Harmonious Norway

I grant that it’s not completely fair to look to Norway as an exemplar of what the United States should be doing re: taxation/wealth distribution, social services, and environmental responsibility.  The Norwegians have a small, homogeneous population, abundant clean energy resources, an extremely small military, and no borders with  countries full of poor, desperate people.

Having said that, imagine what American society would look like after a few years of the policies identified in the meme here:

• Largely decarbonized energy and transportation sectors

• A quantum improvement in education and a corresponding enhancement in race relations

• Few if any anti-vaxxers, climate deniers, and believers in QAnon and the Big Lie

When I was young, back before hitch-hiking ceased to be part of the world’s culture, I used to pick up people constantly, and I often relied on the goodness of other people to get me where I was going.  Someone told me that in Norway, every year, all citizens get a packet of coupons.  When someone picks you up as a hitch-hiker, you give the driver a coupon, which he can later redeem for some sort of prize.  The concept, obviously, was to minimize the number of cars on the roads while building up national camaraderie.

I’m sure this practice is no longer in place, but it’s illustrative of the harmonious “vibe” the country strives to achieve.

Think of how nice it would be living in a land of human decency, without all the hate and ignorance–a land where policies are made based on what’s best for the nation’s people.