Wiltrude Höschele

We are now experiencing a time of extraordinary drought in Germany. I wish to document my view about this drought with photographs of two locations on the Rhine, in the City of Mannheim, in the area called „Bei der Silberpappel“ (next to the silver poplar) and along the Rhine promenade. I experience what I see here as an appeal for help from the Rhine, calling every human being to draw personal consequences, to accept a few inconveniences, so that our land does not burn. If you read these lines, please ask yourself what you can do to still delay the… Continue reading

In some streets in Mannheim, one side is occupied by parked cars and only one lane remains for moving traffic. This creates uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous situations for cyclists. I often cycle there with an uneasy feeling. First example: Spinozastraße in the Oststadt Traffic goes in both directions. However, one lane is totally occupied by parked cars – probably mostly belonging to local residents who have a garage, but who place their second or third cars on the street, or fill their garages with other things. The oncoming car visible in the distance (coming from northwest) has to switch onto… Continue reading

The mural “Silence”, the city (Mannheim), and the joy of diversity   Last year, I decided to run for the city council election in the city of Mannheim this coming June, for the Green Party. I am grateful that the Greens have elected me to run on their 17th seat in this election. In order to better present my positions and points of view to potential voters, I am now revitalizing my blog. But before writing a new blog entry, I wanted to select a new header picture for my website. Previously there had been a picture of rose colored… Continue reading

I am a trow. What is that supposed to mean? Trow is my term for a trans woman, but in the form of a simple word rather than a compound word or a pair of two words. The “tr” stands for trans and the “ow” stands for woman, the word should be spoken to rhyme with “wow.” It is my rendering into English of “trau”, created by combining “trans” and “frau” (woman in German). As I learned via an internet search after creating this word, in Shakespeare’s time, the word “trow” was used for believing, trusting, clearly related to the… Continue reading

In the previous blog post, I wrote about the need to spread the preconditions for “relatively free markets” around the world – defined as markets where everyone involved can freely participate in working out the rules. I raised the question how countries with relatively free market conditions can organize trade in such a way that conditions for greater freedom will tend to spread ever further, rather than contracting. One effort along these lines is the passage of supply chain laws, such as the German “Supply Chain Due Diligence Act” (that has come into force on January 1, 2023) and the… Continue reading

In my previous post I argued that the European Union can only convincingly promote values of freedom, of liberal democracy and the respect for human rights beyond its borders if it makes “clear that it values democracy and human rights in the rest of the world (not just at home) more than it values low prices of the goods it imports.” However, before turning to the question how it can do that, in today’s blog I attempt to work out the values of democracy and human rights and of the “free market” and “competitiveness” can best be connected. Competitiveness is… Continue reading

On October 10, Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy gave a speech at a meeting of the delegates representing the EU to countries around the world. I find this speech remarkable both for what he said and what he omitted. In today’s blog entry, I use selected statements from the written transcript of this speech (of which there is also a video available) to reflect on the values that the European Union presents to the rest of the world – that is, what are commonly referred to as “European values.” These… Continue reading

Currently, there is an ideological divide concerning “growth”. Some are all for it and want more of it. At most, they talk about “sustainable” growth because at some level they are aware that not all growth is good and so it is necessary to distinguish good growth from growth that is not so good. On the other side, people advocate “post growth” or “degrowth” or “decroissance” in order to finally get away from the growth path. How do I stand regarding this debate? I’ll put it like this: the debate has nothing to do with growth. We have to clarify… Continue reading

“Being” woman or man In my previous post, I mentioned that most of my life I lived as a man, but I now largely live as a woman. I sign with a woman’s name, Wiltrude Höschele. “Am” I now a man or a woman? This question is taken very seriously. As soon as we see a human being on the street, we categorize that person as male or female. Most people find it bothersome to talk to a person without knowing their gender. As such it could be irrelevant for you, my readers, whether a man or a woman has… Continue reading

From half-strange eyes Today I am seriously starting a new blog. I intend to write about my views from “half-strange eyes”, on issues of society during the present period of rupture – when it will become clear whether we collectively are able to make the overdue transition from the current frantic age of continuous acceleration to a more relaxed, calmer age that cultivates the art of living. Why half-strange? I was born of German parents in Germany. Since birth, I am a German citizen. Yet I do not truly feel German, having grown up in Thailand, Korea and Greece and… Continue reading