For a few of you the last e-mail seemed to be “too bold”. Sometimes one can observe an interesting psychological reaction. I think, when being faced with incomprehensible or even alarming situations human beings tend to exaggerated or also incomprehensible counter-reactions (“… well, I also got a little bit fed up with your permanent paranoia-mails ;), but it is okay. I also was on that trip 2 years ago …”). Regarding animals they call that “skipping reaction” (sorry, very, very poor translation, I know J) But to be honest, actually I really had great fun with this e-mail.

And I like to repeat it again, although this is already the 6^th e-mail. I do NOT intend to proselytise or convert anybody with these e-mails. They are just there to stimulate you to think. Everyone should take her/his part she/he needs – the rest you can forget about. Just like in real life!

Oh yes “Real Life”! Sometimes I really asked myself how we can manage to watch regularly whodunits, thrillers, horror, science fiction or spy movies, etc. but in reality we hope, that “plain greed for money and power”, “the will to stop at nothing” and “extreme cold-bloodedness” are just chimeras.
And please forgive me the following “daring advance” in advance – but: everyone reads what one wants to read:
Aren’t we living in a (brain-)degenerated world if we can imagine things only on TV but not in reality. I am not the first who says things like this and I won’t be the last. But it seems to me that one should recall this from time to time (actually once a day would be appropriate J).

Why do we wonder that reality constantly catches up with us if we always try to escape from it again and again?

However .. to get to the point:
That the actual situation is the basis for many dangers, seems almost obvious.
The biggest of the dangers is the installation of the foe image “Islam”. I don’t know what the recent situation in  Europe is about, but I caught myself assuming that every Turk or Muslim-looking man in my neighbourhood could be a “sleeper” in the first week after “September 11^th”. The “brainwashing” machine worked perfectly – as with probably 90 % of the population, I guess. But I also think & hope, that the majority of us has found their brains again (but honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if it weren’t so).

In the US the situation is reported to be different (Links – only in German - from the SPIEGEL this time J: http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,201827,00.html, http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,206079,00.html). Thousands of suspects or allegedly suspects are waiting in jail and this is widely accepted by the public, because possible terrorists you better check before “it is too late”. That no-one cares about laws is obviously also alright, because “it is for the sake of America”.
What is the aim of all these actions?
I surely don’t tell something new when I talk about a new (old) foe image. We (whether East or West) should still be able to remember that, shouldn’t we?

Well, I guess it must be like a highly endowed boxing match, when the opponent (communism, socialism – depending on what side of the “Iron Curtain” you were grown up – some called it “monster”, the others “winner”, however), when this opponent gets surprisingly knocked out after 3 out of 12 rounds. The masses get wild, but the TV bosses in the background are not that happy about that. What about the 8 missing intermission for commercials? What about the spectacular fighting scenes, etc.? To avoid such an event you have to push the fight artificially. Or even much simpler, you “organise” a new opponent – even if he doesn’t want to. “The people need games.” Yet, the Ancient Romans knew that. And they should have some, shouldn’t they?
Why do they mention Samuel Huntington’s propagated “Clash of Civilisation” from time to time (there are thousands of links in the WWW – I didn’t want to favour one)? Of course, there are extreme Muslims – no doubt. But there are also ultra fundamental Christians or Hindus etc. But India has not enough oil – lucky them.

And at the end of the day, Osama Bin Laden is a good Muslim as much as George W. Bush is a good Christian. What these two men connects, apart from business-family-like relations, is only the belief in the current (everlasting?) world-wide religion No. 1 called “Money”. But never the belief in any God.

In case the installation of the foe image „Islam“ should be successful in the people’s minds, then we will face some unpleasant decades. As long as there is any oil in the desert.

But, in fact we are right there in the middle of these unpleasant times – but apparently do must of us still live in the fun society.

Have a nice, sunny day. Yours, Michael. 

PS: Next time – American foreign policy/affairs.