When everything gets indiscriminate, our orientation ceases to exist. Nobody has the wish to live in a desert of indiscrimination.
And yet there is the pressure to become indifferent. If you want to be individualistic, you are walking a tightrope that says “anti-social” at the opposite end. Both the individualist and the anti-social have little in common with what is average, except for defining how to stand out from average.
A main term when we are talking what is hard to distinguish is „discrimination“, because it means that you can distinguish between two things. Someone who discriminates points out differences, which is exactly what is generally agreed to be a bad thing.
There is another noun expressing the fact that a distinction is hard to make: globalization. Just like “discrimination” it is meant to make modern man afraid.
The process of globalization smoothes over differences. In a globalized world, there are no favourite places left. Everything is everywhere. Where you sit when you do your business or send your email does not make the slightest difference. Sending and receiving can happen from any place – for which we have invented the word “real time”. Does that mean the concept of a “wrong time” is feasible?
Strangely enough, for modern man the connotations of the two words „discrimination“ and „globalization“ are at opposite ends. While the former term kindles fear of non-equality, the latter spreads fear of equality.
From the use of fear words, we can also see that the degree of fear is in no way related to the real danger. Rather, it is determined by our personal sensitiveness. We would be well advised to stop being afraid of words like „discrimination“ and „globalization“. It is by no means reprehensible to practice being able to tell the difference. The only thing that is reprehensible is assuming that culture is only where you are, while everything else is barbarian.
We also have to learn to think globally, which also means that we should ask ourselves how many people this planet can hold. As soon as we start thinking globally, we realize that what we spend on subsidizing the production of children who will not find a place in kindergarten, who will not get an apprenticeship, who will not get a job and finally not get any retirement money becomes the really discriminating factor between poor and rich.
KJG
Klaus-Jürgen Grün is currently staying in Romania. In his book „Angst- Vom Nutzen eines gefürchteten Gefühls“ (Fear – why a much feared emotion is useful) he wrote at great length about words that have a frightening connotation for us. The book is now available at Aufbau-Verlag Berlin.
(Translated by EG)
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