Bush could learn from Reagan
In the recent celebration of the "legacy" of Ronald Reagan, one often heard that he made us proud of America again. We were once more a city shining on a hill. Such doubts do not occur in most countries. The English, the French, the Dutch, the Spanish, the Poles -- none of them worry about whether they are the light of the world. There are some exceptions. The Germans are beginning to ask if it is acceptable again to be German. The Irish are not happy unless they are unhappy about Ireland, especially as it becomes more prosperous.
Friday, June 18, 2004
When containment meant progress
BERLIN -- I came here for prayer, reflection and nostalgia. At this place on June 26, 1963, John F. Kennedy gave his famous "Let them come to Berlin" speech. On a warm Sunday afternoon, a flea market in the Rathaus (city hall) Platz vies with the memories of four decades ago. Yet images from old films come back. The president is speaking to a crowd in front of the city hall of West Berlin. I can almost hear his conclusion, ''Ich bin ein Berliner!'' and the ecstatic cheers of the Berliners.
Friday, June 11, 2004
Is U.S. like Germany of the '30s?
BERLIN -- I can understand, my German friend said, why Germans voted for Hitler in 1933 -- though he did not receive a majority of the vote. The Weimar Republic was weak and incompetent. The Great Depression had ruined the nation's war-devastated economy. People were bitter because they thought their leaders had betrayed them in the war. They wanted revenge for the humiliation of Versailles. Hitler promised strong leadership and a new beginning. But why did they continue to support that group of crazy drug addicts, thugs, killers and madmen?
Friday, June 4, 2004
This time, Europe's hatred justified
COLOGNE, Germany -- There were American flags all over the house I visited the other day in the suburbs of this lovely city. Two of the children of the house -- two German kids on the edge of what we would call young adulthood -- had studied in the United States and learned to love the country. What about the Iraq war? I asked their father, a social science colleague. They are able to make the distinction, he replied, between the war, of which they strongly disapprove, and the United States, which they admire.
