Thus Der Spiegel today. “Regardless which candidate wins the US presidential election on Tuesday,” elaborates the newspaper, “neither of them has been honest to the American people about the scale of the problems facing the country.” Gosh. “But Americans have only themselves to blame,” the argument goes. “They prefer to be lied to rather than to face the truth.” How very true. How devastating, too. Wait a minute, though. Is any of the above not true of any other democracy on the planet? Is he who lies not the winner anywhere across this pitiful world? Are the Americans the only ones to be fooled by political shenanigans? Of course not. Whatever holds for Americans, also holds for all humans. Including Germans, I must add with a smirk. If anyone is to blame for anything at all, it is humans and only humans. I can only hope the newspaper will eventually get it. And sooner would be preferable to later. Ethnic, racial, and religious distinctions only occlude the pitiful truth about us all.