Whenever American friends visited a Berlin apartment during President Donald Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2020, they were met with a poignant greeting: ‘Welcome to freedom.’
Initially, this phrase carried an ironic tone, given the historical context where American soldiers had once preserved the freedom of West Berliners during the post-war era.
As President Trump has returned to office, I continue to use this greeting, though its connotation has shifted drastically from irony to tragedy.
Reading Sebastian Haffner’s “Memoirs of a German, 1918 to 1934” illustrated this sobering evolution.
In his autobiographical account of the early years of the Nazi regime, Haffner chronicles his experiences as a young law graduate in Berlin during the takeover.
Fleeing from the escalating danger, he ultimately emigrated to London and became known for his later work, “The Meaning of Hitler.”
Haffner’s description of the Nazis’ infiltration into the daily lives of Germans struck a chord, especially in light of current events in the United States.
Just as Germany had once basked in its achievements in science, art, and culture, America too stood at the pinnacle of contemporary progress until the unsettling recent turn in its political landscape.
The emergence of authoritarian tendencies, reminiscent of historical events in Germany, raises alarms about America’s trajectory.
Experts have begun to draw parallels, noting that the previous scientific advancements in the U.S. were partly fueled by the influx of Jewish scientists fleeing persecution in Germany.
Now, an unsettling dialogue about American scientists considering leaving the country due to its anti-science and anti-liberty shifts has begun to echo those past concerns.
These signs of civic decline in America have been visible for over 15 years, with President Trump being a symptom rather than the root cause of these developments.
A vivid memory surfaces of a dinner among friends in Washington, D.C., where the conversation veered towards societal issues already tearing at the very fabric of their community.
One father, a partner at a leading law firm, expressed indifference to the sociopolitical unrest, stating his sole ambition was to be recognized as the best lawyer for private equity and hedge fund clients.
Among these liberal Democrats, this glaring absence of courage to discuss critical civic questions was unsettling.
The discussion swiftly changed to the latest movies, underscoring an escape from pressing issues.
This moment was a turning point for me, marking my realization that my time in the United States was limited.
A consequence arises when society, particularly its liberal elites, opts out of meaningful engagement—mirroring the withdrawal seen in Berlin during the early 1930s.
The Democratic Party’s missteps, particularly under the administrations of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, further aggravated this shift.
Policies enacted during those years often favored high-income earners, raising questions about the necessity of Republican presence in politics.
In a grave miscalculation, Democrats invested heavily in identity politics, which served as a poor substitute for addressing the economic concerns of America’s working class.
This negligence inadvertently drove blue-collar Americans towards the Republican side, thus facilitating President Trump’s rise to power.
The lesson inherent in this reflection is stark: even advanced societies like Weimar Germany and contemporary America can rapidly deteriorate when civil society becomes passive or disengaged.
The former presidency of Ronald Reagan, once viewed through a critical lens, can now be revisited as a period characterized by law, order, and reason.
This juxtaposition illustrates the unpredictable nature of societal evolution and the importance of vigilance in preserving democratic values.
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