World scared of Germans' inability to dismiss their own country

Klinsmann badly wants Germany to win, but recently was quoted as saying: "The other goal for all of us Germans -- it doesn't matter that I live abroad -- is to show a completely new German face to the world. It's a completely different country now after reunification 16 years ago and this is the biggest chance we have had for decades to show our different face."

The problem isn't so much Germans being proud of their country, cheering for it. It's that it's being done over the promontory of football, which, as Ben has explained to us, is for fascists.

As long as Germans remain orderly, compliant, and -- I don't know, there is this tendency for the bizarre, the eccentric, that is more celebrated than actual -- as long as the public sees these things, they fear a Fourth Reich. I mean, I live here, and it's easier to be afraid of Poland annexing Germany lately. But as long as people can draw a line between modern Germany and the [all-too-effective] symbols they've been assaulted with in films and historical documents, they will never be completely comfortable.

This is why Klinsmann wants a new German face -- if Germans could be perceived differently without feigning, or even attempting, radical change to the German temperament we've come to love, none of this pride or tame nationalism would be a problem. Instead of negating the past, the German nation needs a new future -- one that isn't remotely scary.