Excitable Emigrants

I just fell through a wormhole and landed in a multiverse in which Roland Koch, conservative Minister-President of the State of Hessen, just said something rather witty (g - my translation):

FOCUS: The Americans have even tougher [economic problems]. But they're experiencing the new start in the White House in a sort of patriotic rush. Are our politicians too lame, or are Germans too demure?

Koch: We Germans are generally just a more sober sort. Those of us who were as excitable as the Americans probably emigrated there 200 years ago and joined up with the Italians, Irish and the others.

Comments

[Johannes]

@Don
I would have to research the front lines to tell you exactly how the Hessians suffered in the 30 years war (AFAIK there were no major battles fought here, rather in the northeastern and southern parts of Germany).
But one of the most famous literary documents from that era, the sprawling picaresque novel "Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus" was written by a guy, Grimmelshausen, who was born in Gelnhausen (near Frankfurt/Main) and got involved in the war (or was even abducted by soldiers) at the age of 10 or 12.

[Don]

One need only go back 380 years to the 30 Years war to find a situation which makes the selling of young Hessians appear idyllic.

Did Tilly ever make it to Hesse, Johannes? He did make it to Magdeburg. Lucky bloody Magdeberg....

[headbang8]

There's a british shrink working in LA that agrees with Roland Koch. He's written a book called "American Mania".

http://www.peterwhybrow.com/

[Johannes]

Yes, 230 years ago there was, hard to imagine as it is, even worse a "Landesvater" in Hesse than Koch. Back then young men from the Hessean countryside were sold as mercenaries to the British to fight against the Americans. So we probably should be happy to have only a little corruption, undeclared Swiss accounts and general nastiness nowadays...

http://tinyurl.com/b3ll84
http://tinyurl.com/bfqrrq
(links to german wikipedia)

So not the personal excitability, but rather generally deplorable politics seems to play a crucial role here...

Johannes
(who wishes that the Hessische Verfassung had at least a rule limiting one guy to two terms like for the American presidency)

[Sirian]

heh, that may be true ^^

but still, the fact that out politicans are lame plays a pretty big part too :=)

as for me i think there untrustworthy too ...