[ds_opseeker]

This is one of the traits I admire the most about German culture; awareness that government can abuse its power.

In the US, by contrast, I see one political power eager to give powers to their candidates which they would hate to give to the rival party. It's like they've forgotten that they are giving power to the Government, not to a party, and if the other party gets power they get those powers.

[latency-guy2]

I don't get that sense at all from Germans, since we're citing some stereotypes, my view on it was that Germans "love" the bureaucracy, and they continue to accumulate it.

The USA is anti-government and authority, fundamentally from the beginning all the way through modern times. Freedom is colloquially synonymous with America and that's in contrast with government, "Live free or die" is the motto of millions of Americans and in various capacities, sometimes alliterated to on state flags.

[arendtio]

Germans don't love bureaucracy; in fact, we hate it. But everything must be very correct and thought through, which leads to complicated laws.

On top of that, we have some misplaced idea that everybody must have a lot of local laws. We call it federalism, and it has some benefits, but I think we use it for far too many things.

Both things together make it very hard to reduce bureaucracy or offer digital services. It is very embarrassing.

[marcus_holmes]

> Freedom is colloquially synonymous with America

Only in the USA, for US citizens. Outside the USA; not so much.

Germans do love their bureaucracy, but I get the feeling that's seen as a brake on the politicians; it's hard to make the bureaucracy change, so radical politicians can't do too much damage.

[mnw21cam]

> Only in the USA, for US citizens. Outside the USA; not so much.

Yeah. When I think of the US and freedom, the first thing that comes to mind is "The country where you're not even allowed to cross the road."

[inglor_cz]

"This is one of the traits I admire the most about German culture; awareness that government can abuse its power."

This trait can be found all over the former Soviet Bloc, because we have had enough experience with either one or two homicidal authoritarian regimes (the Nazis and the Communists). That experience was paid in a lot of pain and blood.

Places like Sweden, the UK, Canada, Australia or the US, where governments within living memory weren't as oppressive against their own population, have a lot of naive people, "well, they mean it well".

[sebastianz]

I agree but I fear this is now fading too. '89 was 35 years ago, and for all generations younger than mine (i'm 40) this part of history will be much more abstract and 'out of living memory'.

[inglor_cz]

Yes, such is the nature of the world, that it buries horrors under layers of time.

In some ways, such healing is necessary, even though it comes with risk of repeating the same mistakes.

A week ago, I was in Zaragoza and there is a Goya Museum there. His prints of the horrors of the Napoleonic Wars are absolutely terrifying and ghastly. Today, the French and the Spanish people are on friendly terms. In a hypothetical world where the witnesses of such horrors still lived, those nations would probably be a lot less friendly and more resentful.

[deutschepost]

Thanks to the themes which are covered in German history lessons, it will never truly disappear.

I can’t remember a single lesson which didn’t cover one of those themes.

[pjmlp]

Yet many students aren't paying attention, given current voting trends.

[marcus_holmes]

Australia is quietly incredibly authoritarian. The rules are really important, and government is encouraged to solve social problems by creating new laws.