Sunday, November 22, 2009

How do you say "oxymoron" in Swedish?

I don't affiliate myself with a specific political party in Sweden. I am pretty solidly sure which side I'm on when the parties are organized into two blocs, but the bloc I side with contains 4 parties and I am on pretty good terms with all of them.

The one that calls themselves the Liberals, though, is the Swedish Folkpartiet. I was a member of their youth and student organization when I studied here. They say that almost all Swedish teachers are Folkpartister. However, I don't find their recent shenanigans to be all that Liberal. As much as I, as a teacher with an American background, support their ideas about a slightly more strict Swedish school system where attendance, homework, behavior and performance actually matter and are documented, I don't see what those things have to do with Liberalism with a capital L. Even less so do I understand why so many ideas about making immigrants take Swedish tests or sign a contract promising that they won't break any laws etc. has to do with a more negative-freedom-based type of political ideal.

That's why I'm glad to see today that Folkpartiet has voted down an obligatory "citizenship course" for immigrants as part of their integration program. Since I come from a country where one must pass a test in the English language and in civics in order to become naturalized, and I don't feel either of those is a bad idea, I can't say I would protest against such a program in Sweden, either. Especially since, theoretically, Sweden does, or ought to, provide training in both to all immigrants, whether they are seeking citizenship or not. But speaking the working language of your environment and knowing how the country is run and how you can vote -- these are good things for anyone who has planted themselves and their families in a new place.

An obligatory course in "Swedish values" is, however, bullkaka. I'm really rather sick of hearing the word "democracy" thrown around in this country, both inside and outside of a school context, without any sense that anyone knows what it means. Suggesting that all people who come here from another country need a chance to "reflect on the values they grew up with" and how they might not match those of the Swedish culture is not only a poor attempt at subtlety, but is also something that meshes rather poorly with the democratic ideal of freedom of opinion. Even our Minister of Intregration Nyamko Sabuni, who I generally have a lot of respect for, makes it clear how silly the idea is without perhaps meaning to: "Sabuni also said that Sweden is in a class by itself, when you compare values with those of other countries, for example that self-actualization comes before family."* What does she mean by that? Is this one of the Swedish values she thinks needs to be impressed upon immigrants to Sweden? Aside from making it clear that we're not just talking about a helpful civics course here, her choice of which Swedish "value" to use as an example makes you wonder if we really would even want everyone to think the way we do.

It's a good thing I'm already a Swedish citizen, and that the only thing I had to prove in order to become one is that I had 1500 Swedish kronor I felt like spending. If I somehow had had to promise to stick out from the crowd as little as possible or drink snaps at Midsommar or watch Donald Duck on Christmas or whatever the hell else is integral to this mystical and very unique class of values that Swedes have, I'd have been fucked.

*Original: Sabuni uppgav också att Sverige hamnar alldeles ensam på utkanten, när man jämför värderingar med andra länder, till exempel att självförverkligande går före familjen.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good point. I hadn't thought so much about it, but I know some immigrants are slightly offended by this suggestion - it is sort of very overdramatic and unnecessary. In general, we Swedes have a very complicated relationship with our "Swedishness", i.e. national identity. We are striving to figure out what is the generic core of Swedish culture, and in doing so we loose grip of what could have been our true identity and come up with something excluding and frankly rather hostile, quite unnecessarily. We are not the only ones that do so, but that is no justification.