You Can't Turn Back The Clock

... is a common response to my prudicious rantings.

The sexual revolution is over and the libertines have won forever. The Catholic faith is an anomaly, practiced only by retrograde reactionaries who will never again see their beliefs ascendant. Sort of like how the Germans discovered the benefits of an industrial society and never went back from it.

Germany used to declare war on its neighbors. Today we explain how they can renounce nuclear power. We've lost the title of the world's top exporter and only manage to come in third place in global soccer rankings, but no one can get the better of us when it comes recycling our waste. Acid rain and forest decline have opened our eyes to the destructive force of civilization from an early age, even though Germany's forests, contrary to expectations, have somehow survived...  

Because environmental policy pursues noble goals, politicians who specialize in the environment have a moral advantage over those who deal with issues such as government finances, domestic security or pension contribution rates. The positive aura in the German Environment Ministry is so strong that it even managed to bathe a technocrat like former Environment Minister Jürgen Trittin in a soft light. Current Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen, a cool-headed strategist who, only a few years ago, would have liked to become the managing director of the Federation of German Industries, now plays the environmental saint, riding his bicycle to meetings with the chancellor.

Err, maybe not.

The Germans discovered the cost of unbridled industry outweighed the benefits and so they're turning the clock back, trying to find a better balance between building awesome sports cars and having thriving forests nearby.

Some day we might care about the kids of East Cleveland like do about acid rain.