When it comes to the AfD, good sentiments are everywhere. Two sides have long since emerged, a pro-AfD and an anti-AfD camp. An irreconcilable block mentality is spreading. The public – full of activism and excitement. What if that just makes everything much worse?

The hysteria is not far away when the AfD is in the headlines. And that’s what she is all the time. Everything is always a little more excited than necessary, democracy could collapse tomorrow.

It is not appropriate to radiate too much confidence, after all we still live in a stable state. That would probably be too close to trivializing the party, and nobody wants to be accused of that.

I am neither an AfD sympathizer nor a sympathizer of this excited anti-AfD bubble. Neither demo nor counter-demo. And that’s exactly what makes it difficult in these times. Somehow it no longer seems to be allowed to stand in between. Not quite able to handle either side.

A new block mentality has broken out. “Against the right” is the new motto of one side. The others, in turn, are fighting against the “left-green opinion dictatorship”. Everyone is convinced that democracy is on their side. Denies everyone else the ability to be democrats. And both are so, so sure that they are right.

Especially those who, like me, are a little lost in the middle have the problem that they are often considered to be among the wrong people – especially if they do not express their opinion in the Merkel style.

Someone always immediately shouts AfD or “Nazi”. Everything has to go in a drawer these days. There is a disturbing development in order to avoid being pushed into social exclusion: there is a kind of pressure to confess, or rather a pressure to set boundaries.

For people who spend a little time in public – even if only on social media – this has become an important issue.

A colleague once gave me a tip: If I post something on

Julia Ruhs is a journalist, primarily at Bayerischer Rundfunk. She is part of that generation that seems to be brimming with climate activists, gender activists and zeitgeist supporters. She wants to give a voice to those who don’t see themselves in it and often feel alone with their opinions. When everyone seems to think the same thing, she feels uneasy.

This is actually very sensible. But I don’t like justifying myself, especially not for normal opinions. I always thought it was enough if I knew who I would vote for and who I definitely wouldn’t vote for.

But that no longer seems to apply. It has become important today to shout out your own beliefs and show them to everyone. To make it clear which side you are on. To label yourself so as not to make yourself suspicious.

It works like so many things these days. Sometimes it’s a poster, sometimes a flag being held up, sometimes a symbol on social media or a hashtag. Some people do it for conscientious reasons, but I respect that. If Palestinian flags can be seen everywhere, it also helps if others stand up and take out their Israel flags.

But too many people just follow the socially compliant flow and have an irritatingly good sense of what is required of them. For them, demarcation is a kind of modern creed. Which brings us to the next topic: the church.

She also seems to know what is considered good form today. He now speaks out politically more often. In the Catholic Church, active AfD members are no longer given church positions because their political commitment contradicts the basic values ​​of Christianity, according to the reasoning.

Things are similar in the Protestant church. The president of Diakonie, the Protestant welfare association, recently went one better and said that he doesn’t want anyone who votes for the AfD – yes, votes! – as an employee. “Basically, these people can no longer count themselves as part of the church,” he says.

I find it astonishing that the church of all people argues this way. And I wonder if she has understood her own institution correctly. The church is the ultimate authority that should push people away.

Wasn’t it always her aim to be there especially for the lost sheep and not for those who were already doing everything right? Who needs an open ear and spiritual support more urgently than someone who sees the solution in the AfD?

It’s easy to become radicalized when everyone turns away from you. Then you can really hate the others. The world will definitely become more complicated if we don’t always keep a safe distance from one another.

Just as you can’t find every refugee stupid, you won’t be able to find every AfD member completely stupid once you get to know them better.

But in the case of the church it becomes clear what social actors are concerned about today – the phenomenon can be found everywhere, in the cultural scene, among journalists, organizers and innkeepers.

They all want to keep their clean slate, protect their reputation, their own company, the institution, and their professional advancement. Avoid contact guilt. This creates two shielded worlds in which everyone prefers to stay in their own.

If we continue like this, we will create really big polarization. Two implacable camps, both sides convinced they have the real facts. The fight against the AfD, the tense isolation from each other, could incite more than pacify – and the much-vaunted social cohesion could become unattainable.

There can be a firewall in parliaments, between parties. In my opinion, for good reason. But never to people. The problem is, we’re pretty good at doing just that right now.