Gerhard Schroeder’s American Flag-Draped Caskets
It’s been just 60 years, a blink of the eye in historical terms, since the Allied armies rolled into Berlin to free Europe from the clutches of the German war machine. Then, for decades afterwards, the U.S. military was the only thing standing between West Germany and the rest of Europe and the advance of Soviet Communism.
As of right now, Gerhard Schroeder’s role as Chancellor and head of the Social Democrat party hangs in the balance. Less than half of German voters voted for him indicating that the German people may be abandoning the socialist policies that have plagued the German economy.
Schroeder has demonstrated a complete lack of gratitude towards the U.S., and it’s not hard to figure out why. To begin with, he has no memory of WW II, being born in 1944, and he never knew his father who was a German soldier killed fighting the Allies. As an adult, he became an adherent of Karl Marx and has spent his entire political career promoting Socialism. In fact, prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, Schroeder was strongly in favor of West Germany developing strong ties with their Communist neighbor.
But even for a thinly disguised Communist who’s basic philosophy is at odds with our American sensibilities, Schroeder has taken a slap at the United States that is truly disgraceful. One of his campaign posters shows caskets of U.S. soldiers draped with American flags and suggests that if elected, his opponent would send troops to Iraq.
I say disgraceful because a scant 60 years ago, American flags draped other caskets of U.S. soldiers killed in action. American soldiers died liberating Europe from the scourge of Nazi Germany and were sent home in caskets draped with the American flag. Whatever you imagine Schroeder to be, don’t imagine him to be stupid or ignorant of history.
He knows the double meaning those posters are conveying and he is arrogantly thumbing his nose at America. Lets hope that when the dust of Germany’s election settles, Gerhard Schroeder is not left standing.