I hadn't been to Germany in nine months. I had headed to the US in early summer 2020 to report on the American elections for Deutsche Welle. Many couldn't understand why I wanted to voluntarily move to a country that had democratically elected a president who had built his political power on a web of lies and hate.
The COVID crisis was already underway at the time. And, while in the US you had a hothead in the White House who, contrary to scientific wisdom, flat out denied the fatal dangers posed by the virus, Germany seemed to be in good hands. It had a chancellor trained in scientific research who moved nimbly through a maze of data on incidence and reproduction rates of the virus and who evoked trust among much of the population with her supposedly proven competence.
On the brink of a breakdown
The situation looks so different now. I recently had to fly back to my home, Germany, for visa reasons, and for two weeks I was part of a society that is on the verge of a mental breakdown. And, no, I don't understand why Germany is only now beginning to vaccinate its teachers.
I also don't understand why schools are opened and then closed again and why parents often only find out at 9:23 p.m., from mails written by frustrated teachers, whether tomorrow's classes will be at the kitchen table or whether their child can go to school for three hours.
I don't understand why it's accepted that families are on the point of disintegrating or have already broken up because the pressure is simply too great in our country — one whose government has for years declared family welfare to be a top priority.
Eternal back-and-forth
I don't understand why GPs or family doctors, who enjoy great trust among their patients and know their medical histories, aren't allowed to simply vaccinate them. Here, too, there's a constant back-and-forth that is just aggravating the general frustration.
This moment in the global pandemic has revealed the huge advantages of the pragmatic attitude held by Americans. Since US President Joe Biden has made fighting the pandemic his top priority, the country has jolted into action — something Germany can only dream of.
In the US, you can get the jab even in supermarkets, and when people don't show up or cancel, the next to register can get it, without having to produce an eligibility certificate.
I don't know if you know the saying: Tell me what you think of the US and I'll tell you who you are. For many Germans, in particular, the United States is a country onto which they project either blind admiration or a deep contempt. But these extremes don't do justice to the diversity of this country.
During these tough times, it is worth taking a sober look at the US and be willing to learn from it. Many people in that country are currently operating under the motto: "Roll up your sleeves and get to work." It's a virtue that has long been ascribed to the Germans, but which appears to have been lost in recent years of plenty.
This article has been translated from German.