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to live as an Israelí. One thing you
will soon get used to is standing in
line and being shoved j ust a lit–
tle."
It
wasn't long before we were
standing fi rmly in the ever-presen t
lines-and we might have even
shoved back once in a while.
We had to understand the
people- how they li ved and
reacted. Once we did, we could
share their cu lture, personality and
national character.
"What is there," we wondered ,
"about their character that made
them this way?" Another friend
answered the question:
"lt
is a
trait, which you may at first object
to, that has given my people- the
ability to wit hstand more than
3,000 years of hardship, tria! and
persecution. Don' t worry that we
should shove a little."
National Observations
1'11 never forget the first time my
wife and 1 traveled together to
Europe.
lt
was 1964. In Rome, we
rented a car and proceeded to make
our way around the city. There are
few cities in the world where driv–
ing is more precarious than Rome.
My wife has not forgotten to this
day those harrowing hours in ltal–
ian t raffic.
But I wanted to experience
Rome as the Romans. After a few
apprehensive and tentative mo–
ments, l was responding to fellow
drivers. 1 Joved it.
But my wife would much prefer
a cab, bus, subway, walk-anything
but fac.e the oncoming traffic with
me at the wheel in a st range land.
For the past 20 years we have
been fortunate to have international
travel as a part of our job. When we
have traveled we have had the
unusual opportunity to become
acquainted with the culture, per–
sonali ty and character of peoples
from these many lands.
1 have talked with numerous
business people and tourists-espe–
cially Americans-who have trav–
eled abroad. They take their U.S.
airline, stay in a luxury hotel and
eat American food. They see the
cities and countryside through the
large plate glass windows of a 50-
passenger tour bus.
A hectic 14-day schedule takes
them from city to city, nation to
8
nation. Near the end of the tour,
the places they see look almost
exactly like the places they have
been. Sadly only photographs and
postcards serve to remind them of
their trip.
Too many people have not taken
the t ime to know and understand
the many and varied national per–
sonal it ies of the nations of the
world.
Stereotypes-Real and lmagined
We all have our preconceived ideas
about nati.onal character. The effi–
cient German. The Frenchman and
his wine. The Italian lover. The
austere Russian. The meticulous
Japanese. The relaxed Polynesian.
The condescending American. The
imperturbable Englishman.
Perhaps sorne of our perceptions
are true. But those qualities don't
always have to be negative. For
example, not all the British are
overly formal. One of my close
British friends is a member of the
noted old Reform Club in London.
If you saw the movie
A round the
World in Eighty Days,
you may
remember the opening scene in
which severa! stereotyped, stately
English gentlemen planned the 80-
day venture.
It is true these English clubs are
quite formal-but there is a time
and place for quiet formality and
elegance.
My British friend recently took
my wife and me to the Reform
Club (it has only permitted women
the past few years). lt was a per–
fectly delightful evening-filled
with laughter, wonderful food and
tremendous British hospitality.
And 1 assure you my friend is quite
proper and cultured.
Once you view the people in
England against t heir historical and
even geographical background,
then one can begin to understand
the character of people who must
be admired for their perseverance
and droll sense of humor. Ameri–
cans can even have fun appreciating
the difference of driving on the
"wrong" side of the road.
I have had the privilege of spend–
ing two summers in Germany
working with our Bonn office man–
ager, Frank Schnee. We have con–
ducted two nationwide lecture and
counseling tours, and he has shown
me a Germany that most American
tourists do not see.
With opportunities to stay in prí–
vate German homes, to eat and talk
with scores of families , 1 have
developed a great love and respect
for Germany and the character of
its peoples.
Most of the rest of the world
characterizes the Germans as orga–
nized, obedient and, in cer tain gen–
erations, militaristic. And with
sorne justification. Perhaps that
does reflect the traditional charac–
ter of sorne of the people sorne of
the time.
But the polka dancing, yodeling
Bavarian, the hard-working s tee l
worker from the Ruhr, the jovial
Hausfrau
and the wonderful chil–
dren that really make up Germany
are the ones 1 have come to love
and respect.
One of the more memorable
families 1 visited a few years ago
gave me a glimpse into the more
traditional military character of
sorne Germans.
We were guests in the home of a
family who lived not far from
Frankfurt. I noticed a number of
military memorabilia in the home.
In the course of time the conversa–
tion turned to that subject.
In World War 11, the head of the
home had served in the elite Ger–
man
Sturmabteilung- the
Brown–
shi r ts. 1 was shocked. How could
this man have been part of that war
machine? But it is part of his past
and he has had to face it and deal
with it.
He told me how it happened. H e
was 17 at the time. Adolf Hitler
and J oseph Goebbels, his minister
of Propaganda and Enlightenment,
had inspired thousands to don uni–
form. Stirring speeches and music
fi lled the air.
"You do have to remember," he
recounted, "th at Hit ler had
brought Germany out of depres–
sion. He promised so much. One
day the Brownshirts marched into
our little village. A band played the
stirring 'Horst Wessel Lied ' and
the first thing you know most of us
young fellows had joined."
Of course that in no way justifies
anything that happened. But 1
think I understood for the first
time how a young man could get
involved.
The
PLAIN TRUTH