Worries in the High North

In this week's issue, the Economist is featuring an article that highlights Russia's conduct in the Arctic areas. It describes this area, "cold, empty and rich in fish and minerals", as "a tempting prize for a big, confident country." Russian fighter jets have been frequently flying very close to Norwegian territory, something that while not illegal sends some worrying signals. The recent €4 billion emergency loan to Iceland is also a bit worrying - not in itself, but with regards to whatever Russia wants in return.

I have written some posts about this issue already; "The Bear and Us - Russia and Norway" and "The Bear and Us Revisited". My point in those articles was that although the Cold War is over, we should be very wary with regards to our Eastern neighbor.

As a tiny little country of only four and a half million people we are not in an ideal position if we should get into a conflict with Russia. But we still need to do everything in our power to stand our ground, and send clear signals of our own standpoint. Also, as I see it, we have no other choice than to keep both of our feet firmly grounded in NATO. It may be pointed out that "NATO presence is fitful" in the High North, as the Economist does. Still, it is a grave mistake to argue for us to distance ourselves from NATO and our Western allies, as some of our socialist parties do. We cannot afford to stand alone, and NATO is our best bet not to do so.

It has been sad to see that even our dear former Prime Minister, Haakon Lie, has been arguing against taking our share of responsibilities in NATO operations around the world. His rhetorical point is that Norway's borders are not running next to Afghanistan. That is of course true. But it is equally true that most NATO members do not have a border to Russia along the Pasvik River in Northern Norway.

Conventional wisdom: American stupidity..

America-bashing seems to be a favourite sport, not only in Norway, but also among large parts of the European population. We never get tired of pointing out how stupid, un-enlightened and devoid of knowledge the Americans are. We flock up to watch movies like Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko, Supersize Me, and other movies pointing out every thinkable aspect of USA to be critizised. Links to clips on YouTube like "Stupid American" are mailed around to make sure we all see the evidence of the American stupidity and ignorance.

To be sure, there are quite a few things about the United States worthy of criticism. Quite a few of the White House's moves might rightfully be critizised, and George Bush Jr. might not strike us as the smartest world leader around. Still, the anti-americanism is wonderfully one-sided and un-nuanced.

It is possible to find American people who to a large extent lack common knowledge, as the before-mentioned YouTube-clip shows. And it is possible to find people who are plain out dumb in the United States. It might not even be hard. Still, that is true everywhere. You can find dumb people wherever you go. Even in Europe. And - I know many might be surprised to hear this - it is possible to meet intelligent Americans. I have actually met quite a few personally.

As for general knowledge, if you ask the next European guy on the street some basic questions about the United States, I'm not sure he will be able to answer that. Try asking who the governor of Kentucky is, who was the President of the United States before Jimmy Carter, what is the state capital of Alaska, which other states Utah borders to, or who is the speaker of the House. Even if you ask the simple question what the official language of the United States is, you would get mostly the wrong answer - the United States does not have an official national language.

The United States is roughly the size of Europe (9.8 million square meters), and consists of fifty states and one district (Europe consists of forty-eight countries). And contrary to what most Europeans thinks, it is very, very diverse in a lot of ways. So, to compare the United States with Europe would be fair. Different states in USA differs much in the same ways that countries in Europe differs from one another. And despite the steady stream of cultural input we get from over the pond, I would hold that we generally don't know a whole lot more about the United States than the Americans know about us.

To me, there is something not very enlightened about this one-sided anti-americanism and America-bashing that is going on. I would appreciate it a lot to hear some more nuanced viewpoints about the United States or how it conducts is business worldwide, or generally even just about Americans. To denounce 300 million people as retards, as a lot of Europeans seem to be doing, is dragging ourselves down to the same level of ignorance that we imagine the Americans to be on.