Harald Schmidt on Monika Gruber's show: War & Media Hysteria

They still exist, those evenings when two entertainers sit together and dissect the country as if it were a slightly moldy piece of cheese: carefully, but without false politeness. Harald Schmidt meets Monika Gruber – and suddenly it's no longer about punchlines, but about gaps in memory. Vast, historical gaps in memory. Schmidt says a sentence that sticks: We miss "Grandpa tells war stories." Back then, at every coffee klatch, there was at least one amputated leg at the table. Russia remained. Two sons fell. Bridge gone. City gone. Illusion gone. Today? The generation is dead – and with it, the sound of collapsing buildings in the collective ear.

We shout "Never again" as if it were a discount code. No one really knows what for anymore. The main thing is to be morally correct and outraged. At the same time, we talk about "defense readiness" and "mindset" as if war were a coaching seminar. The problem: According to the German Armed Forces Association, there's a lack of barracks, instructors, weapons, ammunition—and personnel. Europe? Viewers with premium subscriptions. Two sign up, the rest get to be in the photo. Two weeks later, there's another fire somewhere. New crisis, new panel, new experts. Three weeks ago, Trump was the downfall of the rule of law, then suddenly a peacemaker. Same newspaper, different headline. Anyone still collecting newspaper clippings will soon need their own archive for these shifts in opinion.

Schmidt regards it with surgical composure. Can I influence it? No? Then I'll save myself the blood pressure. Gruber, on the other hand, is still getting worked up – which in this country is practically a patriotic duty. After all, we are world champions of perpetual outrage. The Chancellor says "cityscape" – and the nation debates facades while elsewhere missiles are being launched. Germany, this country caught between megalomania and self-pity. We, of course, single-handedly save the world's climate, while simultaneously sulking in the corner because the rest of the world doesn't admire us enough. Complaining as a national sport, moral self-righteousness as a team discipline.

Meanwhile, we're discussing the mindset for a crisis. Which mindset exactly? The one we use to fight for a ticket at the machine? The one we use to tweet indignantly, but please, without wanting to be personally affected? We're world champions at commenting. We leave the actual action to others. Schmidt doesn't admire Trump's politics, but the showmanship. And that's perhaps the most honest analysis of the whole situation. Politics as entertainment. Outrage as ratings. Talk shows as a substitute activity. If the election winner doesn't fit the script, the script is simply rewritten.

The real issue remains: We've forgotten what destruction feels like. We only know it from live streams. Bridges in the water are now picture-book aesthetics, not everyday occurrences. Perhaps that's a good thing. Perhaps it's dangerous. Perhaps it's simply convenient. In the end, we're sitting in the open-plan carriage of this country, while outside, world politics whizzes by like a poorly coordinated timetable. Some get worked up, some observe, some make jokes. And perhaps that's precisely our survival strategy: cynicism as self-protection, irony as a last vestige of dignity…

Harald Schmidt with Monika Gruber: War & Media Hysteria | The Gruber Woman