 |
| Sascha Lobo ©Der Spiegel |
Red Baron blogged about Sascha's novel words before. What does he mean by world stress?
Here are the circumstances that lead to world stress: We are still in the pandemic. Delta variant ahead. Deadly vaccination skepticism. Floods and sweltering heat. Burning forests worldwide. Radicalizations of all kinds, from Hungary to the Taliban. Plus, Germany's national classics of digitization disaster, infrastructure deficiencies, educational misery, right-wing extremism, integration problems, housing and nursing shortages, and pains with our federal structure in times when national actions would be required.
This is more than just Germans complaining at an elevated level. The present times desperately call for political solutions, i.e., understandable, plausible, powerful recipes. So, the current situation should be perfect for the German federal election campaign.
No chance! The current campaign, including the political personnel, is a disaster. We have a triumvirate of candidates for chancellor that is a complete failure: "Annalena Baerbock (Green) is unprofessional, Armin Laschet (Christian Democrat) is incompetent, and Olaf Scholz (Social Democrat) is not yet disenchanted because he does not take place."
All candidates are afraid of putting their foot into it, so our election campaign is tepid, uninspired, and irrelevant. How little even the most obvious opportunities are being used effectively. It is fashionable to think that the triumvirate of candidates has completely flopped. The polls do not depict which party is considered good but the least bad. It also explains the converging values; perhaps three parties will remain around the twenty percent mark in the end.
Sascha explains, "My thesis is that a larger part of the German population suffers from a social syndrome that I would like to call "Weltstress." Like weltschmerz, but caused by the overload due to the multitude of different catastrophes and mini apocalypses of the past months. The indifference to the election campaign is the core issue, not just its lack of quality. A year and a half of pandemic and climatic turmoil have numbed us. Paradoxically, my thesis is supported by the ludicrous excitement over trivialities and inconsequentialities that are particularly noticeable during the summer months. Getting worked up artificially is a frequent reaction to one's own dulling."
"World stress is a mixture of exhaustion, depressive mood, and disaster weariness that overcomes those who still care about the world. People mistakenly thought that the pandemic was somehow over with mass vaccinations. On the other hand, Corona had faded the undoubtedly life-threatening climate issue into the background. Now both are coming back with a vengeance."
"These world issues overshadow a multitude of domestic problems that have one thing in common. No one trusts any of the three candidates to solve them. There are ideas, concepts, and possibilities, but the election campaign is tiny, and the world's stress is great. After all, what is a Laschet embarrassment, a Baerbock blunder, a Scholz phrase against a continent on fire, or a further lost delta year? "
"World stress results from a deeply felt helplessness in the face of the turbulence of world events. It is difficult to bear that not even the most powerful people in Germany can get a grip on Corona or the climate catastrophe. No person could credibly promise that things will be all right if you elect him/her. One of the most devastating sentences of the last months, years, maybe decades, was that the climate situation will not get better if you immediately drastically reduce harmful gas emissions worldwide. It will get worse, albeit more slowly."
It still makes a big difference which party you vote for in the upcoming general elections, although it doesn't feel that way for too many people. Unfortunately, the Weltstress reinforces this wrong attitude.
Sascha explains, "My thesis is that a larger part of the German population suffers from a social syndrome that I would like to call "Weltstress." Like weltschmerz, but caused by the overload due to the multitude of different catastrophes and mini apocalypses of the past months. The indifference to the election campaign is the core issue, not just its lack of quality. A year and a half of pandemic and climatic turmoil have numbed us. Paradoxically, my thesis is supported by the ludicrous excitement over trivialities and inconsequentialities that are particularly noticeable during the summer months. Getting worked up artificially is a frequent reaction to one's own dulling."
"World stress is a mixture of exhaustion, depressive mood, and disaster weariness that overcomes those who still care about the world. People mistakenly thought that the pandemic was somehow over with mass vaccinations. On the other hand, Corona had faded the undoubtedly life-threatening climate issue into the background. Now both are coming back with a vengeance."
"These world issues overshadow a multitude of domestic problems that have one thing in common. No one trusts any of the three candidates to solve them. There are ideas, concepts, and possibilities, but the election campaign is tiny, and the world's stress is great. After all, what is a Laschet embarrassment, a Baerbock blunder, a Scholz phrase against a continent on fire, or a further lost delta year? "
"World stress results from a deeply felt helplessness in the face of the turbulence of world events. It is difficult to bear that not even the most powerful people in Germany can get a grip on Corona or the climate catastrophe. No person could credibly promise that things will be all right if you elect him/her. One of the most devastating sentences of the last months, years, maybe decades, was that the climate situation will not get better if you immediately drastically reduce harmful gas emissions worldwide. It will get worse, albeit more slowly."
It still makes a big difference which party you vote for in the upcoming general elections, although it doesn't feel that way for too many people. Unfortunately, the Weltstress reinforces this wrong attitude.
*
No comments:
Post a Comment