Paradise.....bliss....heaven....utopia.....wonderland....Arcadia....Eden.....Shangri-la...Zion....happy hunting ground....Germany. In a nifty and tidy package....it is Disneyland.
Around 2,200 years ago....the Romans arrived in what is Germany today.
It's probably safe to say that Grosser Schmidt (Big Schmidt) and Kleiner Schmidt (Little Schmidt) were standing on a hill at the time, noting the arrivals of visitors and probably chatting up a big welcome and that they'd show the visitors a really fine land. A week later, there was probably some negative talk between the two about the Roman visitors but still some naive feelings that they should continue to show kind ways toward the visitors and welcome them with open arms. I'm guessing that Grosser Schmidt said at that point...."Wir Schaffen Das".....which translates into "We can do this".
As the decades and centuries went by.....Germany has continued this trend.
As far as Germans are concerned.....they make the best beer, the best wine, the best schnitzel, the best deserts, the best castles, the best fortresses, the best palaces, the best cars, the best motorcycles, the best opera music, the best techno music, the best pop (Modern Talking), the best statues, the best art, the best literature, the best cobblestone streets, the best cinema movies (no scary stuff, just plain artsy stuff), the best cheesecake, the best coffee, the best intellectuals, the best politics, the best news journalists, the best taxation methods, the best urban centers, the best roads, the best bridges, the best autobahns, the best soccer coaches, the best soccer arenas, the best soccer players, and best arguments to all discussions.
Naturally, this would mean that people want to come and admire their country, and some would want to immigrate to Germany. It all makes perfect sense.
Now, it is true that the Romans did some hands-on effort to bring commerce and trade into Germany.
Yeah, it's also true that the Catholic Church did man-handle the German culture and people in some negative ways while delivering education reform to Germany.
Yeah, it's true that some bitter war business in the 1500s did radically change the landscape and character of the country.
Yeah, it's also true that some ugly episodes did occur between France and Germany in the 1800s.
Yeah, it's also true that some stupid leadership decisions of the Kaiser did screw up Germany for thirty-odd years.
Yeah, it's true that some Austrian-turned-German guy did reshape the politics of Germany and invented an upward spiral of the Nazi Party.
And yes, it's true that the Americans and Russians parted Germany for several decades, and injected some odd culture and features into what is Germany today....with a little wall business being the cherry on the cake.
But in the midst of the German intellectual, this Disneyland-like country is now a gift to society and the EU, and helping to bring everyone to the marvelous world that Germans think they live in. Greeks will curse that expectation....Austrians will laugh as if this were an opera....and Brits just note their desired direction as going away from the German theme of the EU.
Behind all of this.....is still the "Wir Shaffen Das" (We can do it) type belief that they are showing off a wonderland of sorts, and being proud of everything they've accomplished in twenty-two-odd centuries. They'd like to bring their austerity view on economics to everyone in the EU. They'd like for their version of education to be the European model. They'd like for their railway system to be the model for the rest of Europe. They'd like the autobahn system to be copied and repeated far and wide.
Maybe there is some trend or favorite appeal involved when some refugee or migrant makes a choice to trek all the way into Germany. Maybe they've seen the pictures of schnitzel, the big steins of German-brewed beer, the Audis that seem to be built to perfection, and the Disney-like landscapes.
Course, if you explained all the German rules, expectations, the 8,000-unwritten rules of Germanization, the balanced and tranquil thought process, and the twenty-odd centuries of history which shaped Germans to be the way they are.....then most migrants I think.....might pass on this deal and look for something easier and less complex.
It's funny, you would think that the first thing you'd do in the migrant-training center.....is focus all of the refugees approved for visa into a whole week of "Wir Shaffen Das" (We can do it). You'd need some soccer coach to get everyone hyped up......maybe a journalist to come up next and talk of unicorned ponies and the great wonders of German women integrated into everyday life.....even doing the mundane Chancellor work.....then end day one with some hyped up intellectual talking about Bach's great wonders of composing.
I imagine if you took the real Disneyland management crowd, and the enthusiastic Germans and did a psychological test....they'd both come off with the same score. This might beg questions, but it's best not to stir the pot with this type of thing.
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