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2,000 hamsters can't be wrong.

22 December 2004

Norwegian Nationalism anno 1905 

In just one and a half weeks we're entering our 101st year as an independent nation (in modern history, that is). This will be celebrated throughout most of 2005. Oslo's main boulevard/shopping street (named after a Swedish king, bit of a paradox there) is being refurbished, much to people's current dismay as they're stumbling across cement pipes and gravel and makeshift pavements during their Christmas shopping, but the result will be stunning, I'm sure. As we're approaching this significant celebration, one of our leading newspapers is running a feature series about the 100 most important events in Norway during this period. Today they wrote about 1905 itself, when the government made history by dismissing the Swedish king and appointing their own (imported from Denmark, our previous rulers, LOL!). There were some figures that baffled me, especially compared to today's voting. The Swedish government demanded that there would be a popular vote on the matter. 85% of those allowed to vote (i.e. men, since the women had to wait another eight years) turned up, and the count revealed that a whopping 368,208 people demanded the union to be dissolved, with only 184 votes against. That is just amazing. I wonder what it must have been like at the time. I'm picturing an immense sense of nationalism (which these days is more or less considered to be the same as racism). And to think young Norway was to be regarded as one of the most progressive, radical and humane countries in Europe back then is strange. OK, so we've still got quite a lot of that going for us, but not as distinctively as back in the earlier parts of the last century.

Actually...perhaps we shouldn't count those five years during which the Nazis took control of the country. That means we're actually just 95 years old.

Current track: Nothing, sorry.

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Posted by: Ingaroo / 08:33
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