Monday, January 30

New name, new place

The blog just moved HERE!

Sunday, January 29

Stand up. Speak up.

Why is the world in rebellion? Racism is moving fast, as is intolerance, narrow minded thinking and hatred. Why, and why now?

How can my facebook feed be so packed with articles, comments and reminders to always remember and prevent what happened during World War II to happen again. At the same time, genocide happens today, just not in Europe - yet - and that we keep forgetting.

We must remember that we're living in the aftermath of a recession. Many people are still unemployed and have a tougher economic situation than just a couple of years ago. This is of course, not only true for individuals but for whole countries who are still indept after the stock market crash in 2008.

One of the greatest issues of the time we're living in is that it is so easy to share something in social media (I'm talking about both myself and a lot of my facebook friends obviously) saying that "OMG! Read this! Racism IS really growing!" And all of us who think the same way, share the same ideas end up patting ourselves on the back saying that "well we're such good people and we know the right things to do". But my question is, do we really?
What I'm really missing, especially in Sweden right now, is people marching the streets in peaceful demonstration to show our democratically elected politicians that, just because we chose them to rule our country, we did not close our eyes, and we still want to be involved. That we want media to present facts and question everything that happens, good and bad.

In Sweden we are not used to standing up for ourselves, here are some reasons why this might be the case:
  1. "The law of Jante"
    This states that you're not any better than anyone else, and this is still a very strong subcontious way of thinking in the mindset of an average Swede.
  2. 200 years of "peace".
    We're not used to having to defend our country, our children or our democracy against almost anything.
  3. Social welfare.
    We don't have a relationship (again, talking about the average Swede) to war or misery of any kind because everything in Sweden works.
  4. We are so content.
    Have you ever heard a Swede complain? Probably all the time, but when it all comes down they'll say that, "Well, everything is so good in Sweden, it could be so much worse! We should be happy, just compare us to (almost) any country in Africa!"
    "A Swedish tiger" or "A swede keeps his mouth shut" as used by the swedish government during World War II warning Swedes to be wary of speaking
This was just an example and this is also, what I believe, the Swedish "excuse" for not really doing anything about the problems that we face, not only in Sweden but also in the rest of the world.

What we need, not only in Sweden but practically everywhere right now is to shape up. To actually forget all of our own personal problems and help each other endure these hardships that we are facing. YES Trump is the president in the US, YES his BFF is Putin, and YES there are right wing parties on the rising in pretty much all of Europe.

So. What do we do? Do we pop our popcorn, sit ourselves down on the couch and just wait to see how these next four years of international Big Brother will turn out? No. We must stand united. Democracy is being questioned everywhere all the time and that is the price we pay. We seem to think that just because we're living in a democracy right now, that's gonna last for ever and we've started taking it for granted. Once people fought very hard to make this happen. Just for instance, can you still remember Rosa Parks? Good. If not click here.

We must also remember what democracy is and what it's not. Democracy is, in our time I would say, the most favoured system of government because it is the voice of the majority. This does not mean that is is the voice of those who might know most about the topic in question. This is an opportunity for everyone to express their opinions whether or not they know anything about the topic or not. So is democracy always the best choice? Well, if a democracy can choose Trump for president, I'm not so sure.
What I'm trying to say is that, while being blessed living in a democracy there is also a responsibility. We're not done here. We must always remember those who led us where we are today and stand up, speak up and defend it! Every, single, day. Today is no exception.

Since I'm neither alone in this world, nor it's only spokeswoman, I do though, call to action. Where do we start? What do we do? No more "back patting" and more action, and this has to happen NOW.

We are up against, foremost uneducated people who do not know where a Trump-like government might end up. We who do know (or dare imagine, although, I'd rather not) must talk to, discuss and enlighten (in a very respectful and humble way) these people that there are other ways of thinking and why. If you need some guidance, just google "how to argue against racism" for example. Make sure to base your arguments on facts (check your sources well) and not only subjective ideas, though personal experience can of course be very useful.

So (my last one I promise). Is there anything else we can do except getting outside our own comfort zone by talking to people that does not share our opinions or march the streets? Stay humble, just try try try and always help each other. Whereas it is in social media or IRL, we must find the hope and the stamina to push through and keep it clean - even though you don't agree, stay the bigger person.

What I really would like to do though, is to form some kind of social network that encourages everyone to act in ways to defend our democracy and what we so strongly believe in. A network where you can do anything from a lot, to just a little. Because that's how I believe humans work.

It needs to be build by people working together, which is, in my own experience, extremely hard to do. BUT if you feel like you would like to be part of something, even just trying to make something happen, or just discuss these issues, make sure to let me know and we'll take it from there.

Peace, love and melons for everyone!