from bartender B. Stehle //
Voting can be tedious because a decision has to be made. But choosing can also be liberating, as it means freedom of choice. We constantly make decisions in our lives, consciously or unconsciously, of great consequence or of little relevance, whether we like it or not. This multifaceted topic can be viewed through a biological, neurological, psychological or legal lens, among others. Given the occasion, it seems appropriate at this point to look at it from a socio-political perspective.
One thing to consider first: depending on the type of bar you visit, you can expect very different cocktail menus. If you visit an award-winning bar, you will probably find an appealing, well thought-out and creative menu. In a corner pub, on the other hand, you can expect the usual suspects, poorly presented. On the respective menus, the drinks compete for the guest's favor by naming their ingredients and sometimes arousing emotions with tempting names. The choice of establishment influences the level of further choices. In political elections, such a pre-selection is not possible unless a different citizenship is sought. The prevailing social conditions determine what is on offer. Conversely, it can be said that the topics of the election campaign and the way in which it is conducted also say something about the state of society. This is the case because the parties do not stoically proclaim their positions and plans, but rather align themselves in such a way that they attract as many votes as possible. The trend towards opportunistic election campaigns is reinforced by changes in media usage, larger amounts of data and sophisticated algorithms.
When choosing a drink, it is usually possible to speak directly to the bartender. A cocktail can be modified or it is possible to order a drink that is not even on the menu. This direct form of influence is of course not possible in political elections. Democratic processes in the true sense of the word are complex and lengthy. Western-style democracies have therefore adopted the representative form, although Switzerland is to some extent an exception. This means that the election of an appropriate party is the only way to participate in the democratic process. The actual work is then carried out by the representatives. It is important to emphasize and appreciate this fact because it makes it clear that political elections, and therefore the election campaign, are at the heart of Western democracies.
A thought experiment: historians of a future advanced civilization, perhaps 800 years or 5000 years from now, will analyze our time. They will reconstruct the political systems and the framework conditions. Perhaps they will first rub their eyes and weigh up alternative explanations. Then they will always return to the same question: Seriously? It's easy to poke fun at the level of the current US election campaign, which makes your average sitcom seem highly intellectual. But what does that say about our times? Conflicts are escalating, the suffering they cause is enormous and the danger of major wars immanent; there are no convincing answers to the ecological crisis and no confidence in the robustness of our economic system; life satisfaction in Western societies is manageable, which is expressed in new psychological ailments, among other things. In short, our entire model of life seems to be under pressure and programmatic positions would be appropriate. Against this backdrop, the American election campaign can only be described as a farce. It reveals a highly infantile approach to the situation, which is certainly not limited to the USA. This is not meant as an insult. The consequences affect us all.
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In keeping with the state of our nation and to stay on topic, the following cocktails come to mind: Zombie, Caribbean nightmare, Blow job, Alice Deluxe, Adios Motherf***er, Death in the Afternoon...just to name a few.
Chapeau, Mr. Zorn, you live up to your name (nomen est omen?). Whereby you eloquently and diplomatically soften the force of the obvious anger between the lines. And I'm right there with you, that's why it resonates so well. Somehow all these dissociative disorders that you so aptly describe remind me of the "Matrix trilogy" (the one with the four parts...). There are some parallels to your perception. The choice...which pill to take, for example. Or the system that controls all and sundry and, if necessary, disciplines them for trying to look behind the veil. Or the names... Neo, for example... in the sense of "May makes everything NEW?" Or Morpheus...and what dreams may come in SLEEP, when we shake off the urge of the earthly, that forces us to stand still (Hamlet 3rd act, 1st scene, the soliloquy, you know...). But back to your perception or your view of things, I would even say that anyone who lifts the veil cannot REMAIN normal! Peeing on Maia's leg is not without consequences. The responsibility for normal mortals to deal with the knowledge that awaits them behind the curtain is too great. This final step (namely enlightenment) would actually turn Homo sciens (THAT is what we are...) into Homo sapiens (THAT is what we are not yet...). So perhaps it is not a bad idea that not everyone is allowed to lift the veil, but only true and humble adepts. Being allowed to "see" is a grace, not a merit. May it be granted to you, but keep it to yourself. Torchbearers are not seen in this dark time, at the near bottom of the deepest depths, but the light of their torches is seen...per noctem ad lucem.
"Man errs as long as he strives!" Goethe. That actually says it all. The rest are interpretations of this human dilemma. Humans are imperfect beings who are totally overwhelmed by the world. A world that they create themselves, a world that corresponds to their incomplete being. In order to survive and remain reasonably sane, we, the species of "hairless apes", have learned to hide our total inadequacies from ourselves and others. This is the game we all play to survive in the company of other imperfect people. If it weren't for that, something as inane as the American electoral system couldn't survive for a second. Everyone sees that the emperor is naked, but anyone who articulates this is abandoning the consensus of praising human imperfection. We shoot a movie every day and think it is our life. My name is Gantenbein. I imagine ... The Tagesschau is the daily high mass in which the world is "made". In such a way that it becomes acceptable to the masses. For example, they announce: GNP grew by 0.1 % in the last quarter. You can't make a bigger joke than that! And everyone can know that. In the quarterly calculations, approx. 50 % of the values are estimated! 0.1 % is within the estimation error! Measuring the world! WWF employees are measuring turtles in the South Seas. Allegedly to ensure their survival! 10 kg of corals are implanted in a reef to ensure its existence! The legalization of the world! German tax legislation accounts for more than half of all corresponding laws worldwide. A flood of laws is enacted by parliaments without the average citizen actually finding out about them. The German Social Code comprises 1200 pages. Creating justice in this world. A crazy world. A world of crazy people? But be careful! Anyone who lifts the veil is not normal!
Mr. Zorn, the world is not crazy, but you have corrected it into a world of crazy people. You also mentioned how crazy they are in tax legislation. Here you have provided me with a steep template and addressed my favorite topic. It gets really crazy when you look at the definition of tax. I'll start with a very brief introduction to the term "debt".
Anyone who causes damage owes compensation. Anyone who buys a car owes the purchase price. If you bring children into the world, you owe them care and maintenance. You don't just owe something, you owe it for a reason. You owe nothing unconditionally.
However, resourceful lawyers from the specialist discipline of so-called administrative law have now invented a term that is worthy of being included in the eternal hit list of non-words, namely "the unconditionally owed tax". This is exactly how they define the tax levied by the state. This is characterized by the fact that - yes, you read that right - it is owed unconditionally, i.e. regardless of whether you have caused damage, bought something or assumed responsibility in any other way. By definition, taxes are simply owed. For no reason.
So the only "reason" to pay the tax is that you have the money to pay it. No wonder taxpayers' enthusiasm is increasingly limited. I am reminded of a nice anecdote from Johann Peter Hebel's treasure chest, which is so compact that it can be quoted in full:
>>When a foreign prince traveled to France in his time, he felt sick to his stomach on the way and had three boiled eggs served to him in a common inn where such guests do not usually stop. When he had finished, the innkeeper asked for 300 livres. The prince asked if eggs were so rare here. The innkeeper smiled and said: "No, not the eggs, but the great lords who can pay that much for them."
The prince also smiled and gave the money, and that was good.
But when the then King of France heard about the matter (it was told to him as a joke), he took great offense that an innkeeper in his realm was subject to such outrageous demands and told the prince: "If you pass the inn again on your return journey, you will see that justice prevails in my country."
When the prince drove past the inn again on his return journey, he no longer saw a sign on it, but the doors and windows were bricked up, and that was just as well.<<
What the rich guest had to pay was neither a purchase price nor compensation, it was nothing other than an unconditional tax. Now it is rightly said that the French king who intervenes and punishes the thieving innkeeper is just the right one; he, who himself knows no inhibitions about collecting unconditionally owed taxes, and this to a thousand times greater extent than the little crook. He rightly puts a stop to his thieving ways - it's just a shame that he indulges in the same impudence himself to a much greater extent. Preach water and drink wine.
Does this sound familiar? Our state rightly intervenes when one person steals money from another simply because they have it - it's just a shame that they indulge in the same impudence themselves to a much greater extent by taking what they have, assets, income, sales of goods and services, just like that - unconditionally.