I know I complain about Norway being a bit backwards (in some things like Sunday opening!) but I also realise that in the grand scheme of things Sunday opening is really not important.
What is important is living in a liberal country where you are allowed to marry whoever you want regardless of sex, you can adopt a baby in a same sex marriage and it also became the first country in the world to enact an anti-discrimination law protecting homosexuals. Not so backward after all.
The upcoming election in America is a terrifying election, I can’t even fathom having a man like Mitt Romney in the White House. This is a man far more interested in Taxes than human rights. Scary.
I'm happy to live in a country where I pay stupidly high taxes but people can openly be who they want to be :)
That's a great thing.
I so agree!!
ReplyDeleteI agree! Over here in Finland we don't have same sex marriage (we have civil unions but it's not the same thing) and no adoption rights for same sex couples, so we're behind Norway in these things. The election is the US is so interesting/scary - all the talkt about rape/abortion rights/same sex marriage etc coming from the Rebublicans is so scary!
ReplyDeleteAs an ex pat from the UK living in Denmark your blog is always great to follow and I identify with a lot of your observations of living in Norway and really agree with your post here. I have no problem paying high taxes as the positive returns are so obvious to see in a healthier, happier society where things work. I miss certain cultural things about Britain, the humour, some of the beautiful countryside etc but I see society there following the American example you mention. The gap between the rich and poor is growing, University education now has to be paid for, child care is expensive and exclusive and house prices are eye watering comparable to wages (which means many people are debt slaves and have no time or money to enjoy any free time and that would be a horror to a lot of people living here as free time is so important here, perhaps why Sunday is sacred for family time). There have also been some very uncomfortable revelations about institutions like the BBC and British politicians who have been lining their pockets for years, altough things are never perfect anywhere, I look at Britain with the fresh eyes of living in Scandinavia and despair!
ReplyDeleteI live in Canada, where there is no legal difference between same sex marriage and traditional marriage. Here, marriage is marriage, regardless of the gender of those entering into the union. Same sex adoption is also legal here throughout all of the Provinces and Territories.
ReplyDeleteI am proud to live in a country where one's rights are not based on who you love. The election in the States is getting big news coverage over here (how could it not, the US land borders most of our Country). It is scary!
so agree! unfortunately to me, polls show again and again that jobs and the economy are the deciding factor for americans in this year's election. i understand that, but i cannot believe that such basic human rights are not talked about more here. it infuriates me. i don't agree with obama on a lot of issues, but at least he himself believes in marriage equality. a romney-led america would be a sad america indeed.
ReplyDeleteAustralia definitely has a few things they can learn from the Scandi countries!
ReplyDeleteYou are right (in my opinion)to value the liberal attitudes of Norway. It is sad that America seems more concerned with its economy.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! I live in the US with my Norwegian husband. We are trying to move to Norway in the next coming year for precisely those reasons that you mentioned. People don't understand when they throw around the word "freedom" that freedom is something different to everyone. To me freedom is not having to worry about health insurance, college tuition, retirement/social security, etc. I would gladly pay a lot more taxes to have freedom from that sort of worry/anxiety. We are lucky to have good jobs at a university which provides amazing health insurance. Not everyone here is so lucky and having a chronic illness can literally put you out on the street. We have kids, and I'm terrified of the thought of putting them through school, and what if they are uninsured, etc. I didn't think that Mitt Romney stood a chance to win (and am so glad that he didn't) with so many Latino, African American, and Women voters appalled by the Republican's agenda, but the media here is so different than what you have there, you never can tell by what the pundits are saying. It's the ever increasing gap between the haves and the have nots that is scary. The people with money are buying their way with so many issues, but thankfully, Ohio showed us that even when you are outspent 4-1, you can still win by a large margin when you are on the right side of history! Anyway, I love reading your blog!
ReplyDeletewell said. sometimes it takes looking closely at other countries to truly appreciate where you live. thankfully, no mitt romney! big phew. scary he got that far though. wouldn't happen here. x
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