I became acutely aware of the differences when I was invited by Diane Gee to cross post my blog post about healthcare to The Wild, Wild Left. If I had been invited to post to a Swedish blog with the word liberal in the masthead I would be very reluctant to do so. To me a liberal is some one who sympathizes with the ideas of the Swedish party Folkpartiet. They are often called new liberals, a term that also means a rather iffy policy regarding immigration among other populistic and conservative ideas. They are also a part of the alliance that form the government here in Sweden. Their Danish counter part is even worse, bordering on fascism.So to me the term liberal is not compatible with radical and left. To me radical and left is associated with socialist groups, from social democrats to, more or less, outlaw anarchists. My own background is on the far left, even if it was ages ago that I was active, anarchist, radical pirate radio. Well you can read more about that in my blog My Life So Far, when I reach that point in my life.
In the US it seems to be an altogether different situation. The ghost of senator McCarthy seems to hoover in the back of your minds. The slightest whiff of "socialism" and you cry: Communist menace!". OK, this is somewhat exaggerated, but it's the impression we in Sweden get of the general US attitude. And the unofficial national anthem "This Land Is Your Land" was written by a communist and union man, Woody Guthrie, Talk about irony. :-)
And now over to religion. Until a few years back if you were born in Sweden you were automagically a member of the Swedish state church, luke warm Lutheran, unless your parents decide otherwise. Now the church and state are formally separated. I've never been a believer in the Christian god, except for a brief period in my childhood. But I'm still a member of the church. Why? Because as my parents and grandma used to say: "It's the best way to keep an eye on what the priests are doing." Many Swedes are still members but very few go to church at all, never mind doing it on a regular basis.
One thing, among many, that is great in the US constitution is freedom of religion. But from my Swedish view point it seems to mean that you are free to belong to any church, but belonging to one is more or less mandatory. Us old worlders don't make such a fuss about prayers and such. You on the other hand seems to pray all the time and going to church at least once a week.
The next thing where the US and Europe differ is the death penalty. It's abolished in practically every country in Europe. We considered it utterly barbaric and besides is pretty useless in preventing crimes.
As for my view on healthcare, see my previous post on the subject.
Well, now that I've got all that off my chest let me also tell you that there is much in US I admire. You're diversity for one. I don't really belive you're all a bunch of rednecks. In fact most of the people I follow on twitter and blogs are US folks and I love you all.
And we have some great literature and movies from you. Not to mention the music.
All in all, if we in Europe complain and nag at you it's because we love you. We just want you to be a bit more civilized and join us in the twenty first century.
Love, hugs and kisses from across the pond.
Your Caisa
When looking at US politics, the only way to make sense of how US citizens use labels like "conservative", "moderate", "liberal", and "radical" is to look at it through a kaleidoscope.
ReplyDeleteSo, for example, if a politician (like, oh, let's say...Obama) is labeled a "liberal", you twist the kaleidoscope and then you can interpret that label by U.S. standards.In the US, Obama is apparently considered a liberal. In the rest of the civilized world, he'd probably be labeled "center right" (and that's being charitable).
Our "moderates" are revealed as paleoconservatives by most standards when viewed through the kaleidoscope's lens.
And our "conservatives"? They would love to find a way to kidnap Silvio Berlusconi and make him the dictator of the US for life.
As for "socialism" & "communism", I'd wager that 70% of Americans couldn't define either term--but they would start frothing at the mouth like Pavlovian dogs. This country constantly brags about its "free press", but when most of the major media sources are owned by a handful of billionaires, you get tabloid tripe presented as "news". The billionaires who run the media in the US have a vested interest in inculcating an irrational stimulus-response rage in the American public at the mere mention of the "s" word.
Finally, I think it is ironic how the UK, Sweden, and other European nations have state churches, yet their citizens rarely set foot inside a church. On the other hand, the US has encoded the separation of church and state into its constitution...and an exceptionally large percentage of the public believes the earth was created in 7 days and that Jesus talks to them. Professing such beliefs is a de facto prerequisite for anyone who wants to have a political career.
I have always admired you Swedes. How did you all turn out so incredibly sane compared to the US? I've always wanted to visit all of the Scandinavian countries just to see what it is like to be around white people who are mostly pinko commie bastards by US standards.
Oh, and I hear people in Stockholm really know how to party :)
Great post.