No reason to praise or envy Sweeden
Deploying stricter border controls and slashing relief benefits, Sweden has begun rolling up its refugee welcome mat. It follows Nordic neighbor Norway which has begun paying refugees/immigrants to emigrate someplace else.
Citing security concerns and overburdening of its welfare/relief system, the Swedes, known for their humanitarianism and generosity of their welfare system, have grown warier and more restrictive regarding refugee influx.
This may be dismaying to those who consider Sweden to be the true "Shining City upon a Hill" for its storied humaneness, pacifism and generosity. This includes many Americans, like Bernie Sanders, who've pined over why the U.S. can't be more like Sweden. Never mind fraudulent comparisons between a mega-pluralistic/culturally-diverse society (the U.S.) and a relatively non-diverse, culturally compact society (Sweden) whose population is less than one-thirtieth that of the U.S. It's a little like expecting major, population-dense US cities to behave like Barrington, Inverness, Kenilworth or any other ritzy suburban U.S. community. Only the most dreamily dopey would harbor such "wish-we-were-Scandinavia" notions.
Abetting this romanticized fondness for smorgasbord is a certain measure of historical obtuseness. Sweden's pacifism is a marvel in that it managed, like Switzerland, to avoid conflict in both world wars. Its pacifism, though, was not without favor. It allowed Germany in both wars to exploit its natural resources and industrial capacity. Though the Swedes did generously aid war victims, its natural resources and industrial plant fed the Armageddon begetting those victims. The Third Reich, which gobbled up Scandinavian brethren Norway and Denmark, was a beneficiary of the Swedes' "pacific" largesse.
It's tough standing up to bullies. And, with Hitler on one side and Stalin (who swallowed Finland) on the other, a low and complicit profile seems a survival reflex. Understandable. But worthy of neither praise nor envy.
Les Lopinot
Oswego