Es brennt

Monday morning. 7am. Being spoiled by the first sunrays of a day that will fully live up to its expectations, as the daring swallows zigzagging above your head suggest, climbing up into the deep blue like a jet fighter before plunging down, again and again. Once. Twice. Teasingly circling each other like lovers, knowing exactly what they want, intrigued, longing, yet not daring to make the decisive move. A coffee-to-go in your hand, shades already on, another great day ahead.

Until...

Until the displayed newspapers or the radio or the tv force you to zoom out of that perfect moment, painfully depicting Sundays events. European elections. A black date, or rather a brown one, considering the alarming results, the ease with which so many right-wing populist parties strongly increased their impact on European politics.

And I feel ashamed.

Ashamed to be European these days.

I don't wanna turn this into a huge political statement, as I neither have the time or nerve for a digital shitstorm and haters gonna hate anyway, but I got some strong opinions about certain basic issues like gay marriage (yes), death penalty (no), gun control (yes, please) OR the fact that fascism, racism and any kind of right-wing populism has to be prevented no matter what. No tolerance. Ever. Voting for right-wing populist/radical parties is never gonna be a legitimite way of protest, it's just plain and simple stupidity. Denmark, France, Great Britain, Italy... why, oh why? It saddens me, shocks me, leaves me speechless, makes me wanna scream and just slam my fist into a wall.

Of course am I prejudiced. There is probably no other coutry on this planet that is as cautious about racism and fighting right-wing movements as much as Germany is these days. The cultural heritage we carry constantly reminds us of the monstrous things that happened 70 years ago. The ease with which Hitler and the NSDAP managed to take over control, to establish a dictatorship under the blinded eyes of the representatives of the Weimar Republic, gleefully nodding their heads, like lambs that silently let themselves be led to the slaughter. The terrible, unspeakable crimes and injustices that happened after that. You can't shake it off. It's everywhere. You're not patriotic. You're not proud to be German. Unless there's a World Cup or some other major sports event going on, but besides that? You must not be. And you aren't. And that's fine, I don't need to claim being German 24/7 or put up a flag in my window to cherish my culture, my identity, my heritage.

We got so many priviliges in the European Union. A strong currency. The freedom of movement treaty. A shared internal market. The European Erasmus programme. Achievements our ancestors fought for after WWII. A vision of a united continent that actually seemed within reach following the collapse of the Soviet Union. One can't, one must not abandon these ideals, and despite the recent struggles, despite Greece being bankrupt, despite the way too high unemployment rate among young academics in Spain and Portugal we must face these problems united, instead of turning towards anti-european right-wing populist parties trying to drive a wedge between us as nations. Being a blue-eyed caucasian girl I have had the priviledge so far to not become a victim of racism or xenophobia, no matter where I traveled, but that makes it only twice as much my responsibility to fight and condemn it. What does it take for those angry, confused, politically lethargic voters to exit that one-way-street towards national socialism?

I wish I knew.