Lessons for America in Babylon Berlin

It was a time of cultural experimentation, a time of great wealth disparity, of the ostentatious rich and the wretched poor, of the radical left, the radical right, organized crime, and the reactionary old guard and aristocracy.

The television series Babylon Berlin stunningly portrays late 1920’s Berlin in all of its contradictions.  It is fascinating to watch, and it has many parallels in today’s America.

In Berlin, the armed and violent margins of society have running gun battles while the police cynically play them off one another and apply their own aggressive brand of violence and corruption.  The poor and the workers attempt to march peacefully in the streets, demanding the change that is so desperately needed, but they are ruthlessly exploited by both left and right radicals for whom violence is the only solution to any problem.

And then the stock market crashes, and the world goes into a deep depression, with Berlin and Germany in total free fall.  All the pieces of the puzzle fall into place.

The demonstrations and riots in our country are frightening, but also a very powerful wake-up call.  One can argue that looting and rioting do not further the causes that the demonstrations represent.  But if there had been only peaceful demonstrations across the land for a few days they would have gained only a small mindshare of a weary, social-media saturated public.

On the other hand, anytime there is large scale violence, there is the significant risk that more systemic violence will follow, that radical fringe groups will propagate and attract new members, that the police and the government will see more vigorous and violent response as their only recourse.  Then you have Babylon Berlin.

The majority of Americans must recognize that this is not a time for half measures and maintaining the status quo.  We must commit ourselves to addressing the manifold ills of our society and economy.  Both liberals and conservatives in the mainstream must be prepared to make sacrifices to create a better society.  The middle and upper classes all share the hypocrisy of wishing for a better world but not being willing to put into practice our convictions.  We must find new, conciliatory leadership and a new vision.

Yes, there are many lessons for 2020 America in Babylon Berlin’s portrait of late 1920’s Germany.  Let us learn from them.  The Berliners didn’t, and we all know the end of that story.