I am a patriot. I am proud of my country and proud to be able to call myself its citizen.

I am proud of Germany. I am proud of a nation driving the European integration and defending her values. I am proud of the people in this country standing with our constitution which grants as a fundamental right asylum to refugees from failed states run by violence. I am proud of my fellow citizens, welcoming over a million refugees in 2015. I am proud of those who stand up against fascism every day. I am proud of those defending civil liberties in this country every day.

I am proud to call myself a citizen of the European union and I consider the EU receiving the Nobel peace prize to be a valid decision. The European union is the largest program for global peace history has seen so far. 24 different languages, 28 member states and the largest single market in the world. States fighting each other including the whole world in the way of doing so being united in peace for over 60 years now - unprecedented in history. Yes, we can call ourselves proud. But this pride comes with a warning - our values are to be defended. Our values are not determined by race or religion or class. Our values are such which can be found at the core of every Western constitution. The right of free speech, the right to privacy and the right to live in peace. Universal human rights which should be granted to every human being on this planet! But our nation also has traitors to those values, ironically those who claim to be the defenders of Western or German values. They are not. I am in favor of punishing criminal foreigners as I am in favor of punishing criminal Germans. But we cannot condemn all foreigners to be criminals and it is a shame for the Western world that the former defenders of Western values and the free world elected a president capable only of segregating our peoples in hatred against the unknown.

I am proud citizen of a German nation open towards the world and defending human rights and peace in Europe as well as in the world.