Kultur 9

The "Love Thy Neighbor" article was extremely interesting to me. Here, at least from what I've noticed, neighbors don't necessarily change just to accommodate other households. Instead, they compromise and every one pitches in just a bit for the better of all, and that effort really helps to make for a better sense of community (at least in my neighborhood, that is). For less cooperative and more grumpy neighbors, like Mr. Birtles down the street *cough*, we just feign a smile and pretend to like them and they do the same for us. To me it seems that in the US it is a lot less my-way-or-the-highway than in Germany, and real problems don't arise from matters as simple as weeds on the sidewalk. It's a little ironic how many see Americans as "sue-happy", yet it's commonplace for Germans to take neighbors to court over what seem to be such trivial things. Some laws they've implemented are pretty great, as well (i.e. the once per month barbecue rule, which in my neighborhood would be violated on a weekly basis in the summertime).

Kultur 9

Every Kultur article seems to amaze me and demonstrates how different every country is from others. As I was reading the article "Love thy Neighbor: The German Law Tells You How." I couldn't help but to imagine myself living in Germany as a teenagers and feeling suffocated by all the rules and fussy, pessimistic neighbors. Back home everyone loves a good barbecue or a late night bonfire. All I have to say is that I am glad that I don't live in a close knit nit German neighborhood. The second article "Germany's Patriotism Problem: Just Don't Fly the Flag" also took me by surprise. I do not see how such a schön und historich Country cannot be patriotic. I guess Germany is just humble about its beauty.

Kultur 9

I find it very interesting that there are cultural differences in how to treat neighbors between countries. In Brazil, people very seldom have problems with their neighbors and it seems like most people just get along. I wonder why that is. Since German culture is naturally and historically a lot more private, I would assume that Germans are hesitant in exposing their lives to their neighbors and do not feel obliged to know anything about them. Maybe Germans just like things under control, which ties in to their obsession with binders. My father is German and he is undoubtedly the most organized man I know. He keeps folders on folders of different documents and now that I think about it, he also had his own Leitz Ordner. The article that talked about patriotism was also very interesting. I wonder if Germany's reluctance to be patriotic has anything to do with their economic success. Maybe humility is at the root of it all. Something I'm sure America could learn.

Kultur 9 Tommy McIlwaine

I found it very interesting that when asked if they love their country, most Germans will quickly respond "no." Even so long after WWII, the effect of a few people's actions on German patriotism is longstanding. Especially when confronted so much with the American sense of patriotism in politics and the media, it would be very backward to suddenly go into a place where supporting your country was considered taboo. I also thought the restrictions on basic every day activities due to neighbor complaints was quite ridiculous. I feel like with a good relationship; however, the neighbors wouldn't be too mad if you set ground rules beforehand. As an extremely unorganized person, I would have a lot of trouble keeping track all of the paperwork mentioned in "Bureaucracy Gone Awry," and might end up not applying for a job at all! I also wondered how this would affect people from other countries who did not have as much documentation when they were applying for a position in Germany.

Kultur 9

For the article "Bureaucracy Gone Awry", it seems very tedious to keep track of and account for so many different activities or experiences in order to apply for any position. Having a portfolio that can give proof of the completion of all of these various accomplishments would be quite useful though, and it probably would not be so difficult to put together if each component that goes into the portfolio were documented right after it is completed. For the article "Love Thy Neighbor", I think it is important that people can voice their opinions about any concerns they may have about a neighbor's actions that affect them but I think the German government system may have taken this to an extreme and allowed one's neighbors to have too much influence in this area. For the article about Germany and the issue with its citizens'  patriotism, I understand why they feel that they cannot say they love their country and I am glad that I have never had to experience such a feeling. Hopefully with time, they will begin to feel more comfortable with showing their patriotism for Germany.

Kultur 9 - Reid Lott

The article Bureaucracy Gone Awry really detailed how detailed German records are. The idea of carrying around paper copies of certificates of everything seems pretty strange to me. Most of the important certificates that I have have copies online, so there is no need for a physical copy. Other certificates, like basic certification for Microsoft Office proficiency, carry so little value that there is no need to keep them. I can see why certificates can help determine the experience and qualifications of a person, but just like every job search, there are certain intangibles that applicants can't show through paper.

The article Love Thy Neighbor caused me to chuckle several times. The author hints at this a lot, but doesn't  outright say it, so here it goes: the best way to solve a problem is to go to your neighbor directly. Although this idea may be colored by my American experience, it is much easier than dealing with thousands of court cases each year to define what "excessive" really means. Knowing that this phenomenon is cultural, however, means that it will probably exist anyway.

In contrast with the typical German articles was Welcome to America.  Although this reading was optional, it contrasted well with the other articles. For instance, it compares the amount of bureaucracy is European politics to that of American politics. The article falls very short of making an actual argument, however, as it does not consider a third "test" country to use as a standard of comparison. The article leaves open the option that red tape is not proportional to size of government or that the correlations occur at non-standard intervals. 

Kultur 9

I found it funny that so many neighbor related issues end up becoming court cases in Germany. While Americans can be very particular about how their neighbors act as well, I think that here people tend to be less direct about mild annoyances. It seems that in German culture there are a lot more subtle behaviors to consider. I found it surprising that something as simple as barbecuing or children playing could be considered offensive to neighbors in Germany. I just consider those to be things you have to tolerate, since it is their property.
I was also impressed by how well documented even the most mundane things in Germany are. To me it almost seems a little excessive, and being a somewhat disorganized individual I'm sure that I would find it difficult to keep up with.
I was not surprised by the article on German patriotism. I had previously heard that they tend to shy away from any hint of nationalism since WWII. I think that this aversion will probably lessen after several decades.

Andrew Baker Kultur 9

I thought the author of the "Welcome to America. Take a Number" article had some really great points.  It's frustrating to hear the word socialism abused the way it is in this country by people who lack a clear understanding of what it is that socialists advocate.  After what we read early in the year, I would gladly trade my financial situation for that of a German student.  I also found the article on German patriotism very interesting.  I didn't realize it was so taboo there. I suppose I can see why, but think enough time has passed where they can begin moving past the 30's and 40's.  Considering the strength of their economy, among many other things, I guess I'm just surprised more people aren't proud to be German.

Kultur 9

The articles on the large German bureaucracy were interesting, the two articles had differing views on the bureaucracy. One author stated that the large regulatory role of the government allowed for a much easier lifestyle overall, even with a large bureaucracy surrounding it, using the strong infrastructure in Germany as an example. The second article portrayed the paperwork surrounding college and everyday life as excessive.
The neighbor relationships portrayed in another article didn't seem too different from my experience with neighbors. Most of the ordinances seemed to be quite close to what people follow here, except for possibly the rules regarding car washing and barbeques. I'm sure this is heavily dependent on the type of neighborhood one chooses to live in.

Kultur 9

I really found the German patriotism article interesting. I never knew they didn't fly flags or say they loved their country. I understand the reasons but the war was over 60 years ago. Germany has always been a strong economic and military power in the world and Germans should be proud of that.
Reading the bureaucracy article, I start to wonder why Germans are sooooooo obsessed of details and paperwork. Its crazy all the papers you have to keep track of like the "Meldebescheinigung" (which is stupid, in my opinion).
The general rules to live by in the "Love Thy Neighbor" aren't that unreasonable, surprisingly. I was expecting worse form how the article started off. It would suck though if your neighbors were grouchy.

Kultur 9

Some of the rules mentioned in "Love Thy Neighbor" would make living in Germany difficult for me. Ich würde die "waschen Sie nicht Ihre Kleidung nach acht Uhr" Regel sehr schwierig finden. Ich wasche manchmal mein Kleidung in der Nacht, weil ich im Tag vergessen habe, dass sie gewaschen sein brauchen. Ich würde auch nicht die ein Barbecue im Monat Regel geniessen, weil ich gern im Sommer viel Barbecues habe. Ich wasche auch gern im Sommer mein Auto. Ich würde diese Regel brechen, wenn meine Nachbarn es erlauben.

I wasn't that surprised by the silly lawsuits that neighbors in Germany often file against each other, since I've heard of even sillier lawsuits happening in the United States. I was surprised by the outcomes of the lawsuits, though. For instance, "the mutt may bark for 30 minutes a day, in 10-minute intervals." The ruling in the US probably wouldn't be that specific!