Kein seltenes Bild in England: Menschen, die gutes tun wollen. Hier sind es zwei Mitarbeiter einer Wohltätigkeitsorganisation, die Angehörige der Armee unterstützt. Fotos: jal

ENGLAND VON INNEN: Die Briten lieben es, gute Taten zu vollbringen. Der Gemeinsinn schweißt die Leute zusammen. Ein Kommentar von OL-Redakteur Juri Auel IN ENGLISCH„You guys have a stunning, strong community“

ALSFELD/ENGLAND. Unser Redakteur Juri Auel verbringt seinen Sommer bei einer englischen Lokalzeitung. Beim täglichen Blick in den Posteingang und beim Schlendern durch die Stadt fiel ihm etwas auf: Die Engländer lieben es total, gute Taten zu vollbringen. Fast jedes Dorffest sammelt für einen guten Zweck. Seine Beobachtungen fasste er für den Mid-Devon Advertiser in einem Kommentar zusammen, um den Leuten auf der Insel zu zeigen, wie beeindruckt der Deutsche davon ist. Lesen Sie hier seinen original Text – in Englisch.

This is my first time in the United Kingdom. So, I don’t know how local life here was some years ago, but what I want to say is: you guys have a stunning community and public spirit you can really be proud of.

However, it seems to me that Mr Cameron’s political ideology, the Big Society, had an impact.

There is an article about a charity event in the mailbox of this newspaper almost every day. Many public happenings are connected with a good cause.

Bikers ride together to honour your soldiers or to collect money for people who suffer a bad illness. You can find many charity shop in every town. People say they have been a popular feature of he British High Street – and that they are more liked now than they used to be.

They are almost everywhere in Briten: Charity Shops. Second hand shops which sell used things for good cause.

Of course, we do good things in my country, too. But you use more opportunities to make the world a better place. Your beer festivals, for instance.

Obviously, there are public dos in Germany as well. Nice parties, where the whole village gets drunk and enjoys itself. The difference: your festivals donate the income very often to a good cause.

Germans collect money for a boozy holiday

In my region, the organisers of those events try to make as much money as they can, just to spend it afterwards on a boozy holiday in a resort on a sunny island.

According to research by the Charities Aid Foundation from 2013, which compared the willingness of 153 countries to donate, Germany was only ranked 27. Great Britain is on the winner’s rostrum in second place. More charitable only than you is Burma.

„A state has to care for its people“

The hidden agenda behind Mr Cameron’s appeal to increase the community was perhaps just the old Tory’s plan to cut the welfare state – which is a stupid idea.

A state has to care for its people. It has to provide a stable social safety net to protect its citizens against strokes of fate. This notion is one of Europe’s greatest inventions ever.

The best way of being for a state is to have both: A good welfare system and a strong community. At least Mr Cameron’s idea of a Big Society provided a boost to the letter.

mehr über den Autor