The columnist sits in front of a white sheet of paper, the noble fountain pen full of ink, looks back, not in anger, but a bit in resignation, and thinks: "Fuck it, it can't all have been bad this year." It wasn't.
A year that could hardly have been more exhausting. In a classic annual review, Thomas Gottschalk and a baron have already filmed freely. But I'm secretly happy that apparently there doesn't seem to be any age discrimination on TV. Of course, things are worse for women (but women are used to that by now), and while Tommy is becoming more and more like an older lady, it seems unthinkable that an older lady would host something as bang-up as a year in review. But I didn't want to talk about whether it's a good thing or not when a moderator squanders old man's jokes and an ex-minister is allowed back on television. After all, everyone deserves a second or third or tenth chance. I wanted to look back on the last twelve months under the heading "It wasn't all bad".
If I were to read aloud now, I would try to saxon at "Esw'rnichtallesschläscht", but fortunately I don't read aloud, although we have recently added this function to our site and I would like to encourage you to use it if For example, you're sitting in the car and you shouldn't really be looking at your smartphone. Rather, I wanted to try to bring you closer to a few moments of happiness in 2022. Sure, these are happy moments from a subjective perspective, and others might not find it all that happy, but I daresay there were some good sides to this disastrous year as well.
Just when we in the ntv.de editorial team were considering switching off our Corona ticker because there was simply no longer something to report about Corona every 15 minutes - thank God - thought a certain Wladimir P., who used to be in our Went in and out of widths, courted and given gifts "Oh, I'll attack the Ukraine, I've had that on my side for a long time anyway". Of course, as an attentive ntv.de reader, you know what terrible things happened because you are well informed.
However, if you want to draw something positive from the whole thing, then we have to look to the other Vladimir, namely Volodymyr Zelenskyj, who with his way of communicating (and, admittedly, an olive-colored T-shirt, optionally a sweatshirt or sometimes a wool mixture ) brought about a change in communication at the political level. He has done what not many politicians can: He speaks to the people, he keeps them going, everyone believes every word he says, he doesn't get up, he doesn't lecture, and with his way of persevering, of going on, that each of us can accomplish more than he or she ever thought possible. He even manages the balancing act of being glamorous at times. Because yes, this President was once a comedian and actor and knows red carpets: When he spoke via video link at the opening of the 75th Cannes Film Festival in May, there were standing ovations from his former colleagues.
The Ukrainian President has been serving the international media with apparent ease since the start of the Russian war of aggression against his country. The daily video messages that Zelenskyj uses to address his people and the free world have long since become their own genre of political communication.
Certainly there is also something to complain about about Zelenskyj, but the verve and chutzpah with which he is still there - and has not taken off - deserves the utmost respect. Incidentally, Robert Habeck communicates his concerns on social media in his own way, so that you can watch him think live, so to speak. Another shining light on the political stage: Annalena Baerbock. Clearly the "woman of the year" for me. Her way (for a politician) to speak straight, to formulate things that are uncomfortable, to tackle problems is exemplary. The "Women of the Year" follow in the next paragraph.
Something big has also emerged from another sad occasion: the revolution that is currently raging in Iran. Citizens who become heroes by taking to the streets and risking their lives to demonstrate for freedom, equality and a safe future. Things that we take completely for granted must be enforced in this country against a mullahs' regime that keeps its residents captive in a kind of Stone Age.
Worse still, because in the Stone Age, 16-year-old girls weren't hanged for wanting to go out on the streets or to school without a headscarf, and gay rappers weren't shot down in the streets just for being who they are. The endless suffering that is happening there can be seen on the Instagram accounts of Duzen Tekkal, Officiallyjoko, Dazudasklaas, among others, which show what is happening in Iran with an incredibly wide range. That's depressing, true, but it also gives hope. Hope that the world will finally pay attention and intervene, and hope that people won't put up with everything and that in the end a country could emerge that is modern and beautiful and full of culture and equality - just like it used to be.
What else, what was good about this year 2022? Many have traveled more again this year. Among other things, I have been to two dream locations that were unimaginable last year and I am incredibly happy, grateful and inspired by them. It's liberating to be able to visit the world again. It's also perfectly okay that this can no longer happen every weekend and the so-called "Generation Easy Jet", which wasn't a generation at all, but simply consisted of people of all ages who preferred to spend every weekend in a different city, that is can't fly quite as much as before. Also because we no longer want to be so laissez-faire with our resources.
Which brings me to the next development that will hopefully bring something positive out of something negative: the climate crisis. Now that we'd all rather heat a few degrees less than throw money down Putin's throat, now that we'd rather laugh at Gerhard Schröder and his "Nordstream fir tree" than at his involvement in the ill-fated construct that he years ago with his Russian male friend, now that we realize that we are using more energy than we have, we are finally thinking harder about the climate. Maybe not all of us, because some continue to form blatant alliances, but all beginnings are difficult.
Good thing, our children will thank us for it. The fact that not all thoughts - even if we "think more" now - and actions make sense is another matter. I can think of another good thing: The two founders of the vaccine manufacturer Biontech, Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci, have made millions with their discovery. But they remain modest, continue to ride bicycles, don't own a car or television, and want to use the money for further research.
They are convinced that in a few years we will already have made progress in fighting cancer and even being able to control aging - or everything that involves unpleasantness - better. In an interview, Türeci said: "Our purpose in life is to be useful."
At the end of this year, which seems (and for the most part is) so negative to us, should we have learned that humility and modesty suit us quite well? Even if we really let it rip at a party and have fun until the doctor comes - we can and want to keep the thoughts of our fellow human beings in the back of our minds. Winter is and will be cold, so stay hospitable! Hand out blankets and money, look after the homeless and keep your hearts and doors open to refugees.
After all, the miracle of Christmas has already happened: Boris Becker is free. You may not care, but the hero of my youth behind bars - that has weighed on me. Anyway, I'm trying to find my "Christmas Spirit" starting today. With this in mind: Merry Christmas, Hanukkah sameach, and a good final sprint! We'll read each other again on December 31st.
