If you think about it; 100 years may be a very short time. It’s like tossing a small stone in the ocean. Today a great number of people all over Norway helped mark the anniversary for the norwegian departure from the swedish-norwegian union. I myself did not help out. I find today a bit overrated. Maybe we should have just stuck with the swedes? I mean, it’s not like they have a shortage of fibreoptics, a working economy and some rather good plans for transportation of people, freight etc. These are things Norway lack, and will lack for quite some time if the elections later this year go as they seem to be doing as of now.
The real problem with Norway / Sweden is that we’re all too like, and all too different. We norwegians tend to look at our own belly and wonder what to do to please ourself today. So does the swedes too. I think a more united, border-free Scandinavia is the way to go. The only thing that lay as a bit of a burden on that idea is the lack of norwegian membership in the European Union. Denmark, Sweden and Finland all are part of it, and with Norway stuck on the outside, things will never normalize. The prices on food, services and other over-taxed norwegian government-supported monopolies will help boost, rather than halt, the differences between us and our neighboring countries. We may be able to stick with our precious EFTA-regulations for a while, but the day when the EU and our friends say ‘No way, Norway’ are soon coming.
Maybe we should have just stuck with Sweden. But wait, then we’d have missed out on all the fun with the royal family and their struggle with the media. Let’s not be all too aggressive here, but without our independence from Sweden we’d never seen Mette-Marit become crown princess. And without that, we’d never get to see and hear about her dad go nuts with some pole-dancer. Not to forget mr. Ari Behn and his famous books. No. Thankfully we became independent from Sweden in 1905. Let’s say our hurrahs for that and wave our banner high while we can.
Maybe we should have just stuck with the swedes?
