Alles ist hin! AUS DER SPIEGEL - Obama's Misguided Approach: America Has Become Too European

Obama's Misguided Approach: America Has Become Too European - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

Obama’s Has Become Too European. “The nation would be better off embracing traditional American values like self-reliance and small government.” Yep. That’s what they’re writing in Der Spiegel.

End of the American Way?

If you take this belief away from Americans, you are destroying the binds which interlink America's heterogeneous society. Removing this belief could lead to conflicts between different sections of society, clashes which have long bubbled beneath the surface.

What could help would be a return to the American Way, the approach which made the US so historically powerful. The success of this model is illustrated by history. In 1820, twice as many people lived in the United Kingdom as the US, and its economic performance (measured by gross domestic product) was three times as strong and the average standard of living (measured by GDP per person) was a quarter higher. Today, there are about five times more people living in the US than the UK, America's economic performance is about seven times better than Britain's and the average American is about 50 percent better off than the average Briton.

What should be done? It would be more intelligent to repair the elevator which helped the US rise from the bottom of the heap to the top, instead of trying to transplant a European style of operating onto American soil. Either the US follows the American Way -- an approach characterized by a shared history, economic success and constant progress -- or the US will have to adjust itself to the "European" way, sparking economic and social tensions in the process.

If the US manages to revert to its former ways, there is potential for hope. If not, the American age will have really come to an end.

Ach, du lieber Augustin, Augustin, Augustin, Ach, du lieber Augustin, Alles ist hin! 1. Geld ist hin, Mädl ist hin, Alles ist hin, Augustin! Ach, du lieber Augustin, Alles ist hin! Refrain 2. Rock ist weg, Stock ist weg, Augustin liegt im Dreck. Ach, du lieber Augustin, Alles ist hin! Refrain 3. Und selbst das reiche America, Hin ist's wie Augustin; Weint mit mir im gleichen Sinn, Alles ist hin! Refrain 4. Jeder Tag war ein Fest, Jetzt haben wir die Pest! Nur ein großes Leichenfest, Das ist der Rest. Refrain 5. Augustin, Augustin, Leg' nur ins Grab dich hin! Ach, du lieber Augustin, Alles ist hin!

O, my dear friend Augustin Augustin, Augustin, O, my dear friend Augustin, All is lost! 1. Money's gone, girlfriend's gone, All is lost, Augustin! O, my dear friend Augustin, All is lost! Refrain 2. Coat is gone, staff is gone, Augustin lies in the dirt. O, my dear friend Augustin, All is lost! Refrain 3. And even that rich America, Broke is like Augustin; Shed tears with thoughts akin, All is lost! Refrain 4. Every day was a feast, Now we just have the plague! Just a great corpse's feast, That is the rest. Refrain 5. Augustin, Augustin, Lay down in your grave! O, my dear friend Augustin, All is lost!