Kultur 4

Compulsive organization is stressed in all of these articles. The authors talk about how locals are always playing by the rules, which are rather elaborate. This complex set of rules, some being unspoken, apparently makes it a little difficult for foreigners to keep up with whats going on. Whether you're walking across the street or just walking down the sidewalk, there are dangers that someone from the states may not even think about, like cars and bikes that probably won't brake if you're in the way. These articles describe how the Germans kind of stand their ground when they have the right of way, which is what we do too in a lot of cases. We have laws that protect pedestrians by giving them the right of way, which makes driving around campus very frustrating, while walking is much less stressful. I also thought it was interesting how people may take the liberty to scold you if you break any of these German rules. I don't know if Americans are more passive in this sense (I personally don't think we are), or maybe we just don't care about things like that. Perhaps we just think of those rules or laws as guidelines that can be manipulated depending on certain circumstances. Like the German punks who are waiting to cross the street when the red man goes away at 3 in the morning, while any American wouldn't think twice before casually walking to the other side. I guess you could say that we tend to bend the rules while Germans generally try to maintain the order provided by these systems. As a true 'Merrcan, I believe that this indicates our obsession with freedom, which is definitely liberating although it leaves the risk of relying on the good judgement of everyone. Based on these articles, it sounds like the Germans want to take judgement out of the equation, again, reflecting their pursuit of perfect order. I think breaking the rules is kind of fun :) but I am an American, not a German.