Sitting on my grandparents’ couch in southwestern Germany and watching a Friends episode with endearingly bad dubbing, I am once again tempted to compare America to Germany. It is needless to say that cultural differences abound and it isn’t easy to pick the better of my two homes. Out of nostalgic and political reasons, I tend to pick Germany as the favorite. After all, we have good beer, good chocolate, highly competent soccer players and no George W. Bush.

But once I put these qualities aside, I notice one flaw that immediately forces me to change my mind and choose America: The underlying and powerful intolerance that saturates German society.

In a country ridden with collective guilt, where people hesitate to display the black, red and gold flag for fear of seeming too nationalistic, it is surprising to me that intolerance is so much more intense in Germany than in America.

Our campus is relatively tolerant of different races, religions and sexual orientations. However, throughout America, there is a growing mistrust of Islam and those who practice it. The catalyst of this deep-seated fear is without a doubt the “War on Terror” and its abundant propaganda. There is also a more quickly growing distrust of Latin-American immigrants, likely caused by the fear of a changing nation.

We are all aware of the prejudice and narrow-mindedness that is spreading throughout America, and many of us have publicly spoken out against this. However, what we see in America is nothing compared to the pervasive hatred of Turks and Islam in Germany. School-yard violence, rapes, offensive graffiti and a general disrespect to the Turkish culture and Islamic faith flash across the TV screen daily on news channels.

Germany has long been a popular destination for Turkish emigrants, and the Turkish population in Germany is the largest in Europe. Unfortunately, however, there has been no enforced assimilation in Germany of any kind, and a segregated Turkish sub-culture has exaggerated the challenge of cultural integration.

Many friends of mine have been robbed or beaten up by Turkish teens, who, likewise, have been robbed or beaten up by German teens. Students get stabbed in school yards and cars get clobbered in driveways. But the hatred is not limited to violent outbursts among teenagers. Many Germans of all ages see Turks as liars and filth, as people who steal unemployment compensation and oppress their women. In the street, an obviously Turkish person gets glared at, yelled at, even spit at. If a woman chooses to wear a headscarf, she can rule out almost any chance of getting a job, not to mention respect.

Not only is this hatred pervasive, it is public and unrestricted. The residents of Munich have recently made their prejudices clear by protesting the building of a mosque in the city. It has come to the point that many Turks don’t leave their homes for fear of harassment and there is little hope that the situation will improve in the near future.

What is happening in Germany should be a warning to us all. In today’s global environment, it is only a matter of years before there will be people of every race and religion in every country and integration and tolerance will be essential to everyday interactions.

Intolerance of beliefs, specifically religious beliefs, has been the most common cause of war and tragedy recently and, unless we can learn to accept that all beliefs are legitimate and stop attempting to force ourselves on others, war will continue to rage.

All people are equal, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or anything else someone might think of. I want to believe that I am a member of a generation that can look beyond these differences, but I am gradually losing this hope with every racist and repulsive remark I hear coming from my peers. We are educated and we are compassionate. Why shouldn’t it be our generation across the world that can finally accept difference and practice unrestrained tolerance?

Anika Fontaine is a senior marketing major. She can be reached at amfontaine@gmail.com.