Hi Serenity,
Firstly, thank you for your thoughtful response.
I think the quality of education is a larger contributor than the fact that we have free speech. There have been debates and such about it, but I'd say most people are educated enough to understand how covid is a problem for everyone and that some things need to be done.
I agree that education is significant, though what I am more aware of is the pervasiveness of a single overriding 'narrative' dominating the public sphere which seems to be comparatively uniform across the western world. My problem with it is that it seems to be at odds with both the sciences involved (vaccinology, immunology, virology, general medical science) and with central principles of western medical ethics (eg. informed consent).
It's no secret that many parts of America has atrocious education and it's nowhere near as prioritized as it should be. So what you get is a population who believes the sh!t they read on Facebook and other questionable "sources".
I would probably disagree with this, though the range of education across the US is inherently very diverse, and I'm probably most familiar with post graduate end of it which is very sophisticated but, to say the least, not available to everyone. Ultimately, we run into the problem that the US is a very different type (and probably also scale) of society. You may very well be right about a lower priority being placed upon education in the US.
As if freedom of speech and certain left leaning policies are somehow mutually exclusive? We are democratic countries, the people voted to have the general politics we have. Some countries in Europe are more to the left and others more to the right compared to others. Most of it is a mix of both sides, which isn't such a bad idea if you ask me. This extremely dualistic view of politics prevalent in America isn't helping anyone over there, not everything is mutually exclusive.
Secondly, as it does seem to be a point of contention, I didn't really say that freedom and speech and left leaning policies are mutually
exclusive. Though, I guess I do see a tension. The left (certainly at present) in many countries is very inclined towards censorship, so this is, at the least, it seems, a complex issue. The Scandinavian countries do seem somewhat unusual, much as the US is.
Thirdly, education and left leaning policies is a different issue again. I would expect the quality of education to be high in both
Scandanavia and the US, although the education systems are, I dare say, worlds apart. Education in the US is far more of a private
business and so is more expensive for individuals, though the two cultures are, I guess, in general worlds apart.
I certainly don't want to equate Belgium with Scandinavia, but I did spent a year or two in the university system there, and it did have its down sides as well as its upsides, compared to the Australian university system (which seems to derive from the Scottish one). One down side which I found very striking there was, relative to Australia, that there was very little feedback on one's work. All that one would get back on an essay was a mark or grade, that was it. So, not much customer service you could say. By the same token, education was, however, very accessible there.
It's 70% fully vaccinated and 8% more if counting those who has gotten the first dose here in Norway. That's the vast majority of the adult population. I only personally know one person above the age of 18 who isn't vaccinated (by choice), the rest who are vaccinated experienced at worst fever and a sore arm for a day or two.
There was one vaccine that showed having potentially serious side effects in very rare cases, the government immediately stopped using it, just in case.
Thanks for this.
I wasn't really sure as to what the response to covid there (in Scandinavia) was like. I get the impression that the Swedish response
was rather unique even within Scandinavia and some have suggested that it was almost accidental that they responded as they did. Anyway, their response to the vaccination side of covid seems far less unique.
At present, I'm leaning towards seeing the differences in response as being cultural (though obviously more needs to be said than this).
It's as if nobody gives a fvck about the pandemic anymore in this country, it's mostly back to normal and restrictions are gone entirely in most municipalities. We just hit a new high on daily new infections, but I mean, the vast majority is vaccinated so it's not that big of a deal. The vaccine is working as far as I can tell, there's more infected than ever and less people who require hospitalization. Extremely few die.
Old news, the world goes on.
We will see I guess. I'm rather sceptical of the transition back to normality being as smooth as most people think. But that is probably better argued by Geert vanden Bossche than me.
It does seem like very few people have heard of him, which also isn't really that surprising. Like Malone and McCullough, he has been the target of much censorship but also comparatively little critical engagement with his views from those supporting the 'narrative'. I'll try to post some of his views, when I get a chance, because, I appreciate, I have tended to take his views for granted in my posts.
because its my home country:
