14th
After Three Months in Scandinavia…
I wonder if the American lifestyle is truly right for me. Spending time here makes me think that Americans work too hard and are too individualistic. Is it really a good thing that we are a “hard-working people”? Do we feel safe? Are we happy? Are we equal with our fellow citizens? I don’t know if I can answer yes to these questions.
The American Dream, the idea that someone from the bottom can rise to the top, may not be as real as we think. Most people on the bottom stay there, and the same goes for the top. Even if a poorer person becomes wealthy, is he or she happier? They’re still in a constant competition for acquiring more and better stuff in the suburban lifestyle we idealize, which has been destructive to the bonds that hold us together in our communities and as a larger society. I hope to change that just a little bit as an urban planner, returning us to traditional neighborhoods. Even still, if I do that work in the United States, I am afforded very little security. I get no guaranteed vacation, no right to healthcare, and likely no pension. My children will suffer from the burden of student loans and they too are not guaranteed healthcare. I do not even have a right to paternity leave if and when I have a child.
The problem is that most English-speaking countries have similar problems. The United Kingdom is depressing and obsessed with security. Australia will probably run out of water because it is going on unsustainbly. Canada’s political system is little better than our own. New Zealand may be in the best shape, but it is very isolated.
It’s not that Scandinavia is without problems. They have issues with people that do not look like themselves, just like everyone else, and with more immigrants these years they are feeling less safe and their welfare states are weakening. However, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden have built societies in which people support each other more, where their citizens have less to worry about and can instead spend more time enjoying their lives.
Where am I to live?
