Kultur2-- Callie Chappell

I thought that all of these readings were very interesting and telling about German society. Like any culture, so many assumptions about German culture are statements of non-understanding. Approaching German culture with the mindset, "It must be so different, I'm not sure what to expect" will leave you very surprised about the similarities between American and German culture. I thought the article about German complaining was interesting because, as the article points out, the German standard of living is the nearly the highest in the world. Ironically, the country where citizens have the least to complain about do the most whining. Additionally, the historical analysis from the ""The Germanic Stare Down": Watcha Lookin’ at, Granny?" article placed their cultural "stare-down" in a historical context. The deep-seated German patriotism impacts the way citizens relate to one another on the street or on the subway. I think the "Brutally Honest" and "Obsession with Statistics" articles go hand-in-hand explaining the German value in truth and honesty. Personally, I find the American inclination to mask rudeness in dishonesty inefficient. Being both well-informed and required to be held accountable for your personal opinion/identity I think leads to a more well-thought out state of being.