Refugees

in German published 2018-1

We humans are individuals who have to find their way in the world. However, we are also social beings who seek support and affirmation in society. By nature, we are made to seek support and affirmation from like-minded people or from people who are as similar to us as possible. When it comes to people with other skin colors or ways of life, we only feel comfortable when we have established that they are just like we are in terms of what makes them tick. People with a rosy worldview and do-gooders will reject this idea and assert that they do not have this "primal" feeling. However, I am convinced that everyone has this primal feeling, although it is not equally easy for everyone to override it. Nor can it serve as an excuse to surround yourself only with similar or like-minded people and to declassify everyone else.

The refugee problem can cause us inner anguish. We see the misery in which a large proportion of the people in the world live. However, even if we take on a great number, we can only accept a small fraction of the people who want to come to our country.

It costs a great deal of money to integrate a refugee or a migrant. With this money, 10 - 100 people could be helped in the Middle East or in Africa.

The stream of refugees cannot be reduced with development aid in the medium term! On the contrary, due to more development aid more people have access to a television, where they see what "paradisiacal states" we live in, and increasing numbers of people raise between 3,000 and 10,000 euros to pay smugglers (escape agents?) to escape to Europe.

So far, refugees coming from Africa hail from North and East Africa. In the future, refugees from Central Africa will come too, for example from the Republic of Congo or the Central African Republic, where the population is growing exponentially.

Having said that, of course, I also believe that development aid is very important, especially if it is self-help.
With do-gooder thinking, we often support the wrong people. If we allow ourselves to be guided by our feelings, we will cause crisis countries even greater problems.

We promote unrest and conflicts in third world countries with our asylum law!

When they travel to a third world country and are asked by a young man there: What do I have to do to get asylum in Europe? Then they would have to tell him that he must oppose the government to such an extent that he ends up in prison for a few weeks. He is subsequently a victim of political persecution and almost certainly qualifies for asylum.

The reasons he is being persecuted are irrelevant for the asylum authorities in Europe. He may have committed Sunni violence against Shiites, or he may have committed violence against Sunnis as a Shiite, he may have participated in mass shootings as an IS fighter. If he fails to mention this and says he is threatened with life and limb, he will obtain asylum.

Young men should not flee crisis areas, but seek peaceful solutions in their countries and then help rebuild them.

This could be seen as an empty claim, but I do not think I would leave my country as a refugee if it was in crisis.

Peace

in German published 2017-12


Everyone wants peace.

Not true, unfortunately!

For ideologues of all kinds, their own version of the truth is more important than peace.

According to Marx, peace will only come when communism has achieved world dominion.

What kind of behavior does the Bible recommend?

The New Testament states:

Jesus said unto him: Put up your sword again, for he who lives by the sword shall perish by the Sword. But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

The New Testament advises highly defensive behavior. However, the New Testament writers certainly did not want their faith to become a state-sponsored religion. Subsequently, many wars were waged and terrible atrocities committed in the name of the Christian faith.

In prehistoric times, and even in the last century, tribes of primitive peoples were almost constantly fighting.

If a tribe wanted to live in peace, it was overrun by the neighboring tribes. Each tribe had to arm itself well and practice the art of warfare. These exercises quickly became warlike conflicts.

In ancient Greece, war was considered a normal condition in relations between the poleis in Greece. Accordingly, peacetime was usually described using terms such as spondai, which roughly translates as a truce (Wikipedia).

In North America, wars between the immigrants and the Indians led to the subjugation, expulsion or extermination of a large section of the native Indian population. But there were also frequent armed conflicts between the Indian tribes.

In the Middle Ages, it was practically a matter of honor for the feudal lords to increase their territory by means of wars.

Today, peace is repeatedly shattered when states try to maintain their unity by force of arms.

In recent years, Islam has proven that the only-true religions cause wars.

        And the Christian West tried to enforce its values by force of arms in Vietnam, Iraq, Libya and Syria, with catastrophic consequences.

As long as people are guided by emotions rather than by reason, they cause enormous misery.

I suggest that our history books be rewritten.

Alexander the Great, Charlemagne and Napoleon must be removed from their pedestals and must be shown to have been responsible for the deaths of millions of people.

Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and all those responsible for the peaceful revolution of the GDR in 1989 were exemplary.

Pacifism

in German published 2017-11

Strict pacifism stands for absolute nonviolence and has ideological characteristics.

There is little talk about pacifism today, since there have been conflicts in the recent past where it has become clear that strict pacifism is an absurd ideology.

However, I think we should bring a moderate type of pacifism back to the debating table. Weapons should really only be resorted to if there are no other options. It was wrong to intervene in Iraq, Libya and Syria!

In recent years there are two principle reasons for armed conflicts:

• minorities without any autonomous rights are held in the central state by force of arms in order to preserve the unity of the states. How many deaths is the unity of a state worth? It should become customary law that all minorities should be allowed to vote on how many autonomous rights they wish to claim.

• Over the past two thousand years, ideologies and religions have repeatedly led to catastrophic wars.

Asylum policy

in German published 2017-11

There is an unholy alliance between socialism and business interests in the issue of free immigration. The Social Democrats and the Red-Greens want open borders for ideological reasons and the economic managers want the highest possible rate of immigration. Economic managers do not care if employee wages thereby fall. As for the Social Democrats and the Red Greens, their ideology is ultimately more important than the wellbeing of their employees.

          In 2016, almost 5,000 asylum seekers drowned in the Mediterranean.

An untenable situation. How can this be prevented?

We could pick up the refugees in Libya and Lebanon with large-capacity aircraft or old cruise liners.

However, if Europe opened its borders, several million economic refugees would come to Europe every year.

         The do-gooders point their fingers to anyone who wants to limit the influx of refugees, crying: shame on you!

Nobody wants to be called a do-gooder, but neither do they want to be called a monster. What is the right attitude?

I think we should rather be guided by reason. Feelings certainly have an important place in our lives, but reason should always prevail in politics.

Politicians who are guided by reason must slow down rose-tinted politicians, economic lobbyists and do-good politicians.

Which of the following statements is more populist?

 - I am against building walls and I am against partitioning ourselves off.

 - We have to be realistic and, if necessary, strengthen our borders.

Foreign policy

in German published 2017-10
Politicians who have a rosy worldview (see socialism) advocate an ideology and, like all ideologues, have missionary zeal. This missionary zeal leads them to point an incriminatory finger at other people.

        And the do-gooders want to remove all dictatorships in developing and emerging countries, whatever the cost. In Syria people have tried to overthrow the bad guy Assad. As a result, half a million people have died for nothing and several million Syrians have had to flee.

We have no business interfering in the Middle East. We are infidels! When we intervene, we are considered crusaders.

Countries that are not yet ready for democracy (such as Russia, Turkey and China) are punished with contempt instead of being encouraged to take small steps towards democracy.

We must not forcibly impose our understanding of democracy and human rights throughout the world, because in doing so we will cause great harm and not help the people living there.