I have noticed that some of the visitors
come from countries other than Finland. If they are not Finns living abroad,
they must be disappointed with the language.
I write about things that interest me: society,
politics, human relations, immigration, EU, minorities, education etc.
So far, I have discussed...
May - June 2018
May - June 2018
Immigration and refugees. I don’t believe in walls and
closed borders. The world is one, and we who live in the Western world are
responsible of many things that cause migration.
Education in Finland. The discourse is greatly focused
on money or lack of it. Universities are obliged to school students for working
life. Too little attention is paid to humanities and all-round education.
I praise education. Knowing, including knowing that
you don’t know, is one of the most important things for saving the world.
Europe and EU. I feel sorry for them. Populism is
widely spread in European politics. Putin and Trump are not interested in
Europe. Instead, they are doing their best to disperse it. I love my continent
and believe in it.
North Korea and the summit between Trump and Kim. I
can only hope for the best in future. I also discuss the picture of the North
Korean people we get through the media. Even though I admit that Edward Said is
right about “Orientalism”, I still don’t think that our construction of North
Korean life is the biggest problem people have there.
Israel, Palestinians and Jewish settlements in
Jerusalem. Using religion or history as an excuse is not a reasonable argument
anywhere, least of all, when it concerns people’s right to existence.
Men. I accuse them (not all of them) for the most misery in the world.
But I also see how women are supporting men in their work of destruction
Finnish Civil War 1918. It still divides people. I am
not a great lover of wars.
Bishop Michael Curry’s speech at the royal wedding. It
was a real breakthrough in the stuffy world of aristocrats and celebrities.
Class society. We are living in it. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer as always, but now at an accelerating tempo. Most of the university students come from academic families.
Bob Dylan. I’m a fan but I don’t know exactly why.
Dylan is and wants to be a mystery. He has heard and read a lot and uses it in
his music. I think we are thirsting after meaning and wish to find it in his
texts.
Physical appearance
and sex appeal. They have, of course, a great impact on our social contacts.
Deviant appearance can be a stigma that affects your whole life. Plastic surgeries help people. Today, however, also young and good-looking people use much
of their financial resources to improve their looks. The result is not always
worth the money that is spent. Is surpassing nature what people really wish to
achieve? Or are they addicted to the social construction of the human body that
the media delivers?
Public
sector and services. Why could we afford much more in the 50’ies and 60’ies
than today? The money cannot be the reason.
Donald
Trump leaves United Nations’ Human Rights Council and makes new friends, such
as Kim Jong-un.
July - August 2018
Otherness
and ethnicity. Why do people label other people that don’t look like
themselves?
Poverty
and envy. Some poor people seem to envy other poor people who, as they suspect,
are receiving undeserved social benefits.
Debt. Especially
young people live on credit to meet the pressures for a high standard of living
and success.
Wealth
and the American Dream. Often just pure coincidences decide our faith. Society
is needed to protect the interests of the weak.
July - August 2018
Populism.
While expecting the meeting in Helsinki between Putin and Trump I once again focus
on populism which is on the rise in Europe. Populists claim that they are
working for the people meaning their voters. People are their path to power. It’s
ironical that people use their democratic right to elect leaders that after
having their votes do their best to destroy the democracy.
White
heterosexual male. This term was widely used in the 90’ies to describe the
privileged status from which it is possible to use control and power. In my
opinion, the term is badly inflated. Power is more complicated than that, and
it’s everywhere as Foucault concluded.
Anti-Trump and Putin protest. I
and about 2500 other people demonstrated against Trump and Putin before their
meeting in Helsinki. “Make the world great again” was one of the best placards
to describe our feelings.
Personality
disorders. Many labels (psychopath, sociopath, narcist) are nowadays used to
describe difficult persons. Sometimes those names are used correctly, sometimes
not. There will always be difficult people in your life. However, it’s important
to keep distance to protect yourself. Remember that 99 % of people can feel
empathy.
Authoritarian
personality. Why do people need hierarchies and blindly believe in authorities?
The only hope is to educate already young children to use their own brains.
Empathy.
I discuss Empatia (Empathy), a book written by Elisa Aaltola and Sami Keto.
Empathy is an evolutionary old and important character that makes us human
beings. We should appreciate and improve our sensitiveness by listening
ourselves and other beings.
September
- October 2018
Homo
Deus. I read Yuval Noah Harari’s book Homo Deus. A Brief History of Tomorrow
and was very impressed. Homo Sapiens has justified his exploitation of the
planet and other animals by referring to God’s will. Digitalisation and science
can create a new species that could enslave us just as we have done to the rest
of nature.
Refugee
camps. People who don’t want to take any immigrants often say that refugees
should be helped so near their homes as possible. The vast majority of refugees (84 %) are
already now living in camps in their neighbouring countries. It’s important to
improve the circumstances of these camps, but living there is no permanent
solution. Besides, it can’t be only other poor countries’ responsibility to help.
Ideals.
Idealists are often seen as dreamers who don’t understand reality. What if
ideals, as a matter of fact, represent deeper reality? Tunnel vision may hinder
us from seeing the whole story by showing the mere shadows.
The
newest bestseller of Yuval Noah Harari convinced me: he is my real soulmate. 21
Lessons for the 21th Century tells us the story of all lies that humans have
told each other. Thinking outside the box is challenging, if not impossible,
because the box is inside us.
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