Germany? Not my job.

Rarely does one get the chance to find a great analogy in the hall. Today I did –  it was right there at my feet! I had been thinking about the view Americans and Germans have of their countries. Why people in America get excited about presidential elections and why Germans oftentimes consider the act of voting an unpleasant duty. I thought and thought and walked down the stairs and ... then I tripped over the pile of paper in the hall. Torn envelopes, candy wrappers, free newspapers, eureka! If people throw away their trash in their own house, why would they care for the well being of their country? "Germany is an apartment house" I thought. People live here, but they don't take ownership. It's just a house, not a home. They pay rent, and they pay taxes, and they believe this money buys them certain rights and services provided by the owner. Which - of course - is true, but only one part of the story. Why do people feel so  separated from their own lives?