Tanja - you have succinctly captured the divide and conquer narrative which is playing out across the West. It does look like an intentional strategy rather than just a random series of events. Germany has suffered greatly from its open border policy but one wonders if there was an aim to creat disharmony. The COVID-19 story seemed to play out similarly throughout the West and so your story of "fear, crisis and 'solutions'" is clearly part of the Hegelian dialectic. You ask an excellent question: how can societies resist and overcome manipulation? It is hard to get people to understand and respond and most seem content to hand further control to government.
Thank you so much, Reuben, for your kind and insightful comment. It truly means a lot to me that you took the time to read and reflect on the post so deeply.
You're absolutely right—what we're witnessing across the West does seem far too coordinated to be a string of coincidences. The patterns are repeating with unsettling precision: fear, crisis, and pre-packaged "solutions" that always seem to result in a loss of freedom and increased control. The Hegelian dialectic you mention is such an apt lens through which to view it all.
Germany's experience with open borders is particularly painful, as you noted. What began as a policy cloaked in humanitarian language has, in many places, resulted in tension and division. Whether it was by design or a severe case of shortsightedness, the outcome has been increased fragmentation—social, cultural, and political.
And as you say, the greatest challenge is not just identifying the manipulation, but finding ways to awaken and inspire those who remain trusting of institutions that no longer serve their best interests. The temptation to trade freedom for the illusion of security is as old as history itself—and just as dangerous now as it ever was.
But messages like yours remind me that not everyone is asleep at the wheel. Thanks again for your kind words and for being part of the conversation!
You are right Tanja - it is the issue of "The temptation to trade freedom for the illusion of security". It seems a temptation very hard to resist, and now Europe is being drawn into a real war with Russia step by step. Your new Chancellor seems part of the problem rather than part of solution.
Tanja - you have succinctly captured the divide and conquer narrative which is playing out across the West. It does look like an intentional strategy rather than just a random series of events. Germany has suffered greatly from its open border policy but one wonders if there was an aim to creat disharmony. The COVID-19 story seemed to play out similarly throughout the West and so your story of "fear, crisis and 'solutions'" is clearly part of the Hegelian dialectic. You ask an excellent question: how can societies resist and overcome manipulation? It is hard to get people to understand and respond and most seem content to hand further control to government.
Thank you so much, Reuben, for your kind and insightful comment. It truly means a lot to me that you took the time to read and reflect on the post so deeply.
You're absolutely right—what we're witnessing across the West does seem far too coordinated to be a string of coincidences. The patterns are repeating with unsettling precision: fear, crisis, and pre-packaged "solutions" that always seem to result in a loss of freedom and increased control. The Hegelian dialectic you mention is such an apt lens through which to view it all.
Germany's experience with open borders is particularly painful, as you noted. What began as a policy cloaked in humanitarian language has, in many places, resulted in tension and division. Whether it was by design or a severe case of shortsightedness, the outcome has been increased fragmentation—social, cultural, and political.
And as you say, the greatest challenge is not just identifying the manipulation, but finding ways to awaken and inspire those who remain trusting of institutions that no longer serve their best interests. The temptation to trade freedom for the illusion of security is as old as history itself—and just as dangerous now as it ever was.
But messages like yours remind me that not everyone is asleep at the wheel. Thanks again for your kind words and for being part of the conversation!
You are right Tanja - it is the issue of "The temptation to trade freedom for the illusion of security". It seems a temptation very hard to resist, and now Europe is being drawn into a real war with Russia step by step. Your new Chancellor seems part of the problem rather than part of solution.