Even back then, in the year the wall was built, the parties that called themselves Christian resorted to the defamation of their political opponents. Konrad Adenauer had no qualms about slandering the governing mayor of Berlin, Willy Brandt, by labeling him an "illegitimate child" and denouncing him as an emigrant. This outrage prompted me to take a stand, to abandon the usual distance, and later to become politically active, often through painstaking efforts. Since 1965, the citizen Günter Grass has spoken at numerous events during federal and state election campaigns, engaging with the SPD, of which he was a member from 1982 to 1992, and gaining international recognition for his commitment. This volume contains, in addition to programmatic speeches and interviews, a one-act play, poems, letters, and commentaries that reflect three decades of federal politics.