I have to apologize in advance, this post will be about politics...
It worry me that probably in the next Parliament election, a political party "true Finns", will gain a significant win and get several seats. The party is populist, nationalist, right-of-centre and very Euro-sceptical. They want to, for example, limit immigration to Finland heavily, reduct foreign aid and "politically smarten up the national identity" of Finnish people.
I have to admit, I haven't read Kalevala, our national epic from cover to cover but I do know what it is about, the main characters, where it originates etc... That's what we were taught in school. But even if I had read the book or even if I would do it soon, I don't think that would make me more Finnish than I am.
For me national identity is much more complicated issue than only those (important and beautiful) books, paintings and compositions that "True Finns" so eagerly push us more and more. Respectively, reading Dostojevski's Crime and Punishment two times or enjoying the paintings of Monet doesn't make me any less Finnish than I am.
Other big thing that bugs me about their politics is the intolerance and enmity towards foreigners in Finland. To me, prejudgment is a sign of really bad self-esteem and fear of new things. I don't think that our culture will vanish just because there are other nationalities living inside the same borders. It is really sad actually how badly those "True Finns" underestimate the national identity of us Finns...
I wish that they wouldn't get seats in the next election, moreover that their leader wouldn't be selected as the next Prime Minister. I think that would be latest the point in my life when I take my Finnishness to some other country and enjoy it there.
My Finland isn't intolerant and self-absorbed.
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