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Not to mention, no doubt, things to drive American Homeland Security Batty and drive the McCarthyist Tea-bagger paranoid types off to the fainting couches. Norway’s response to the recent terror attacks, quite different from Dubya Bush’s “We’ll smoke ‘em out!” vengeance speeches following 9/11 or those crazy security measures like airport body scanners and frisking or Stevie Spiteful’s mega-prisons, dumb on crime policies and his most wanted lists, etc:
1. Mayor of Oslo: “We shall punish the terrorist, and this will be his punishment: more democracy, more tolerance, more generosity.”
2. Norwegian Prime Minister: “…the answer to violence is even more democracy.”
3. Diplomat Steinar Gil: “Norway will not change. Evil will not prevail.”
4. Norwegian Prime Minister: “With the strongest of all weapons — the free word and democracy — we stake our course for Norway.”
5. Crown Prince of Norway: “Tonight the streets are filled with love. We have chosen to meet hatred with unity. We have chosen to show what we stand for.”
Wow! Given all the paranoia, revenge talk, military industrial complex, bigotry and hate, dumb on crime policies, infringement on civil rights all in the name of security happening on this side of the pond proving to be quite futile over the years, the Norwegian response of more democracy and compassion might be just crazy enough to work!
The Norwegian justice system will deal with Anders Behring Breivik accordingly. However, they seem to be concentrating less energy on him or any potential threats from his ‘friends’ and more on supporting the victims’ families and the survivors of this horrible devastation, as it should be.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Those who sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither.”
Sadly, the media on this side of the pond will do everything to suppress the positive messages from Norwegian government officials, which I feel it’s important to spread this message ourselves. Tweet, facebook it.
h/t my facebook friend, Peter Vickers
A sad comment on our North American culture, but easy to understand given that conservative (and Conservative) politics are essentially the politics of fear. Conservatives need an enemy, real or imagined, to push forward their agenda so displays such as those in Norway in reaction to this attack are alien to cons.
Kudos to the Norwegians. They remembered Franklin’s wisdom and we — Canadians and Americans — have forgotten what he wrote. We like to see ourselves as models for the rest of the world. Obviously, Norway is not impressed with the way we do things.