If Prussian nationalist and militarist General Otto von Bismarck would have lived to witness World War I and World War II, most likely he would have no longer believed that the great issues of the day would be decided by iron and blood but instead, apologies. His much quoted statement: "it is not by means of speeches and majority resolutions that the great issues of the day will be decided-that was the great mistake of 1848 and 1849-but by blood and iron," encouraged Prussian ambition and expansionism through means of mobilizing entire citizen armies, backed by war-time economies. Such an ideology gradually helped ignite both world wars, each one sorely devastating and humiliating Germany and its people.
It was encouraging, then, to witness a more modern and progressive German leader, Chancellor Angela Merkel, travel to northern Afghanistan and offer President Hamid Karzai, including the people of Afghanistan, condolences over the killing of 16 innocent civilians by a U.S. soldier. It was also heartening to hear her apologizing on behalf of the U.S.-NATO led military forces in Afghanistan, promising to do everything to clear up what happened and to try and prevent future massacres. Meanwhile, Germany has almost 5,000 troops stationed in northern Afghanistan, 52 of which have died in the eleven year war. Even more hopeful is the majority of Germans, who do not want to wait until 2013 to withdraw all combat troops from Afghanistan.
Chancellor Merkel addressed this moral disparity of removing all German troops by 2013-2014 by saying "The will is there, we want to manage it, and it is being worked on." It is interesting that she used the word "will," for it too was used and often misapplied leading up to World War I and II. In a post-enlightened and post-religious age, one that emphasized man and the machine through industrialism and imperialism and existentialism, the concept of "will" became paramount throughout Europe. The problem, however, was that the existential "will," the ability and way that somebody pursues or accomplishes something, was shaped by class, racial, and technological superiority that sought cheap labor and resources and market economies.
Still, the existential "will" became associated with "power," military power that is. "After all," declared General von Bismarck, "war is, properly speaking, the natural condition of humanity."(2) Like most European political, economic and social leaders, General von Bismarck believed armed violence and war was but the extension of politics by other means. Therefore, egotism and power, or the "will," rather than romanticism and compassion, and Realpolitik rather than Idealpolitik, dictated the actions of European nations. Again, such thinking and unrealistic expectations caused two European civil wars, killing tens of millions of people and enveloping much of the world. It was as if the Crown of egoism and the "will to war" themselves had thrown the earth upon its coffin.(3)
It is obvious the great issues of the day will not be decided by blood and iron but apologies and cooperation. Unlike the egotistical "will to power" and "will to war," a selfless "will to apologize" and "will to atone" actually requires more will power and more moral stamina. It respects and takes into account the interests of others. Individuals and nations do not always act in their own self-interests, nor are they necessarily ethno-, military-, and techno-centric. Their character is developed by habits of thought and action, including attitudes, values and beliefs. Power does not have to be self serving. It can be shared. This kind of Idealpolitik promotes peace and understanding. It is also more true to existential realities, since individuals and nations do not live alone or in isolation.
Later in life, General von Bismarck developed a healthy distrust of the military, along with their political and militarist "demigods." Did he realize that politics had merely become the extension of war by other means-which Nazism and Adolf Hitler later used to unify Germany, even realizing Anschluss? By apologizing to the people of Afghanistan, the Insightful Chancellor has exemplified a more hopeful and idealistic will and nature than the Iron Chancellor. But apologies require actions and behaviors consistent with Democratic- and Idealpolitik. Neither do they continue to repeat the same vain mistakes over and over again, namely militarism and war. "The will is there" declared Chancellor Merkel, but it remains to be seen what kind of will. Will she become the Inspirational Chancellor?
After all, are not apologies followed by demilitarization and peace, properly speaking, also the natural condition of humanity? (Note: Germany just elected a new President, Joachim Gauck. He was prominent in peaceful protests and human rights activities that led to the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989. A former Lutheran pastor, it will be of great interest in how he perceives German military troops stationed in Afghanistan. At the same time, Germany is in a unique position to remind NATO of its original intent, that is, to maintain a mutual defense pact. Are apologies needed for NATO's ongoing preemptive wars and military strikes, something of which points to permanent and perpetual wars ?)
Dallas Darling (darling@wn.com)
(Dallas Darling is the author of Politics 501: An A-Z Reading on Conscientious Political Thought and Action, Some Nations Above God: 52 Weekly Reflections On Modern-Day Imperialism, Militarism, And Consumerism in the Context of John's Apocalyptic Vision, and The Other Side Of Christianity: Reflections on Faith, Politics, Spirituality, History, and Peace. He is a correspondent for
www.worldnews.com. You can read more of Dallas' writings at www.beverlydarling.com and wn.com//dallasdarling.)
(1) Cohen, M.J. and John Major. History In Quotations. London: Cassell Publishers, 2004., p. 697.
(2) Cowley, Robert and Geoffrey Parker. Military History. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996., p. 53.
(3) When Prince Otto Von Bismark heard that the king of Prussia, Frederick William IV, stood to salute the bodies of the dead insurrectionists, his actual quote was: "The Crown itself has thrown the earth upon its coffin." Cohen, M.J. and John Major. History In Quotations., p. 561.
Source: http://article.wn.com/view/2012/04/03/Will_Great_Issues_of_the_Day_Finally_Be_Decided_by_Apologies/
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