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| 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. Radicalization of all kinds, from Hungary to the Taliban. Plus, Germany's national classics: digitization disasters, infrastructure deficiencies, educational misery, right-wing extremism, integration problems, housing and nursing shortages, and pains with our federal structure at times when national action is 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 fear putting their foot in 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 don't show which party is considered good, but which is considered least bad. It also explains the converging values; perhaps the three parties will end up around the twenty percent mark.
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 from the multitude of different catastrophes and mini-apocalypses over the past months.
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 from the multitude of different catastrophes and mini-apocalypses over 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, especially 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. Ideas, concepts, and possibilities abound, but the election campaign is small, 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 hard to bear that not even Germany's most powerful people can get a grip on Corona or the climate catastrophe. No one can credibly promise that things will be all right if you elect them. 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.
"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. Ideas, concepts, and possibilities abound, but the election campaign is small, 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 hard to bear that not even Germany's most powerful people can get a grip on Corona or the climate catastrophe. No one can credibly promise that things will be all right if you elect them. 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.
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