. So it isn't as simple as 'time gilds memories'.

It seems that the Americans are very interested to have things their way in far away places but once they have gotten their wish they kind of walk away. Case in point, Afghanistan.

That is my point. For a 10 yo nothing is bad. It isn't until one matures into a tax payer that the role of government becomes clear.

When one works hard and has nothing to show for it because of gov't intervention, it makes folks angry.

[Buddahaid]

Originally Posted by OneToughHerring

It seems that the Americans are very interested to have things their way in far away places but once they have gotten their wish they kind of walk away. Case in point, Afghanistan.

I'm not touching that one, but be ready for the big American cream pie heading your way.

Buddahaid

[Schroeder]

Maybe we should remind them that they would have to drive cars again that were build like this:


And wait 14 years to get one btw.

Originally Posted by Schroeder

Maybe we should remind them that they would have to drive cars again that were build like this:


And wait 14 years to get one btw.

Go ahead and remind "them", you make the former East-Germans sound like aliens or something. I'm beginning to understand why they don't like to live subjugated to the west.

A lot of the architecture that was hastily built in the unified Berlin isn't really for the ages, a bunch of glass, metal and other boring stuff. I'm not saying that the socialist system was working out, it had come to the end of it's road. However, I did expect quite a bit more from the 'winners' or 'conquerors'.

[Buddahaid]

Originally Posted by OneToughHerring

Go ahead and remind "them", you make the former East-Germans sound like aliens or something. I'm beginning to understand why they don't like to live subjugated to the west.

Subjugated? Subjugation was the intent of Moscow for Finland as I recall. Seems Finland fought pretty hard to avoid that. The alien sounding "west" tries to let people help themselves once given the opportunity, and it can be very uneven. But if it did more, the cries would truly be subjugation or a welfare state.

Buddahaid

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

Subjugated? Subjugation was the intent of Moscow for Finland as I recall. Seems Finland fought pretty hard to avoid that. The alien sounding "west" tries to let people help themselves once given the opportunity, and it can be very uneven. But if it did more, the cries would truly be subjugation or a welfare state.

Buddahaid

The way I look at it is from the point of view of simple geography. Certain ways of thinking, political ideologies, work in some places and conditions and don't really work elsewhere. Socialism kind of worked in many places in the former USSR and other places. For someone to say it doesn't work IMO should at least give something that works better in that particular place instead.