Merkel marks German constitution anniversary by celebrating diversity

Deutsche Welle ^ | 05.14.2019 | Ben Knight

[Olog-hai]

Chancellor Angela Merkel joined dozens of young people of immigrant background in Berlin on Tuesday to celebrate the 70^th anniversary of Germany’s Basic Law, or constitution.

The event was hosted by Deutschlandstiftung Integration (DSI), a foundation that in 2012 founded the Geh Deinen Weg (“Go Your Way”) program to help young and ambitious people of immigrant background find a way into the German job market.

The purpose of the event was to highlight the connection between the Basic Law and the lives of those of immigrant background in Germany. Many of the dignitaries who spoke at the event quoted the Basic Law’s famous first article: “Human dignity shall be inviolable,” which Christian Wulff, former German president and now head of the DSI, described as “perhaps the most beautiful line in the German language.”

“We cannot take it for granted that a constitution should stand the test of time for seven decades as the foundation of lived freedom, democracy, and rule of law as our Basic Law did,” said Merkel. “Diversity, including through immigration, has been here in the heart of Europe for centuries. … We have learned how immigration has changed our country, and how it will continue to change our country, and we have learned that our country must be a country of immigration, as well as of integration.” …

[Dagnabitt]

Vile woman. Should be in a jail cell. But enough Germans hate themselves and welcome the permanent end of their country, so garbage like Merkel gets elected.

[Celtic Conservative]

Somebody check her arm for a Stasi tattoo.

CC

[zeestephen]

Re: Stasi tattoo

As I recall, she used to attend Communist summer camps when she was growing up in East Germany.

I wonder where Merkel was when Van Morrison sang “Comfortably Numb” at the Berlin Wall in 1990?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpFo_E9Fq2k

[wastedyears]

I bet she would love nothing more than to tear up their “constitution” herself, live on international TV.

[Olog-hai]

Well, the Basic Law sounds a lot like the old Soviet constitution in parts, particularly the “equal before the law” part in Article 3 (as well as “Men and women shall have equal rights” in that article, echoing Article 122 of the 1936 Soviet constitution, Article 35 of the 1977 Soviet Constitution, Article 48 of the PRC constitution ad nauseam) and the positive liberty format (rights granted by government) versus the negative liberty format of the US Constitution (“Congress shall make no law”, “shall not be infringed” etc).

Now Article 5 is very interesting:

1. Every person shall have the right freely to express and disseminate his opinions in speech, writing and pictures, and to inform himself without hindrance from generally accessible sources. Freedom of the press and freedom of reporting by means of broadcasts and films shall be guaranteed. There shall be no censorship.
   
   
2. These rights shall find their limits in the provisions of general laws, in provisions for the protection of young persons, and in the right to personal honor.
   
   
3. Arts and sciences, research and teaching shall be free. The freedom of teaching shall not release any person from allegiance to the constitution.

They come right out and say that freedom of expression is going to be limited, rather than couch the intent in phrases like “in the interests of the working class” as the communist constitutions do. And the clause about “no censorship” is of course directly contradicted.