Patriotism

Today I was looking through some of the stuff that was being sold outside the PX here and came acorss a Bundeswehr (German Army) patch in desert cammo. I started to scoff and snicker since there obviously isn't a (formal) German military presence in Iraq, but it did get me thinking about a German friend of mine, Timon. Timon will shortly be married to Katie's best friend, Jasmin (congratulations by the way!) and since our wives are best friends, we've spent a lot of time together. He's taught me about Germany and I've done what I could to teach him about America. Before I met Timon, Katie had explained to me that Germans weren't a terribly patriotic bunch and, unlike the States, it was rare to ever see a flag hanging outside private homes. This lack of patriotism is due primarily to World War II. The Nazis used nationalism as a vehicle to pursue it's atrocities and Germans are very afraid of being associated with anything that may resemble Nazism so everyone avoids the appearance of patriotism. Obviously I wouldn't last long if I tried to conceal my patriotism in Germany.

Much to my pleasure and approval, I got word that Timon has recently purchased and hung (in his room) a German flag. Way to go Timon!

Today was supposed to be my day off, so much for that. I'll try and take off part of tomorrow at least. I bought one of those folding chairs today, I plan to take it up on top of the embassy and get some sun tomorrow. I'll be sure to get some pictures.