Guten Tag!

The assigned readings for this week's kulture post were enjoyable and entertaining - success! Here are my thoughts on the articles:

On whining, bitching, and moaning- I just found this funny, actually. As someone who derives some degree of humor from cynicism, I can sympathize with the mindset of complaining about something that isn't actually that bad- It's rolling sarcasm and irony into the same action.

On the Germanic Stare Down- On the one hand, being stared at constantly could be creepy, but on the other hand, I actually find the idea of people who are willing to be aware of their surroundings to that extent something between laudable and almost disconcerting. On one level, I almost feel like that is better than the US mindset towards environmental awareness- not the idea of staring people down constantly, but being more aware of your surroundings at all times is far more likely to help you than to harm you.

As for Brutally Honest- This was probably my favorite article to read in terms of utility. I do not like the American emphasis on "political correctness" at all, and feel it is detrimental to society. (And now for a non-sequitor- I have 4 brothers, you learn that having thin-skin is not going to help you at all, and the American mindset on speech encourages thin skin through lack of stimulation to learn to toughen up and deal.) Learning to deal with brutally open statements and engage in clear, direct discussion seems like a quicker and simpler way to get stuff done.

By the Numbers- Well, I can't say I like to watch documentaries, but I feel this relates mostly to the "Germanic Stare Down." I can agree with, and support, the idea of having a broad working base of knowledge in diverse subject matters- it generally won't harm you to learn something, and having that knowledge on hand if you ever need it could only help you. (Knowledge is power...)

What confused me about this assignment is there is an almost-disclaimer about how the articles won't just be about positive things in Germany... I have a hard time seeing those aspects as negatives in German kulture, they seem to be beneficial things to me... Well anyway, i'm out this week!

Tschüss!

-AJ