It's that time of the year again. We are prepping the house for christmas, our relatives will show up on the 24th of december for christmas night. The kids are home from school and are getting more nervous every hour closer to christmas. The tree is up and the final cleaning touches light up the house. This year, we added lots of lights to the house and the garden, the house almost looks like the grizzwald home. But one of our neighbours topped it all off by creating a light and sound show at his house - twice in the evenings with christmas music and a great light show. Last sunday, we had a bonfire for winter solstice and some molled wine and a nice barbecue with neighbours and friends.
So all is well in our little christmas bulb, it seems. Well, not really I guess. This year I'm feeling more like the christmas bulb in the picture above - cracked and beaten on all angles.
It was an exhausting year for me on all levels. Professionally, I had to work so much this year like never since we founded the business 30 years ago. Problem is - I'm not 25 anymore. And then, I didn't have two kids at home to care for and worry about. My wife was also utterly busy so we sometimes got to see each other at 10pm at night for an hour in front of the TV before we both just went to sleep. The kids were great - without them, I would have run out of steam so much earlier. Is it fascinating how much energy you can regain from just spending time with them. Girls - thanks for pulling me through this year. I send you all my love.
It was hard not to get depressed this year. My predictions from last year on Ukraine came true and not for the first time I begged the good fortunes to proof me wrong but they did not. I selected the image above on purpose and as a constant reminder for the unsolved conflicts in the world to keep us on our toes to end them. It will now take even more efforts as Trump, Putin and Xi demonstrate every day the egoism, greed and pure evil is something to be desired and that trampling on the weak is at least to be tolerated if not to be desired. I will never accept that.
I see the same here in Germany - the political class tops their earnings and snatches the money for it from the have-nots. For those without housing they try to stop the rising of rents as if that would build new housing units. For the sick, they tell them to "be less sick". For those needing permanent health care they tell them to just "get sick later". Every third "customer" at the food banks (Tafeln) in Germany is a child. 1.5 Million people rely on food banks in this country on regular basis while 2 families own more than 30% of this countries money.
This lack of empathy and solidarity will soon kick us in the ass, when Europe will have to finally take a stand against Trump (Greenland, anyone?) and Putin (Ukraine and other former states of the fallen soviet empire) together. I am wondering for how long we will go on doing appeasement like this on both sides. As far as the german political class is concerned, all hope is lost. The current administration has no ideas but to fulfill the requests of their industrial and individual sponsors and buddies. The European Parliament openly motivates the far right to dismantle it and the administration around Ursula "Flintenuschi" von der Leyen has no ideas how to strengthen the EU against the US, Russia and China. A big picture, a north star for the free world - a safe haven for a liberal democracy - nothing like that is even thinkable for them. Instead, it becomes more likely that Trump will get his will and the EU might fall apart. If France falls next year, this will be for real.
Once again this year, I am deeply worried about the future for my children. This is not a regualr sequence of changes we see - it's the loss of the biggest gains humanity has reached after WWII I am worried about. I shiver to the bone, when JD Vance says that one does not have to be ashamed to be white in the US anymore. If this is still enough to break societies apart, we have gained nothing in the past decades. Again, it is no longer in your own faith and your talents to make a living. Again, it depends to kiss the right (far right) ass and to step over other people to thrive. What a desaster.
Can we change that? I sure hope so. Es sind in einer Welt, die ziel- und planlos treibt, die Kinder doch die einzige Hoffnung, die uns bleibt. (Reinhard Mei). We have to retaliate. Instead of letting them divide us, we have to take a stand.
To end this, I have to finish off with some good things. My side project of running a bakery in our village has been running for another year now, only on volunteer work from 25 people enjoying doing something for their neighbours. And in our village alone, there are more than 15 initiatives working on a similar basis. That really shows me that we can do differently. One little step at a time.
To all our relatives, friends, customers - I wish you peaceful and healthy christmas days and a good start into the new year. May you be blessed by the faiths.
Heiko.
P.S.: Rest in peace, Chris Rea - hero of my youth. I will miss you and your music deeply. I send you all my love.