After almost twenty years living in Finland, there is a small phrase that still catches my attention. It is the conventional politeness formula: “ole hyvä.” Literally it means “be good.” You might see it on signs or hear it when they give you your coffee. The English translation is usually “please,” which works well enough,…
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La libertad: una ansiedad occidental
Muchos hombres hoy en día se quejan del colapso de la sociedad occidental. Las mujeres, dicen, ya no los respetan. La familia está en crisis. Los niños crecen sin padres, si es que llegan a nacer. La inmigración les preocupa, especialmente la de países islámicos. "Esta gente atrasada," dicen, "no respeta las libertades que tanto…
Continue readingFreedom: A Western Anxiety
Many men today speak passionately about the collapse of Western society. Women, they say, no longer respect them. Gender roles are in chaos. Children grow up without fathers, if they are born at all. Immigration worries them, particularly from Islamic countries. “These backward people,” they say, “do not respect our hard-earned freedoms. If we let…
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