Young Philosopher's Society

Jasmeet Randhawa is YPS writer, and keeps her own articles on her medium, where she explores the intersection of history and philosophy.

Take yourself back to a simpler (ish) time- the meeting of the German National Assembly in Frankfurt in 1849. All around major snoozefest, one might think, yet if you walked into that room, you would meet the most anxious and on-edge diplomats you have ever seen.

Why? One might ask, was an international conference so on edge?

The reason is two-fold: because of the issue being discussed, and who it was being discussed with.

You see, Germany, as we know it today, is a singular nation, but it wasn’t always this way. Previously, what we know now as Germany, was the Holy Roman Empire- sounds really special, but in reality, was a clusterfuck that could only be described as a house that was ready to collapse in on itself at any given moment- truly, a monster.

Unsurprisingly, it collapsed and left in its wake, a flurry of German states, that now looked for a new leader nation under which to form a new government. After the Napoleonic Wars, the states understood that if they were to band together, they could forever change the political landscape of Europe- potentially giving rise to a new global power.

There were only two real viable options to choose from- Prussia, the military state that had proven itself to be a great and formidable emerging power, and the Empire of Austria, an established, Imperial Empire, and the highest-ranking member of the German states.

The Prussians, by all accounts, should not have had a chance against the Austrians- The Austrian Empire was higher ranking (their head of state was an Emperor, whereas Prussia merely had a King), and when the Holy Roman Empire was still around, the Austrian Royal Family (the famous inbreeding Habsburgs) were the Holy Roman Emperors. But, the Austrians didn’t want the Unification of German States, for many reasons- their territory extended to land within and outside the German States. The whole point of German Unification was to forge a nation with a common national identity- a nation-state that did not want to be a part of an Empire that included other peoples. The Austrians would have to give up either their German holdings, or their non-German ones, and neither was an acceptable option to them. Thus came the Prussians, the second largest and most powerful state, with an ace up their sleeves: Otto von Bismarck.

Bismarck was the kind of man who inspired fear whenever he walked into a room- not because he was particularly cruel, vindictive, or had a history of violence (although he did win every duel he ever fought), but rather because he was clever and unpredictable. Truly, Bismarck showed Europe, why it should fear a clever man more than any army. Calling Bismarck a diplomat is one of the greatest ironies- the man was anything but diplomatic, known for his razing speeches, and his confrontational and demanding attitudes. Hated by the Liberals in Parliament, and constantly argued with his own head of state, the King of Prussia, with shouting matches between them echoing throughout the royal halls. The best part of it all was that Bismarck stood completely unaffected by those he offended. In his first foray into politics, Bismarck made a speech against the formation of a Parliament, that was so offensive to the liberals, that halfway through they erupted into shouting and commotion- to which Bismarck, being Bismarck, sat down, and started reading a newspaper, until they died down and then got up, and finished his speech.

Bismarck actually ran for and was elected to that very same parliament, from where he would embark on a rather adventurous journey of politics and diplomacy, that landed him in Frankfurt in 1849.

This was the man, sitting as the Prussian Envoy to the Diet of the German Confederation. The intended purpose of the conference was to figure out how the Confederate states were to work with each other moving forward, but Bismarck, scoffing at the idea of working together, had his own agenda in mind, and he accomplished this Agenda, by lighting a cigar, in doing so lighting fire to the whole assembly.

It was an offensive act, not because there were anti-smoking laws like today (the government of the time truly did not care), but because smoking cigars in the Diet, was a privilege solely granted to the Austrians, as delegates of the “imperial state”.

To add insult to injury, to light his cigar/diplomatic powder keg, Bismarck walked over to Friedrich von Thun, the Austrian diplomat, and asked him for a match. The media, his own political opponents back home, and his fellow diplomats, all lambasted him, but Bismarck did not care, he had proven what he had set out to do: Prussia was the equal of Austria, and had the balls to prove it.

Now, while I am NOT recommending that you go into major diplomatic conferences and completely disrespect rules and procedures in order to prove a point- Bismarck’s actions do teach us something. They show us the importance of non-adherence. One could even call him the world’s most dramatic stoic.

Time and time again, Bismarck was challenged — be it his first speech or the cigar, someone always seemed to be mad at him, but he never let that stop him. He continued to focus on one thing and one thing only: making Prussia a world player. He would succeed, it was his efforts that directly led to that faithful day in the Palace of Versailles, at the end of the Franco-Prussian War, where the Prussian King was crowned the Emperor of Germany, and one of the strongest industrial powers of the 20th century (and arguably even today) was born.

He was an upstart who fought for his principles, burning bridges along the way, but always marching forward on his own path. Whether or not you agree with his goals, ideas, or even his actions, it must be acknowledged that whatever our opinion is, Bismarck, would not care.

Bismarck was not a thinker of his time, one may even argue that he was behind the times instead of ahead of them, but whatever he was, he stuck to it. He would work hard for his ideals and routinely challenged conventional wisdom, never settling for “it’s just the way it is”

In part, his creative thinking pulled his country and himself out of tricky situations on multiple occasions, as he came up with ingenious ideas on how to collect taxes and issue government spending when the Parliament was unable to come to a decision (perhaps something Congress can apply today as it reaches the debt ceiling), but those ideas only existed, because he never allowed himself to be limited by the notions of the day.

As we go about our lives, we are subject to a myriad of social expectations and norms, and in a way, they are the glue that holds society together, but can also be the chains that hold us back.

Think about everything you didn’t do, because you’d be judged for it, or because it wasn’t perfect, or wasn’t conventional- let me ask you, how did it feel, to fear the taste of adventure, only to suffer through the bitterness of regret?

Often, the biggest opponent, the most critical person you will encounter, is you.

You will stop yourself from doing something because you think others will judge you for it because you think it’s a waste of time. You will judge yourself so harshly, enough to starve your own spirit.

At the end of the day, there is no one forcing you to live the life you are living, to accept the position you have in life today- only you are stopping yourself from lighting the cigar.

And what happens if you were to light the cigar?

Yes, you may be judged, may be ridiculed, may even be excluded or isolated.

But, you will also have proven, to both yourself and the world around you, that none of those things matter, because you know you deserve to light that cigar, come hell or high water.

P.S. I forgot to mention the “killed a man part”- after he lit the cigar, Bismarck returned home to be challenged by a fellow Prussia, saying all he had accomplished in Frankfurt, was to light a cigar. To which Bismarck, challenged him to a single-bullet gun duel in the name of honour. Don’t worry, they both survived.