Archive for the ‘Germany’ Category
Germany is not “on the Brink”
Mr. Douthat’s ignorance of Germany is remarkable and embarrassing. As any informed citizen of that country (which I am) is aware, a significant majority of Germans support increased immigration in light of the historic refugee crisis precipitated by war in Syria and Iraq, however statistically aging we may be, and we do not appreciate being called fools because we refuse to succumb to our own culture’s worst xenophobic tendencies.
Secondly, sadly, Germany has never outgrown the “1930s-style political violence” Mr Douthat fears immigration will provoke. Although the severity of the violence has lessened, a survey of German newspapers will show it has only grown more prevalent in the past year.
And who is more capable of leading Germany through a crisis than the historically popular, and immigration-skeptical, Chancellor Merkel? Germany is on the cusp of redefining itself, not collapsing into chaos.
–Matthew J. Webster