Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has recently discovered Finland, and he hypes it every chance he gets. Finland is indeed a country which has its act together, a fact that was first revealed to me back in the 80s when I used to lecture there and consult with the Finnish Broadcasting Company.
Not unlike its fellow Nordic countries Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden, Finland is one of the richest countries in the world ranking thirteenth in per capita income. It is a clean, green, nonviolent, egalitarian, free-market, democratic socialist country with a strong sense of social responsibility and a very high standard of living shared by most of its citizens. Finns are protected from a wide variety of adversities by a broad based social welfare net financed by the Finnish government. Suffice it to say, most Finns live very well.
But why is Senator Sanders so interested in a tiny country with only 5.2 million people, one sixtieth the size of the United States? The U.S. is the largest, wealthiest, most powerful, most militaristic, least environmentally friendly empire of all times, an empire thoroughly grounded in materialism, racism, greed, and violence. America is no Finland and never will be!
When Bernie Sanders was running for the U.S. Senate, he used to rail against the corruption of the Senate. I once asked him, “Wouldn’t it be a lot more fun to be president of your own little country, the independent Republic of Vermont, rather than being just another senator serving in such a corrupt body?” He didn’t respond.
If Bernie thinks Finland is such a great place, which it is, then why doesn’t he work to make tiny Vermont, not the United States, the Finland of North America? He could become its first president.
Not unlike Finland, Vermont works because of its human scale. It is smaller, more rural, more democratic, less violent, less commercial, more egalitarian, more humane, more ecofriendly, more independent, and more radical than most states or countries, for that matter. Vermont provides a communitarian alternative to the dehumanized, mass-production, mass-consumption, narcissistic lifestyle which pervades America.
Bernie should spend less time railing against the American Empire and more time trying to help Vermont achieve its independence.
Nobody takes Bernie very seriously outside of Vermont. He is a tiny fish in a very big pond. But in Vermont he is considered to be bigger than life.
I think it’s terrific that Bernie has discovered Finland. Supporters of Vermont independence would like nothing better than to work with him towards the Finlandization of Vermont. What about it, Bernie?
Rebél
Thomas H. Naylor
May 15, 2008