My dad sent me this article.

Germans Just Wanna Have Fun

By KONSTANTIN RICHTER
June 30, 2006; The Wall Street Journal

BERLIN -- Is it possible to be both German and happy?

That's the question posed by Reinhard Mohr in his book "The New Germany Feeling." Herr Mohr thinks it's possible. Other recent releases, such as "The Best of Germany -- 250 Reasons to Love Our Country Today," and "We Germans -- Why the Others Can Like Us," come to similar conclusions.

The case for a new German patriotism has been corroborated by this summer's soccer World Cup. Traditionally known to be a sullen and serious species, the Germans have been gripped by a collective euphoria not seen since an underdog national side beat Hungary in the final of 1954. Throngs of people are flying the black-red-and-gold flag under cloudless skies, looking befuddled and drugged by their own enthusiasm: Why are we so happy? Is this really us? And, just assuming this is us, is it okay for us to be this happy?

For the benefit of those still taken by surprise, a few words of explanation may be in order. The new patriotism, though somewhat spontaneous, doesn't come out of the blue. Nor is it threatening or scary. We're just having fun, backing a multicultural team -- part German, part Polish -- that combines Brazilian flair on offense with Luxembourgian largesse on defense. (The Brazilians, on the other hand, are following a typically Teutonic game plan this time.)

So for once the national side is putting on a pleasing show, and their timing couldn't be better. Prior to the World Cup, you see, we'd been under the weather. Not the usual moroseness, but a proper slump. Years of economic stagnation had taken their toll. Time and again, we'd been told that we were lagging behind: in innovation, education -- and copulation (demographics are the most worrying part). We discussed some painful reforms. Think-tank types dominated talk-show debates. Their angst made us buy their books, which were typically called "Can Germany Still Be Saved?" or "The Deformed Society: How the Germans Suppress Their Reality." But these books made us feel worse and we stopped buying them.

Still, we are a nation of skeptics. Many of us wouldn't have thought that all we needed to do was pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. Then the World Cup started, and the clouds cleared for a Mediterranean summer. Consumer confidence figures rose to the highest level in years, and a swift-footed wingback named Philipp Lahm scored the first German goal in the fifth minute of the opening match. Ever since then, we have suspended disbelief and we haven't looked back. It all seems so wonderfully easy from now on.