American Views Abroad

 
Wie dumm die waren

Kurt Tucholsky (1890-1935), "Wie dumm die waren -!" aus "Deutschland, Deutschland ueber alles" (1929)
(Translation by Indeterminacy)




How dumb they were -!

In golden coaches like these they rode around; just like in fairy tales. Everyone could see right away who was king of the land - everyone was supposed to see. Today it's completely different.

The most powerful man sits in the rear seat of his large automobile, and no one sees him. The automobile is especially elegant, a good make; on its dark door are a few small letters, that is all. The man who sits inside might control the petroleum demand of half the world, but he doesn't have a golden coach. The man who sits inside can start a war and, if business necessitates, peace - but he hasn't decorated his car with peacock feathers. He owns half your country, and you don't see it; you don't even know it. True power is anonymous. When they're out there throwing stones and ready to string up some small evildoer on the lantern post, the man in the car smiles. He knows better. Only a few know him. If he's very clever, the newspapers won't even know his name.

That's why it was easier back then with revolutions: the symbols were so wonderfully convenient. An emperor's palace; the Bastille; golden coaches - please, help yourself. Today...?
- posted by Fred @ 1:46 PM