Teaching Empathy in Denmark

I can’t vouch for the truth of the claim made at left.  In any case, Danish kids don’t need to learn about empathy in their schools, because the entire ethos in Northern Europe is all about treating other human beings with respect and compassion.

When I come across Scandinavians in my travels, I often ask them why their region of the world consistently scores at the very top of the World Happiness Rankings.  Their response:

The common person pays taxes that are similar, in some case lower than their American counterparts.  Extremely rich people pay significantly higher taxes, so if being a billionaire is the only thing that makes you happy, you’re probably going to wind up somewhere else, probably Switzerland.

The point, though, is that our nation ensures that no one a) dies of a treatable disease, b) is denied higher education because it’s unaffordable, or c) is forced into homelessness.  I know this is a completely foreign concept to Americans, but honestly caring about one another is a big deal over here.

Another point worth making: These well-educated Danes don’t elect criminal sociopaths.