Kultur 2 - German Perfectionism and Identity

As I read the articles that were assigned, I was thinking; "Wow, how weird can that be?" about Germans being as honest as they can be, and about them staring at you for no apparent reason. It is hard for me to understand why Germans complain (or just believe they complain) a lot, especially regarding soccer, since Germans have a very talented and solid team, which was among the favorites of winning the European Championship of 2008 where they reached the final against Spain and the World Cups of 2002, 2006 and 2010 where they finished 3rd, 2nd and 2nd respectively. Except for the European Championship of 2004, where the Germans got knocked out on the first round and the Greeks later won the tournament (let me boast about it as Greece's greatest success in soccer), the Germans were always on the top 4. I grew up knowing that the best teams in the world were Brazil and Germany. However, this does not seam enough for the Germans themselves, and someone would ask why since it seems irrational.

From my visit to Germany and from the information I have seen on the media, the Germans are perfectionists, they would not settle unless they achieved perfection. In Greece, Germans are viewed as the most productive European country and their economy is considered to be the most efficient. It does not surprise me to find out that the Germans always complain and are obsessed with statistics. My opinion is that this life style is what has made Germany into the leading country of Europe, and how has Germany sustained all the difficulties other European countries are suffering from during the present economic recession.

The German people's habit of staring and being brutally honest is an exciting fact about them. It is definitely a German thing to behave that way since it is not something we see everywhere nowadays. I would suggest that along with Germans' constant complaining and obsession with statistics, staring and brutal honesty may be their identity; they are some of the characteristics that distinguish the Germans from other cultures around the globe.