So-ci-e-ty, the
Noun
The totality of people living together under certain political, economic and social conditions. Our society. Society usually describes the totality of people who live together under certain political, economic and social conditions. A society therefore implies a collective. A society is characterized by certain values and norms that are considered “right". Such values can be, for example, justice, solidarity or performance. These values can change over time. This is how an entire society can change. But are people fundamentally capable of acting as a collective? Or is it just every man for himself at the end of the day?
We are at the beginning of the video. A gunshot can be heard. Wouldn't it be the responsible thing to get help now? After all, there is a duty of civil courage in Germany under Section 323c of the German Criminal Code. The law states that anyone who does not help a person in an emergency situation to the best of their ability or hinders others is liable to prosecution. Failure to comply with this law can result in a fine or a prison sentence of up to one year. It does not matter whether you are trained in first aid or not. Everyone is obliged to do their best to help the person. This help can also consist of calling an ambulance. If you do not do this, you have failed to render assistance. Nevertheless, the person from whose perspective we experience the film continues to move towards the injured person and even films what is happening in a live stream. You can see an emaciated man crawling towards the person filming. Behind him, a makeshift camp is set up, indicating homelessness. Next to it is a sign with the words "I miss my family". This sentence is characteristic of refugees whose families were unable to join them. Germany is a welfare state whose aim is to help people in need and leave no one behind. Building on this, there are various principles in Germany. First of all, there is compulsory insurance. This means that everyone must take out certain types of insurance, such as health insurance. Hospital stays, visits to the doctor, etc. are financed by health insurance. Civil servants are exempt, but they usually take out private insurance. These things lead to the principle of solidarity. You do not pay into the funds for yourself. The money you pay in is thrown into one big pot. So people who need more expensive treatment are financially supported by the other contributors. Of course, there are some criticisms of this system. Many people don't want to pay much into the funds as they assume they won't have to use the services anyway. However, some moral values speak in favor of such a system. Such as responsibility towards society and one's own conscience. There is a separate system for refugees. Initially, asylum seekers (single and outside a reception center) receive an amount of 344 euros per month (as of September 2019), which is significantly lower than the already low Hartz IV standard rate. Only after 18 months of residence at the earliest do people receive amounts equivalent to the regular Hartz IV standard rate. So a lot is being saved. This also applies to the mental health treatment of refugees. According to the BPtK, every second adult refugee suffers from depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. They have experienced terrible things during their flight. Abuse, torture, rape. Things for which psychological treatment is absolutely necessary. However, in the first 15 months of their stay, asylum seekers are only entitled to visit a doctor if they are acutely ill. Exceptional applications are usually processed for months. In addition, interpreters are generally not provided. This often leads to misdiagnoses. People therefore live for at least six months (average duration of an asylum procedure, as of 2019) in Germany. They have no knowledge of German culture because they do not attend integration courses, to which they are not entitled. In addition, they have profound psychological problems and don't know the language, which makes it impossible for them to integrate as "intended". We have too high expectations, but we have no right to them. It starts with the interview, which takes place just a few days after arrival. Here, the refugees are confronted with countless questions for which they are naturally not prepared after such a terrible escape. At the end of the interview, they have to give reasons why they need asylum. A detailed description of the reasons for asylum is expected. The people are so traumatized that it is very difficult or even impossible for them to give such a detailed account of their flight. Many mentally distressed refugees are therefore simply deported again due to inadequate grounds for asylum. But even if people are granted temporary asylum, they live in constant fear of being deported again, as their stay is only ever extended for a short period of two weeks to six months. Nevertheless, perfect integration is expected. As this cannot be achieved, there is a justification for right-wing extremist groups such as neo-Nazis, who are symbolized in the video by the number 444 painted on the floor. In the right-wing scene, 444 stands for "Germany to the Germans". It is therefore a xenophobic statement, a clear sign that foreigners are not welcome in Germany. The justification is not that the rest of the population justifies such thinking. Rather, they use it to justify their own actions. They need confirmation that their actions are "right". So the man lying on the ground was presumably beaten up like this by a right-wing extremist and is now seeking help from the person filming. However, as mentioned, the person does not help. This is also the case in a figurative sense.
You don't have to actively act to be guilty. It is well known that there is a shortage of skilled workers in Germany. So you want to have well-integrated refugees as workers. So you take in refugees and hope for healthy, new skilled workers. This is not correct in various respects. We would "rather" take in some people than others, simply because they are more useful to us. Of course it is good if Germany receives new workers through immigration, also in terms of demographic change. Nevertheless, the primary reason for admitting people is to help them in need. However, there is clearly room for improvement in this help. At the same time, there are people who complain that they have to pay for the refugees because they don't work and therefore don't pay taxes, etc. The only question is how they can be expected to work if they are still burdened with psychological problems due to the trauma they suffered in their country of origin, do not receive appropriate treatment for this and, on top of that, are only allowed to work after a three-month waiting period, provided the relevant immigration authority gives its approval. In addition, no German applicants are allowed to compete for the job (priority check). This expires after 15 months of continuous residence in Germany and can also be waived if the applicant is highly qualified, which proves that Germany is also keen to take in academics, for whom exceptions can obviously be made. In contrast, refugees who are not as qualified are often deported prematurely. In summary, the principle is as follows: We want integrated, qualified refugees, but don't even give them the chance because we don't give them enough help and they have to live at subsistence level. And all because we feel threatened in our own existence. We want to be supported, in this case by qualified specialists, in order to mitigate the consequences of an ageing population. After all, nobody wants to give up their pension or pay more taxes. At the same time, we don't want our jobs to be affected. And for most people, it is irrelevant what the legal situation is in this regard, because legally, asylum seekers are only able to work to a limited extent in the first year.
The person filming continues in the direction of the injured person, past a Malteser facility. Meanwhile, you can see how the views drop sharply at first - after all, few people want to see violence. At least not actively. Of course, there are some people who advocate the glorification of violence, but we will not go into detail about such psychological abnormalities here. Nevertheless, you can see how the numbers rise again after a certain time, as the livestream is now recommended to a different clientele and this clientele gradually gathers in the stream. So you can see here again that although the internet has brought globalization to humanity, it has brought globalization to all of humanity, which is why it is now easier than ever for right-wing or simply violent groups to exchange ideas and come together. However, as soon as a filter is placed over the image, the views increase even more dramatically, so that they even exceed the initial value when the streamer was just walking around on the street. People have a tendency to sugarcoat the truth.
After all, isn't it easier to make out with your conscience that everything is fine? Of course you don't want to hurt anyone or see anyone hurt. But we don't do this out of charity, but out of pure selfishness, because we want to convince ourselves that what we are doing is right. We want to have a spotless white vest. We don't want to be the ones who make mistakes. Instead, we are either ignorant or whitewash. Ignorance is mainly found when other people don't poke their noses at wrongdoing. After all, you are not affected by it yourself. Whitewashing comes to light when there are people to whom we may have to justify ourselves morally. Then everything is dismissed as "half as bad". Of course we would recognize injustice and suffering if we looked twice. But why should we hurt ourselves in the process? Out of self-protection, people would rather tell themselves that everything is fine. The fact that the views are higher than those at the beginning only shows that we humans prefer to live in a beautiful filter world rather than in reality. Why think about starving children in Africa when you live in an industrialized country like Germany and only know the feeling of "hunger" when mom has forgotten to make a sandwich? As harsh as it may sound, if a child dies in Africa, it has no effect on us. We are not worse off because of it. That's why we don't care. Human nature is selfish, our actions are characterized by selfishness and egotism. We are fine as long as our very existence is not in danger. Why help the refugees if we have to invest in them ourselves? But we still have expectations of other people. And all because we expect ourselves feel "unfairly" treated.
So-ci-e-ty, the
Noun
The totality of people living together under certain political, economic and social conditions What if this society does not exist in this form? As explained in more detail in this text, almost all of our actions are based on selfishness. Nevertheless, it has been scientifically proven that humans need community. This may sound contradictory at first, but it is actually quite plausible. Humans do not seek community in order to experience pure community alone. Rather, it is about the happiness we feel when we are part of such a community. Again, it is all about our own well-being. Our own salvation.
The fact that you also make others happy in the process is a practical but unintended side effect. We also need constant self-affirmation. We want to be accepted. Recognition and admiration strengthen our own personality. We therefore seek closeness to others. Our "society" is made up of countless individuals who, in principle, only form one community because they are all selfish. We come together to achieve our own happiness to experience. And that is what we call society. In addition, we hide behind values that we believe we should strive for because it is the "right" thing to do. But who tells us what the right thing is, if not society, which does not exist in the sense we assumed it did? We hide behind a collective that we are not even capable of forming. Because in truth, behind the façade of society and collective thinking, there is only the individual striving for happiness and peace. Our morality, which is based on values that we only think society considers to be right. After all, we don't want to stand out. We try to do the right thing so as not to be judged by the rest of society. In the meantime, this way of thinking has become so established that it is firmly anchored in our minds. Our morals are based on values that arise from the façade of our society. What was previously just the need to help others in order to be helped ourselves has now become so entrenched in our "conscience" that we refer to it as such. We try to adhere to these values and behave in a morally correct manner in order to keep our own conscience clear. Because that makes us happy. This society in which we live is therefore originally only a necessity and a side effect, not a deliberate given. In the meantime, however, it has become so ingrained in us that we see it as normal and natural without questioning it. We convince ourselves that we have a conscience by nature. In the most critical and questioning cases, we blame it on social constraints. But how can these constraints exist if society consists of a collection of individuals who have no interest in doing anything for the collective. No, we are responsible for our own actions and thoughts. After all, we want to be masters of our own house. Consistency is the keyword. Faults in our own personality are the fault of society, but we don't want to give anything either. We expect selflessness, love and responsibility. But we only give them, if at all, out of selfishness, out of the pleasure of having a clear conscience. Not out of charity. This gives our humanity as a whole a very hypocritical character. It is hypocritical how we put up signs of charity on every corner, such as the Catholic aid organization "Malteser" in the video with the
Motto "...because closeness counts". And that in a world in which everyone is only out for themselves. Even the members of these organizations. Every person without exception.
At this point, it should be noted that we do not want to presume to place ourselves above others. The first-person perspective in the video already indicates that we are just as much a part of this farce. In this perspective, we only see the others. What goes wrong everywhere else. But you don't see that you yourself are wandering around in this world, in this society. You yourself are part of this apparent collective of egoists. Every single one of us is part of it. It is all the more sobering that nothing will change. No organization in the world will manage to drive out the egoistic trait in people. So perhaps a little acceptance is needed. Acceptance of the fact that it cannot be changed. Nevertheless, this does not mean that selfishness that harms others should be tolerated. A distinction needs to be made between types of selfishness. After all, aid organizations ultimately do something for others. They help other people, and that is what ultimately matters. Selfish motivations have nothing to do with the end result. The important thing is not to judge these people for selfish traits. It also requires a certain amount of self-reflection to enable optimal coexistence. Of course, it will never be possible to achieve a collective.
Nevertheless, you should try to make the best of the situation. And do your best not to make it even harder for this already broken community to exist.
By Julia Kollum, translated from German
Sources:
https://www.bpb.de/politik/extremismus/rechtspopulismus/192118/was-versteht-man-unter-populism
https://www.derstandard.de/story/2000125402109/gesellschaft-die-fiktion-die-uns-zu-menschen-makes
http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/dialog/13042.pdf
https://www.bpb.de/politik/extremismus/rechtsextremismus/198945/was-ist-rechtsextreme-setting-and-what-it-consists-of
https://www.bpb.de/politik/grundfragen/24-deutschland/40478/sozialversicherungssystem
https://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/de/deutschland-auf-einen-blick/offene-gesellschaft
https://www.fluechtlingsrat-thr.de/themen/basiswissen/welche-sozialen-leistungen-erhalten-refugees
https://www.deutschlandfunknova.de/beitrag/kriegstraumata-zu-wenig-hilfe-fuer-fluechtlinge
https://mediendienst-integration.de/artikel/wie-funktioniert-die-psychologische-versorgung-von-asylbewerbern.html
https://www.bptk.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/20150916 bptk standpunkt psychische erkrankungen fluechtlinge.pdf
https://www.bundestag.de/resource/blob/405700/035bbc93c42b59bf47ac5f509c1ec793/wd-3-218-15-pdf-data.pdf
https://www.aerzteblatt.de/archiv/66991/Traumatisierte-Fluechtlinge-Psychische-Probleme-remain-mostly-unrecognized
https://www.bptk.de/abschiebung-psychisch-kranker-fluechtlinge-soll-erleichtert-werden/
https://www.bptk.de/zu-wenig-hilfe-fuer-psychisch-kranke-fluechtlinge/?cookie-state-change=1623946492143
https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/241114/umfrage/entwicklung-des-hartz-iv- ruleset/
https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/suche/bedarfssaetze-angepasst-1635116
https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/asylverfahren-deutschland-bundesinnenministerium-100.html
https://www.planet-wissen.de/gesellschaft/psychologie/egoismus/index.html
https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Gesellschaft
https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stgb/323c.html