This is almost a me-too phenomenon -- a professor falls for a girl almost 40 years his junior, and can't bother to care, at the time, that he will always be appalled (as he should be) at her far-right view of German history and the world, and her disgust with "refugees" and all those different from herself.
72
Keeping dialogue and the lines of communication open are essential to freedom and justice. If the process is good, the result will be good or, at least, agreed upon. That is the essence of democracy and, perhaps, a good marriage, too. I despaired when Hillary lost the election; my partner rejoiced at Trump's success. So, we are in the same boat, but understand.
Theirs is a beautiful love affair and a marriage of true minds as well as hearts. If the article is deficient in any way, it is because the three sons have not been asked to weigh in and give their opinions as well as their take on those of the parents. After all, isn't that what we are fighting for - the future complexion of the world our children will inhabit?
Chevy
South Hadley, MA
35
Didn't know anyone read Goebbels - that would definitely be a deal breaker for this reader.
64
I am from the husband's generation, booming along and all.
After reading this love story I feel like a Tennessee Williams
character. You know one of the sensitive ones.
I keep thinking of the immense cruelty of the right wing here.
I realized a few weeks ago reading some of the articles in the NYT
about the explicit racism still hounding our country that
I could never cross that line and accept or understand, or
find any common ground with the racists. It was as clear a divider
as life and death. For the wife to say she would not like
to live near a black athlete says it all to me. Racists are the
same as Nazis. Sure the left has plenty of faults, and I
am dimly aware of my grave over simplification, but usually
lack of common humanity is not one of them.
118
Why is Ms. Sommerfeld described as "New Right" in the article, but as "Far Right" in the headline? She is not far-right. This is the kind of conflation (Right = Nazi) that fuels mistrust of the left by the right. Candace Owens was recently called "Far-Right" on Twitter, and that didn't work out so well for Twitter, prompting a personal public apology from Jack Dorsey. Perhaps NYT should reconsider this headline.
22
Readers can do their own research on Sommerfeld and they'll wind up in the same place as the Times.
46
She‘s wrong, he‘s Right.
51
Is there some reason why Ms. Sommerfeld's affiliation is described as being with the "New Right" in the article, but with the "Far Right" in the headline? I wonder how Ms. Bennhold, Ms. Sommerfeld and Mr. Lethen feel about this sleight of hand by the copy editor.
14
A man who is 59 marries a woman who is 22? Who does he think he is, Donald Trump?
47
Well, they're from different generations.... but if they feel loved and respected, they will be more enhanced than irritated by these big differences.
7
I know there are other couples out there who are like this, but I find it absolutely unfathomable. Political identity is one of the things that bind my husband and me together and informs our view on life.
57
Fierce intellectual argument within the "safe space" of a relationship apparently binds some couples.
19
As a descendant of Germans (1850s) and someone who is close to the husband's age, I'm appalled that the younger generation of Germans seems to want to forget Germany's history. I'm not even German - just of that ancestry - yet it troubles me greatly, and the wife's views expressed in this article explain why. In America we still haven't really faced the sin of slavery and we are way overdue to do so. Does that mean Germany needs more time and more generations before it can face its own history?
91