August 16, 2017 Mainz to Rüdesheim to Koblenz Germany Fear: Walls & Castles

2017 European River Cruise, ,

 

Today we had breakfast with our Australian friends and were joined by an American Presbyterian Minister from Dayton Ohio who was also a lawyer. What an odd combination. He was a very interesting man.

I asked him something that has been bothering me for some time. How could evangelical Christians so overwhelmingly support Donald Trump for President no matter what he said or did? To me it seemed entirely incongruous.

He said that their entire conservative religion is based on fear. They fear hell, the devil, Muslims, crime, fear immigrants, elites, blacks and Hispanics. That is just the short list. They have many other fears. Their list of people to fear is extraordinarily long. That is why they support Trump’s idea to build a wall. They feel safe behind walls. Like people felt safe in the Middle Ages behind castle walls.

Trump told them when he was campaigning ‘Don’t worry, Trust me.” That was his message. The times are scary. Mexicans are sending us their worst people—rapists, drug dealers, and murderers. Blacks are getting uppity and dangerous. Trump’s message was simple. Don’t worry I will make you safe. I will take care of you. I will keep those scary people away from you and your home.

I will keep the American carnage away from you. The disaster in Chicago where crime flourishes in the city centre should be kept on the other side of a wall too. “Believe me,” he says and they do. They feel safe with Trump. I think they still do and that is why they continue to support him.

Americans are very fearful people. They spend more on their military than the next 8 countries combined, yet they are scared of everyone. That is why I think their civilization is in decline. Fear is inimical to the desire to build civilization. That requires confidence, something current Americans lack.

Until today we were a bit disappointed that we had not seen much of Europe from the boat. Usually we sailed at night when we could see nothing. So really we felt the idyllic scenes of sailing by castles on the Rhine were a bit deceiving. That is we felt like that until today. Today things were different. We sailed right by the castles. Before the day was finished my camera was nearly white hot from taking over 500 images. Before the day was out we were nearly ready to cry out, “ABC.” That meant, “Another bloody castle.” I must admit I never felt like yelling out ‘ABC.’ Today we spent the entire day on the ship. In morning we had it nearly to ourselves as skipped an excursion. It felt like this was our personal yacht.

Castles were built because rich Europeans (no one else could afford a caste) feared many things too. They feared invasion, the princes nearby, foreign nobles, the masses, and the rabble. Castles were designed to build a wall around the families of rich people and keep the fearful enemies out.

The Rhine Gorge, as this area was called, has greatest concentration of castles in the entire world. It seemed there was one or more castles around every bend in the river. That is why this area has been declared a World Heritage site.

 

 

Sometimes we saw castles and churches at the same time. 

Schönburg Castle is a gorgeous castle perched on a spectacular rock overlooking the Rhine River and a town of Oberwesel and an equally spectacular church. I love churches; I love cathedrals; and I love mountains. Here you get all of these together.

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In one town we sailed by a church and pub that were married together. In order to get into the church you had to walk through the pub. Who thought up that design?

Again a church and a castle

 

This was probably my favourite castle. Marksburg Castle was built (mainly) from the 14th century though partly from the 13th century. It still retains much of its medieval character. It has never been destroyed. Its canons fired on vessels that did not have permission to go by. Knights who pledged their loyalty to master of the castle made it their home.

Eventually we arrived in Koblenz. The city was first established in 9 B.C. by the Romans who deliberately chose the site because the two rivers met there. In the 5th century the Romans withdrew from the Rhine, leaving the territory to the barbarians.

The Jews of Koblenz were not treated well in the Second World War. Before World War II about 500 Jews lived in Koblenz—a small but fairly wealthy community with a synagogue. After the war none were left. A few escaped, but most were killed. Murdered by the Nazi regime and their numerous supporters.

Kristallnacht is a night that people in civilized countries should never forget. It was a night when it was demonstrated forever how thin the veneer of civilization is that separates civilization from barbarism. No one should ever forget that there is no barrier between the two. It must be remembered that Germany at the time considered itself, not entirely without justification, the most civilized country in the world. It took great pride in its achievements.

By now I am sure my readers are screaming: ABC!

August 15, 2017 Heidelberg & Mainz Germany: wretched Excess is barely enough

2017 European River Cruise,

            Today our guide was Andreas who wanted to show us his hometown–Heidelberg. “Lets enjoy a beautiful day,” he said. I thought that was a great way to start a tour. He was an enthusiastic guide who obviously loved his country without being blind to all of its faults.

On the way, we drove through Mannheim an industrial city that had been completely destroyed during the Second World War. The Allies bombed it to smithereens because it was so important industrially. Today it is home to Mercedes, Daimler, and Benz. Industry has returned.       Mannheim is a city of factories, transportation, cars, river ports, and railways. It has been completely rebuilt, but there is no old stuff left. So we did not stop in it at all. We just drove through.

The main feature of Heidelberg is course is the Schloss–the castle. The main courtyards with the splendid façade of the Otheinrich Wing (c. 1560) and the Friedrich Building are particularly notable. Andreas made sure we saw the Heidelberg Tun–a wine barrel with a capacity of more than 50,000 gallons of wine. Surely that was sufficient for the students.

According to Andreas, Heidelberg is the city of brains–Universities and other institutions of higher learning. Heidelberg, unlike Mannheim was entirely spared bombing. Not one bomb was dropped on Heidelberg. It makes no sense to bomb books! It really had nothing worth bombing from a military perspective.

It really is a city without a skyline. No tall buildings, but lots of very old buildings. According to Andreas, Heidelberg is the city of science and learning. It is very proud of its universities and scientific institutes. The oldest university in Germany–the University of Heidelberg is found there. This venerable institution was built in 1386. That was 100 years before Christopher Columbus “discovered” North America. Today it is the third oldest university in the world after Prague and Vienna.

 

In Germany a University education is free for all who qualify on the basis of their marks. Anyone can go to University if they are smart enough or work hard enough. That is the way it should be. That is the only way the issue of gross inequality can be at all meaningfully addressed. Germans believe that it is the obligation of society to guarantee an education to all who want it and qualify for it. It is truly a public institution. Yes there is still some civilization left in Europe if you search for it.

Andreas led us to his alma mater the University of Heidelberg. He was very proud of it. He said that 15 Nobel Prize winners had come from this University. That is nearly half as many as all of Canada, in a city with a population of 150,000 people!

About 200 years ago Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Germany’s most famous poet, playwright, and man of science stated that there was “something ideal” about Heidelberg’s delightful setting. I think I can see why. It really does seem to be a centre of civilization. Exactly what I was looking for. Heidelberg really is a city of the mind. 30% of the residents of the city are students. It is a true university town. Of course, what could I see by a short stroll through the old part? Perhaps I was just idealizing it.

Mark Twain had similar thoughts about the city. He did not like Germany until he saw this city. He said he liked beer, but hated Germany and Germans. He had expected to stay a night or two here but stayed for 6 months instead. I wish I could have done that. Twain said the site of the University, with its lovely surroundings, was “the last possibility of the beautiful.”

 

 

Twain’s’ enthusiasm is still vivid today. Looking out at the city, the old buildings and the view across the Neckar, where it emerges from its steep narrow valley into the Rhine Plain one can easily understand how one can fall in love with the charming old City that nestles below the magnificent ruined castles. Being a bit of an old ruin myself, I can sympathize with old ruined castles. That view inspired many romantic poets, writers, and artists and is still one of Germany’s most beloved sights. That is what it is all about. Respect for knowledge, tradition, and the mind in a lovely landscape. It does not get much better than this!

 

On our stroll through the old City Andreas showed us a wonderful old church.The church was built to divide Protestants from Catholics a good example of how churches can divide rather than unite. Religion that does that in my view is not real religion. It is ersatz. Or as Donald Trump might say, “Fake religion.” The Germans are expert at building walls. They could teach Trump a lot.

On this trip I really came to appreciate Christian churches. That is a bit surprising since I venture into them so rarely at home. Why did I like these so much? I am not sure. It had something to do with light. The Gothic is all about the light. I find the theology of the churches suspect, but their buildings are divine.

 

 

On this trip the madness of Trump was never far from our minds. There were reminders everywhere.

At lunch Chris tried to save me from excess. In other words, from eating and drinking too much. Little did she know that I subscribe to a philosophy learned from a good friend—“wretched excess is barely enough,” he says.

 

 

Hidden Figures

Movies,

Early in 2017, Chris and I went to see the movie Hidden Figures as part of our project to see all the movies nominated for best picture. It is unlikely that we will succeed at this project, but the fun is in the chase.

The movie was very enjoyable. The movie tells the story of 3 black women none of us have ever heard of. Its story suggests that without the mathematical and related genius of these 3 women the United States Space program would not have put John Glenn in space to “sort of” catch up with the Russians who had recently put an man in space. It was unacceptable to the Americans that the despised Russians had done it first. President Kennedy wanted to catch up. The glory of America and capitalism demanded that the upstart Commies be put in their proper place–well behind the Americans. There was tremendous pressure on the entire space program led by NASA to catch up and show the world that America and capitalism were superior to Russia and communism.

Part of the American problem was that it was hobbled by prejudice that led to it not using properly women and blacks. It did have a group of white women “computers” and another group of “negro computers” who of course could not work together. They had to be “separate but equal” as the courts had demanded. Of course this meant that a woman mathematical genius that the space program desperately needed had to run more than ½ mile to the “colored washroom.” It just would not do for her to use the white washroom. Of course the white washroom was well-appointed, while the colored washroom was lacking basic supplies. Hardly equal but certainly separate.

The male engineers and mathematical geniuses were loath to accept the contribution of a black woman. It just could not be possible, could it, that she was better at math than the entire room of white men? Well it was clear that she was better and it was clear that she was needed to help the men. This was done by Katherine Goble the central character.

The space program also needed Mary Jackson who had to go to college to be accepted but could not go to classes in the local school which was segregated. The law in Virginia at the time was clear, schools could be segregated. Again the arcane prejudicial rules that made no sense were holding back women who could help the American team. To get to go to school she had to petition the local court and she did so on her own without hiring a lawyer. She made an interesting argument to the white judge. She did not appeal to his sense of fairness, she did not make some innovative legal argument, she appealed to the judge’s vanity and she did in quietly by approaching the bench. She persuaded the judge he could be the first to grant a black woman the right to go to a segregated school in Virginia. He bought that approach and granted her the right to go to the all-white school, but only at night.

Finally Dorothy Vaughan the defacto leader of the black female “computers and a mechanical genius was needed to get the IBM computers working and again she had to struggle against prejudice against blacks, particularly black women, to be freed to help the team. The IBM computer team could not solve the computer problems. Dorothy could because she had learned Fortran computer language by stealing a book from the white side of the local library that barred coloreds from using white books.

Richard Brody, writing in the New Yorker, aptly characterized the travesty of racism in America as demonstrated by the film.

The insults and indignities that black residents of Virginia, and black employees of NASA, unremittingly endured are integral to the drama. Those segregationist rules and norms—and the personal attitudes and actions that sustained them—are unfolded with a clear, forceful, analytical, and unstinting specificity. The efforts of black Virginians to cope with relentless ambient racism and, where possible, to point it out, resist it, overcome it, and even defeat it are the focus of the drama. “Hidden Figures” is a film of calm and bright rage at the way things were—an exemplary reproach to the very notion of political nostalgia. It depicts repugnant attitudes and practices of white supremacy that poisoned earlier generations’ achievements and that are inseparable from those achievements. [1]

The movie showed how a country could be severely disadvantaged by failing to take advantage of all of its citizens. Each of the 3 cases represented by the 3 women demonstrated the foolishness of racial laws of segregation and how they could hold back the space program. Racism levies a heavy cost not just on the citizen disadvantaged, but also the country in which they live and in which racism thrives. When a country cannot benefit from all of its citizens no one suffers more than that country. Forget about arguments of fairness or natural justice. Racism is bad for business! That is a profound lesson, which America has still not really learned. It has made progress but it is far from free of racism. Racism has just gone deeply underground where its ill effects are harder to detect but no less damaging. Those ill effects are however just as wrong and just as detrimental to the country.

[1] Richard Brody, Hidden figures is a Subtle and Powerful Work of Counter-history,” The New Yorker, (December 23, 2016)