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| Europe |
| Conservatism: The New Rebellion? |
| 2005-05-28 |
| Via Lucianne, we got em. Much has been made lately of the idea that teenage "cool" is giving way to a renaissance of conservatism. But are young Germans really seeking the security and stability of anachronistic values over their right to rebel They are rebelling, you idiot. Politically at least, Germany does indeed appear to be in the midst of a shift back to the right, although there are plenty who argue that it is not so much the conservative Christian Democrats who are rising in popularity as the left-of-center Social Democrats who have fallen out of favor. And Germany, by all accounts, is struggling. Plagued by persistently high unemployment figures and unpopular social welfare reforms, it's hard to shake a collective smile out of the older generations who recall an altogether more sanguine existence. Wolfgang Peschel of the German Federal Youth Council said the new wave of self-interest among the younger generation is a direct consequence of having witnessed their own parents' struggles. "Young people see that their parents have to move because of work, and they see how rare it is to get a job for life," he said. "Because of that, they are looking for a vision which includes security, a relationship and family." Trend analyst Retzbach says the desire for the family idyll of spouse, children and a house with a garden has been gaining ground over recent years. He said Germany is experiencing a perceptible return to traditional family values in which youngsters are not only willing to wait for a serious relationship before having sex, but in which they have begun looking to the church -- and its intrinsic values -- as a point of orientation for their lives. Just so long as it's not islam. But Peschel rejected such claims as unsubstantiated. |
| Posted by:anonymous2u |
| #6 I think I read this on Bros Judd, a poster recently commented he was talking to a German acquaintance and the German said there's a church 1-2 towns over that's packed every Sunday and tons of kids. He asked if the pastor had ever been to America and the answer was yes. The German didn't put 2&2 together. 1 successful vibrant church will breed more. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2005-05-28 13:00 |
| #5 human nature is human nature. If you raise a bird in captivity, keep it in a cage, and free it's offspring - if they survive, eventually it will be impossible to distinguish them from any other bird of the same species. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-05-28 09:27 |
| #4 14% unemployment can change many attitudes. As with any economy, the young are impacted more than other working classes. The whole generation is impacted. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-05-28 04:32 |
| #3 I don't buy this rebelling and pendulum swinging. I spent a fair amount of time working in Germany about 5 years ago and what struck me was how risk averse the Germans were, which I attributed to the disasterous German experience in the 20th century. Its natural for the young to take risks. Conservatives would in general say make your own choices, take your risks, just be sure you can live with the consequnces. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-05-28 03:33 |
| #2 Yes, and we do, too, mostly. But we accept that it isn't likely to happen, and we find ways to be happy within the strictures of reality. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-05-28 02:16 |
| #1 The downside is, they want lifetime jobs and not to have to move. But if we offered them green cards..... |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2005-05-28 00:55 |