One of these days I will have to go back to the "state" of Florida where I will not only encounter the heat, but the hotbed of politics.
Whenever I have picked up an international newspaper here, it never fails that there is a story about the latest law imposed by the Governor. Today, three of my beloved New England states where immigrants live are no longer validated to drive in Florida since DeSantis slapped a new law on their licenses in HIS state. Meanwhile, another Florida resident, and DeSantis' only viable opponent in a run for the Presidency, faces state and federal law suits while simultaneously campaigning to consolidate powers of the presidency. He'll get away with it if we are not careful! (See NYT, July 17).
So now what? Where to live? The favored choices are either burning up or drowning under deluges of rising rivers. No place to run! To live as I have these past several weeks in a new place, requires accepting limitations in language, on connections with loved ones and abiding by those laws of leaders in the adopted country. An Englishman said to me: "America IS already Great! Always has been." Most of the Germans I have encountered in my multicultural neighborhood when learning that I am an American, smile and say, "Have a nice day!" I see a yellow smiley face behind their words. They do not say, America is Great. They know a thing or two that we Americans have yet to learn about power.
There is a long through line in German history that started with the Prussian Empire and continues into the twenty-first century. It can be summarized succinctly in the the stories of Schonhausen Schloss ( The Beautiful Palace) in the photo. It was built as the summer palace for Frederick the Great's wife, Elizabeth Christine, as part of their arranged marriage. He lived in the City Palace in Berlin. The two were seen together there for official state gatherings, but never at the summer palace which Frederick did not frequent. It was, however, full of invited guests, mostly women, during the fifty years while Elizabeth was alive. Afterward, during the Nazi reign it became a store house for what was called "degenerate" art, or more factually, confiscated art from those people sent away by Hitler. After his suicide, the German people were separated by that infamous Wall between East and West until 1989. The Palace, like many of the great art museums, was in the East. At that time, it became the residence and office of the President of the German Democratic Republic. He continued to add to the palace's guest list. These names are on the short list of those who were invited and stayed in the guestroom: Brezhnev, Castro, Gaddafi, Arafat, Ceaucescu, and lastly in 1989 before the Wall was torn down, Gorbachev and his wife, unlike Frederick and his. With that the through line concludes and reunification begins.
I wandered the beautiful gardens wondering what might have been discussed in those rooms between the East German President and those terrorist dictators? It sends shivers just to imagine them meeting, let alone their conversations.
The palace is outside downtown Berlin far from public view. The surrounding buildings were offices for the GDR, and included many more guest rooms. None of these buildings or the palace were bombed in World War II because they were out of range, as were those nefarious characters who gathered there years later. No records exist, as far as I know, detailing those meetings, even as the current museum prominently displays a scroll of names dating back decades. The powerful prevailed throughout this long story line. Germans know what we Americans are coming to learn about power.
In the meantime, and it is a very "mean" time, back in Florida, power is on the front burner. When DeSantis won his first term as Governor, his earliest legislation was in favor of protecting the Everglades. I thought then, he deserved a chance. That was before the power of the presidency grabbed him and his wife, "Cruella" ( DeVille) DeSantis, one of Disney's most infamous female characters, by the throat. Speaking of the hand that feeds many, many people in HIS state, Disney threw down the gauntlet over another law DeSantis created restricting gay rights. That list of restrictive laws has grown to be as long as the list of dictators named on the scroll.
There seems to be no end when going down that road to power, that is until something unexpected shuts it down, like people tearing down a wall one night! Power looks indestructible, but there are always weaknesses to be found.
One sculpture that stood out to me in the vast museum collections owned by Germany, is of Achilles, the famed mythological warrior. We all know the story and refer to weaknesses in a person as their "Achilles heel" alluding to the hero's demise. I circled that perfectly built marble sculpture of Achilles holding his shield and wearing a helmet. I looked to see that heel at the end of his raised leg . . . the foot was gone! It didn't end well for Achilles and we can hold that thought as we move ahead in our own power struggles knowing everyone has a weakness.
For every threat barked out by powerful men du jour, there is a vulnerability waiting to be discovered. DeSantis' will be discovered most likely by his biggest nemesis, then HIS story will become just another footnote.
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