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I wrote this a few months ago, still with the intend on working more on it. Now I read it, and think it is good the way it is and I think it can be heard.

After Bernie dropped out I had been mostly distancing myself from politics and the names involved. Still, of course I brushed by some things and found myself more often in the comment sections of r/politics than I would have liked. Also it is very, very hard to get around certain names these days. So, of course, I have an opinion.

Having been in a relationship with an American for a few years has given me a different viewpoint and insight into the US American culture, society and media.

For me Trump almost seems like a logical result of the given conditions. The picture that is given the outside world of the USA is a distinctive one, the country of freedom, where everything is possible. Sure, the more educated individuals were aware that that’s not entirely true and “the crazy USA” was certainly a liked topic in the news as well. Still the picture I got over the years seems a little more wholesome.

America is without doubt a nation of innovation – a front runner in arts and science. But, or rather in connection to that it is also a nation of extreme dichotomy. On the other spectrum we have poverty, a big population of homeless people, the only industrialized country with no paid maternity leave and the worst health system of any developed country. There is a lot of hate, fear. Religion practiced into fanatism brings hate crime (terrorism?), discrimation and oppression in many ways.
But even in the middle of the two extremes is a wide range of diverse people who are burdened with fear of loosing their job, who have to work 3 jobs to get by, who can’t effort to go to the doctor or think about going for way too long, who worry about their retirement or sending their kids to school.
Some of you Germans (or others) might say “we fear those things too.” and yes you do, which is a problem of our (your) society. But I can tell you, you don’t know what it means to have to sell your house to afford cancer treatment for your child, you don’t know what it means to get diagnosed with breast cancer and be back at work 8 weeks later.

Trump is a symptom with many causes. The end result of a lot of hate and fear cooking for a while. We have to go through the valley to go up the mountain again. You can see it already: there has been a lot of compassion, warmth and kindness. Bad times bring people together and force them to be authentic.

Let us not forget that we have a lot of hate and fear cooking in other parts of the world. Let’s get together and make the world a better place – one step at a time – through love and compassion.

What does friendship mean? Where does it start – where does it end?
What are the parameters that make a friend a friend and not an acquiantance?
Is it time?
One of my best friends – Terence, a 60 year old ironman competitor, Maori and one of the happiest people I have met, offered me to call him if I ever needed help. I took him up on the offer because I knew he was sincere. I ended up staying for three or four weeks in which we went hiking, running and biking, we talked, we cooked we ate and we spent time with others. He participated in the goat (crazy man) and I supported him.
We had a blast. I came back for something like two months. We climbed up and around mountains, went on roadtrips, shared great meals, stories and many laughs. I got to know probably a quarter of his family (which means around 20 people). Since I left the land of the long white cloud 7 years ago, we have spent around 10 days together in which we walked through Rostock, biked to the Münster in Bad Doberan, along the baltic sea coast, through the iconic Warnemünde Beach (covered on the movie poster of the world famous movie Shutter Island (uncredited)), met my parents, discovered Schwerin and the second best castle of Germany (quote Terence), travelled through Berlin, biked through Potsdam, conquered our fears at the naked beach at the Holy lake and enjoyed a serene afternoon at the Havel, listening to my interpretation of Bo Burnhams Poems.

I say friendship can be there in an instant. Time isn’t a determining factor for friendship. Sure it grows over time but where you jump in on the scale, is open.
What makes a friend a friend is love – liking each other for who we are, acceptance and I guess some willingness to give and share.

Terence was always 100% in, trusting before he even met me. He told me where to find the key if I get to his place before him. He offered everything and gave so much more, without expecting.