[kitchencabinetforum] NATIONAL IDENTITY

We need to view national identity as something that is not defined merely by people's passports, family background or faith, but is something broader. Christianity is without a doubt part of German identity. Judaism is without a doubt part of German identity. Such is our Judaeo-Christian heritage. But Islam has now also become part of German identity. As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe put it nearly two centuries ago in his "Poems of the East and West": "He who knows himself and others, here will also see, that the East and West, like brothers, parted ne'er shall be."

How did the pupils put it? It's where you want to go that's important. They believe that we will find a common way forward. But a common way also requires agreement on a common goal.

Basil Venitis asserts patriotism is an abstract notion with no real substance. It means nothing; it's just a facade, a fake, imaginary glue that keeps a people naively devoted to causes, countries, governments, and neighbors who usually bring them harm. National borders mean nothing. They would not exist without government force, and they are usually laid out for reasons of politics and power, not in accordance with the identities, culture, or preferences of individuals.

"Germany, one fatherland" means respecting and protecting our Constitution and the values enshrined therein. Above all, the dignity of each and every individual, but also freedom of opinion, religious freedom and freedom of conscience, equality between men and women. Respecting our common rules and accepting our way of life. Anyone who doesn't, who holds our country and its values in contempt, must expect to meet with stern resistance from us all - be they fundamentalist, right or left-wing extremists.

We rightly expect everyone to contribute what they can to our community. We do not turn a blind eye to those who take undue advantage of our spirit of solidarity. "Our social state is not a shop where you help yourself to everything without giving anything in return." This simple metaphor chosen by Judge Kirsten Heisig from the Berlin juvenile court is extremely apt. "If people are supported by the state," she wrote in her book, "the community can at the very least expect that their children will be sent to school so that they can tread a different path from that taken by their parents and stand on their own two feet when they are older."

We respect everyone who contributes something to our country and its culture. Be it as a doctor, a German teacher, a taxi driver, a TV presenter, a greengrocer, a footballer, a film maker, a minister. These are just a few examples of successful integration, by men and by women. We should emphasize these positive examples more often, and take courage from them.

Venitis notes that time and again, decade after decade, borders change. The people on each side of a new border are supposed to be loyal to people within their new border, and to the new government forced upon them. They often resist and want their previous identities back. It is for this reason, and for reasons of freedom and self-rule, that regions such as Chechnya, Palestine, Quebec, Tibet, Taiwan, and Kosovo, among many others, often fight for independence. More often than not, those who fight for freedom are called freedom fighters, but they are labeled terrorists by those who oppose their separation.

We can be proud of our cultural, scientific and economic achievements. We can above all be proud of the social climate in our country - of tolerance, the ability to compromise and solidarity. Incidentally, these characteristics also helped us during the economic crisis. Trade unionists, employers and employees all showed that the strength to achieve balance, to negotiate, to find creative solutions, to stick together, to reach consensus - that's what makes Germany what it is!

New cohesion in society is only possible if none of its stronger members withdraw and if none of its weaker members are excluded. When everyone is handed responsibility and everyone can be responsible.

Anyone who has been fruitlessly job-hunting for a long time, who has to muddle through from one precarious job to the next, anyone who has the feeling of not being needed and is not given a perspective will understandably turn away from this society in disappointment.

And those who count themselves among the elite, the decision-makers and bearers of responsibility, who withdraw into their own parallel world - they, too, are turning their backs on society. Unfortunately this is precisely what we experienced during the financial crisis. No one should forget what they owe to the chance of their birth and to our country - and they should regard it as a duty to give something back to our society.

The ever increasing number of older people in our society already contribute so much of value. Many of them want to continue working past retirement age, though reducing their hours. We have to make that possible. Others do voluntary work, share their knowledge and experience; why shouldn't there be a Voluntary Social Year for older people as well as for the young?

What does a society in which no one feels superfluous and no one is rendered superfluous look like? How can those who haven't worked for many years be integrated? How can those who still do not have the same possibilities open to them as others because of disability participate?

The most successful way to strengthen cohesion is to put trust and confidence in others. People can achieve so much if someone believes in and supports them. I, too, have seen this time and time again. In our son's crèche, where disabled and able-bodied children are looked after together, there is a little boy. His parents were told that because of his disability he'd only ever be able to crawl. Now he is three and can walk. This is thanks to modern remedial care and therapy, and because his parents and the crèche staff had confidence in him and supported him, and he was able to learn from other children.

We have to start with children. Just as many people once believed in unification, although it was a long way off, we now have to set ourselves goals which seem a long way off but are achievable. No child may now be sent to school without a good knowledge of German. No child should leave school without any qualifications. No child should be left without any hope of employment. It is our children and young people who are at stake here. They are the most valuable thing we have, not least in the light of the demographic change our society is undergoing.

Some things don't cost a cent, just time and attention: spending quality time with children - and not just one's own - reading to them, listening to them. We need parents who say to their children: make an effort. We need praise and support for teachers who say we will never relent in our endeavours to encourage each individual child and to set each child on its way. We need more bosses, male and female, who say we will give the many people who have earned it a chance - irrespective of whether they're called Schulze or Yilmaz, whether or not they have children, whether they are considered too young or too old.

Many who have built a prosperous future in the face of adversity owe their success to people who helped them at decisive moments - just like that. I myself had teachers and neighbours who helped me when my mother fell ill - just like that. Hermann Gmeiner, the founding father of the SOS Children's Villages, put it like this: "Every big thing in our world only comes true when somebody does more than he has to."

"We are the people": with these four words people who stuck together brushed aside a whole regime. Everyone who chanted this slogan had cast off the feeling of powerlessness, decided they were called upon to act, and shouldered responsibility. Our children should understand our country's history and the immeasurable value of freedom, of responsibility, of justice, viewing them in this context.

They should learn how important it is to tackle the challenges of the future side by side with others. Not to make light of fears of the unknown, of the new, of competition, but to approach the future all the more spiritedly and courageously, for fear, as we all know, is a poor ally indeed.

The European Union is a wonderful model of successful cooperation. I am delighted that so many representatives of Europe are here. "United in diversity" is Europe's very fitting motto, in accordance with which we have achieved an unparalleled integration of nation states. It shows the whole world that we Europeans have learned from the bitter past. We will have to tackle the pressing global issues of the future - such as climate protection, poverty alleviation, the fight against terrorism, reorganization of the financial markets - together as Europeans. The world is changing. Emerging countries are taking their rightful places, be they Indonesia, Brazil, China, Russia or India. We Europeans must now help to shape a world order in which we feel comfortable even though our relative weight decreases. Europe is often criticized at the moment. But I will never stop championing Europe, for Europe is our future and we Germans should remain its engine.

On 3 October 1990, twenty years ago today, our country's hopes were fulfilled. Twenty years later, we were given a unique opportunity to make a fresh start. We made good use of this opportunity. Let us jointly take pride in what we have achieved - today and every day. We have not however finished our work. A state, a nation, is never a finished work. We've got to safeguard freedom, to seek and establish unity time and again. We've got to make everybody feel at home in our country and work for social justice - for everybody. This country belongs to all of us, from East or West, North or South, whatever our background. We live here, we like to live here, we live here together in peace - here we uphold unity and right and freedom.

We move forward with courage and confidence. The past twenty years have shown what can be achieved when we work together and, accordingly, what we will be able to achieve in the future, too. We have - in both senses - grown together and we have grown together. God protect Germany.