Daily Loaf

The Venetian Alternative.

The current centre-left government of Finland has brought into national focus an ugly beast that has already raised its head globally. The apparent unwillingness to accept change of the noughties is in stark contrast to the breakneck pace of technological development and social change of the 1990's, and indeed the latter half of the 20th century - although I'll have to go by the words of wiser authors on anything preceding the 90's.

Are we returning to the same hangover experienced by the interwar generation in the 1930's, but a few short years distant from the all singing, all dancing and all electric twenties?The global rise of extremist movements, similar economic circumstances, and now, the return of moral conservatism all ring a familiar bell. Back then, it didn't lead to good things, and so far the world isn't doing much better. Although the number of conflicts has lately gone down a tad, their impact is now felt more intensely through increased media exposure, but also via economic effects . Military spending, too, is soaring back to Cold War levels. Arming ourselves to the teeth hardly seems to be the right way to drive the right message through to the uneducated masses in developing countries.

While America bombs itself into the hearts of countless Muslims, the French are hiding their heads in the sand. Their responsen couldn't be further from eachother, but at the root you'll find the same rot that drives us towards stagnation: the lack of openness. Finland, more than any other European country, needs to open it's borders to anyone who would be crazy enough to live in our miserable weather. The borders of the United States may be open to new workers, but calling the current US government's policies "open" is pushing it, badly. As bucolic as it would be to keep floating on our gondolas along the canals, they won't take us very far, and sooner of later someone will build that highway into our town.

Tomorrow is my last day in Haapajärvi. All in all, it's been a good summer up here, away from the tribes of Helsinki. Living here has given me a breathing opportunity, time for considering my future options, and, most importantly, shocked me out of a long cycle of depression. My low self-esteem is still there, but maybe this less goal-oriented existence (and, I say at the risk of sounding shallow, much lower demands on looking presentable :-)) has made me put it into proper perspective.

Of course there's always the unpleasant possibility that as soon as I get back to actually living in Helsinki (instead of just popping by for a weekend now and then) it will be one big déjà vu from years past. I'm not promising that I'll answer your calls the first time they ring, or that I'll reply to e-mails the second they arrive, but if it takes more than a week for me to get back to you, you'll know that I need support. Keeping this blog has helped me vent some of my frustration, and although I'll no longer be ranting and raving from outside metropolitan Finland, know ye this: once I get going, it's hard to shut me up.

So long, and thanks!