The song is sung in German but the lyrics are presented below. This is prime time punk and it comes from 1970 as the anthem when the German freaks were fighting the government to root out the last NAZIs and the American freaks were fighting (i.e. getting clubbed) to stop the war in Vietnam.
There is a fundamental difference between the freak conflicts in each country. The German freaks knew they were in direct combat with the evil in the government and they would not stop until they rooted it out. Destroy what destroys you. In America, the conflict was with the government but not against it. The Vietnam War was perceived as an evil the government had created but there wasn't so much recognition and acceptance that evil exists within the government or this could not have happened.
Identification of Nixon as Tricky Dick was not recognition of a hard-core within the government which perpetrates these things. Busting the Watergate crew was also trivial as they were just a bunch of amateurs anyway.
The premise is that this surface recognition of the problem prevented reached the fundamental understanding now implicit to Germans that there must be a continuing effort to rid evil in government and ensure it stays out. In the latter regard, Americans failed utterly whereas Germany has done fairly well. There are lessons to be learned and this one goes back forty-five years. It's still valid, even more so now than then. Just as with Gysi, America would do well to heed it.
There is a fundamental difference between the freak conflicts in each country. The German freaks knew they were in direct combat with the evil in the government and they would not stop until they rooted it out. Destroy what destroys you. In America, the conflict was with the government but not against it. The Vietnam War was perceived as an evil the government had created but there wasn't so much recognition and acceptance that evil exists within the government or this could not have happened.
Identification of Nixon as Tricky Dick was not recognition of a hard-core within the government which perpetrates these things. Busting the Watergate crew was also trivial as they were just a bunch of amateurs anyway.
The premise is that this surface recognition of the problem prevented reached the fundamental understanding now implicit to Germans that there must be a continuing effort to rid evil in government and ensure it stays out. In the latter regard, Americans failed utterly whereas Germany has done fairly well. There are lessons to be learned and this one goes back forty-five years. It's still valid, even more so now than then. Just as with Gysi, America would do well to heed it.
Claudia Roth was the manager for Ton Steine Scherben and it must have been a formidable job as they got huge. The singer died too young and she went into politics, becoming instrumental in the Green Party which is extremely strong in Germany in large part from her efforts. She then went to Turkey to assess the 'War Against the People' (DailyMotion)
Song lyrics
The world shall awake
The chains of society
Are laws ripe to break
And the fear they're feeding us
The prejudice and hate
Will not tear us apart
Till the end of our days
Destroy what destroys you
Time has come to awake
Destroy what destroys you
In god-forbidden land
Resurrect the dream you've lost
Before you regret
Our souls may be darkened
But we see the light
The source of our inner strength
Is power that cannot die
Destroy what destroys you
Time has come to awake
Destroy what destroys you
Destroy what destroys you
Destroy what destroys you
Time has come to awake
Destroy what destroys you
Destroy what destroys you
Destroy what destroys you
Time has come to awake
Time has come to awake!
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