Gerry’s International Relations

Don’t they have anything more important to bicker about?

I mean, honestly, this is possibly one of the most rediculous stories I have heard. According to Knut Albert’s Beer Blog, German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave an antique beer mug to French President Jacques Chirac as a retirement present. This has caused outrage in Turkey and the Turkish Foreign Minister says the European Union needs to stop looking at the past and look to the future. What is the problem, you ask? Apparently, the mug depicts Napoleon’s 1799 victory over the Ottoman Empire in Egypt. This image makes the Turks feel alienated from the rest of the European nations. Personally, I think Turkey needs to get over it. No offense was meant against Turkey. The German Chancellor knows that Chirac enjoys German beer more than French wine (something I am sure does not please his people) and gave him suitable gift. One would think the European leaders would have more important things to do than squabble over art. This is just like Iran screaming bloody murder because they feel “300″ is offensive. It is a movie about a historical event (although it is highly inaccurate, but that is another story). The Germans are not offended when they are depicted in our World War II movies. The British are not offended with Revolutionary War movies. Both Iran and Turkey need to realize that history occurred, and something that happened more than 200 or 2500 years ago should not be a cause of debate today.