Singer Matthias Reim on the changes in the world and the future of humanity

Singer Matthias Reim doesn't want to let bad news about the world situation drive him crazy. "Life is constantly changing. Times were hard in the past too. In the 1980s, we lived in the Cold War and had cruise missiles on every corner," said Reim in an interview with the German Press Agency in Dresden. "We lived with it, ignored it and didn't consider it so threatening. That was just the way it was." Germany was in a constant state of readiness for war at the time. But looking back, people always tend to think back only to the good things. "My grandparents experienced two wars and still remembered a lot of good things in their lives."

According to Reim, in 20 years' time, events such as the war in Ukraine or the conflict in the Gaza Strip will probably fade from people's memories and give way to good experiences. "Every time is worth living through. We humans accept it and make the best of it. That's why I'm not really worried about the future of humanity." Many things will change, there will probably be more natural disasters with heat and flooding. "We can't change that, we have to learn to live with it. Life presents us with tests. I'm a very optimistic person."

However, Reim is also very concerned about the increasing aggression in society. "The inhibition threshold has slipped massively. Things are happening today that would have been unthinkable 20 years ago. I don't know where this radicalization comes from, but we have to take massive action against it." The escalation of violence and the lowering of the inhibition threshold are perhaps also linked to the fact that the punishment often does not follow on from this and is also too low. "There is no deterrent. The boundaries are blurred because they are not set. You have to tackle the problem in schools," said Reim and emphasized: "Violence is not a solution, it is inhumane and only creates backlash and hatred."