We were united not only by political respect for each other, but

Hear the words of Helmut Kohl, the Chancellor who shepherded Germany through its hour of reunification, a man who stood as a bridge between nations and between peoples. He declared: “We were united not only by political respect for each other, but also by deep mutual sympathy as people.” This utterance shines like a beacon of wisdom, reminding us that alliances are not built by treaties alone, nor by signatures on parchment, but by the binding of hearts, the recognition of shared humanity, and the strength that flows from respect joined to sympathy.

Kohl speaks of a truth known to leaders since the dawn of time: that political respect without human compassion is brittle, a structure that may stand for a season but will shatter in the storm. Yet when men and women of power look upon one another not only as rulers but as fellow beings, carrying the same burdens of sorrow, joy, and longing, then their unity becomes unbreakable. For paper crumbles, but the bonds of the heart endure.

This wisdom was proven in Kohl’s own life, in his friendship with François Mitterrand of France. These two men, once heirs to nations divided by centuries of bloodshed, clasped hands in solemn silence at Verdun, the site of unimaginable slaughter in the Great War. That gesture was not politics—it was sympathy. It was not strategy—it was shared grief, shared humanity, the recognition that behind the banners of nations are fathers, sons, mothers, and daughters who weep the same tears. That single act spoke louder than treaties, and it echoed through Europe as a promise of peace.

History gives us many such examples. Consider the meeting of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Though one was president and the other a man born in bondage, they looked upon each other with respect and sympathy. In their dialogue, they saw not only allies in political struggle, but human beings whose destinies intertwined. It was this mutual recognition that strengthened their cause, proving again that the greatest victories are not won by swords or laws alone, but by the meeting of souls.

The lesson for us is eternal. In our own lives, we may form bonds of necessity—coworkers, neighbors, partners in duty. But if these bonds rest only on respect for what the other does, and not sympathy for who the other is, they will remain shallow, fragile, easily broken. It is when we allow ourselves to see the humanity in those beside us—their struggles, their joys, their fears—that true unity is born.

Beloved listener, take this teaching into your heart: seek not only to respect those around you, but also to feel with them. Let your alliances, your friendships, your partnerships, be woven of both threads—the thread of dignity and the thread of compassion. For if you have only one, the cloth will tear; but if you weave them together, you will have a fabric strong enough to endure the trials of life.

Therefore, in your daily walk, do not stop at courtesy. Go further. Ask of those you meet not only, What do you do? but also, How do you fare? Seek not only their talent, but their soul. And when unity is built upon both respect and sympathy, you will find that it transcends the moment, just as Kohl and Mitterrand’s clasped hands at Verdun transcended centuries of enmity.

Thus the wisdom of Helmut Kohl lives on: that the deepest unity of peoples and nations is not forged in halls of power, but in the quiet, unseen recognition that beneath the weight of titles and duties, we are all human, and our hearts are meant to beat in harmony.