Anti-Anti-Americanism.com

Tonight on German TV (SWR) the reason why I started line dancing. A very sweet comedy called “Welcome to Westerwald!”. And not at all anti-American! I watched it last year when my best friend was on his way to Iraq. I was worried, and watching this comedy lifted my spirits. Real life had a happy ending: He returned safely to the US. And the comedy … well, I am not going to tell you how it ends, but I am pretty sure you`ll like it ;-) Have fun watching!!!

Update: Sorry, but the movie was on TV yesterday evening!!!

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Heute abend im Deutschen Fernsehen, 20:15 Uhr, SWR, der Grund, weshalb ich mit Line Dance angefangen habe. Eine ganz süße, spritzige, unterhaltsame Komödie “Willkommen im Westerwald!”. Und ganz und gar nicht anti-amerikanisch. Also, wer noch nicht weiß, was Line Dance ist, unbedingt gucken! Viel Spaß!!!

Update: Es tut mir so leid, aber der Film lief schon gestern! Ist schon nicht so einfach, ein Fernsehprogramm richtig zu lesen. Heute gibt`s stattdessen André Rieu oder Hansi Hinterseer, mmh, …

I can`t help it, but whenever I see the pictures of the American cemetery in Colleville sur Mer, tears start running down my cheeks. Thinking of the immense courage of the soldiers fighting there, of the many who made the ultimate sacrifice to liberate Europe from the Nazis. I am lacking the words to express my gratefulness. Thanks to the courage of these soldiers I was allowed to grow up in freedom and democracy. I will never forget.

President Obama put it like this today:

(…) Friends and veterans, what we cannot forget - what we must not forget - is that D-Day was a time and a place where the bravery and selflessness of a few was able to change the course of an entire century. At an hour of maximum danger, amid the bleakest of circumstances, men who thought themselves ordinary found it within themselves to do the extraordinary. They fought for their moms and sweethearts back home, for the fellow warriors they came to know as brothers. And they fought out of a simple sense of duty - a duty sustained by the same ideals for which their countrymen had fought and bled for over two centuries.
That is the story of Normandy - but also the story of America. Of the minutemen who gathered on a green in Lexington; of the Union boys from Maine who repelled a charge at Gettysburg; of the men who gave their last full measure at Inchon and Khe San; of all the young men and women whose valor and goodness still carry forward this legacy of service and sacrifice. It is a story that has never come easy, but one that always gives us hope. For as we face down the hardships and struggles of our time, and arrive at that hour for which we were born, we cannot help but draw strength from those moments in history when the best among us were somehow able to swallow their fears and secure a beachhead on an unforgiving shore. To those men who achieved that victory sixty-five years ago, I thank you for your service. May God Bless you, and may God Bless the memory of all those who rest here.

I agree to what President Obama says, but in contrast to George W. Bush five years ago Obama did not say this magic sentence that gave me so much hope and optimism. It was simple and short and awesome:

And we would do it again for our friends.

What an incredible promise!!!

And today? Would today`s America do it again?

PS: I wanted to link to the White House website, but very surprisingly the D-Day speech was not yet online, instead a picture of Obama and a statement about health care.

PPS: The White House webmaster has immediately reacted to my post ;-) the speech is now online:
Remarks by the President at D-Day 65th Anniversary Ceremony (Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial)