Democracy, freedom of speech and such...

Sometimes it really gets on my nerves to live in this country. It is a small, but very long country… if you place a pin in the very southern spot on the map, and turn the country around, the circle will cover a large part of Europe… far south into Italy and Spain.

Our straggling country, with its challenging landscape; weather-beaten shore, wuthering heights, narrow valleys, sparsely population, idyllic towns and really, really poor infrastructure (the roads are a nightmare, even in broad daylight) and, at best, cool temperature offers a good life for those of us who think unpredictable conditions a challenge and an adventure rather than a struggle.

Part of living here is the knowledge we live in a free and open democracy. We are considered liberal and open minded, in spite of our set ways of thinking and doing things.

We are all different, and we accept we have differences… so much so that we at times think that our constitution is an obstacle.

Our constitution is founded on Christian objects clause. We used to say grace in schools and kindergartens, but due to so many children coming from non-Christian homes this is no longer the case. We approve of gay marriages (not necessarily all of us, as individuals, but as a country with a state church we do) and all congregations, regardless of religion, get state contribution.

All of this is fair and reasonable, at least I think it is, but like any other free and democratic state we all have our own mind on matters like these.

You see: living in a free and democratic country has the disadvantage of living, working and functioning with people with different ways and different opinions, and there is no law against being stupid. Sorry but true… or maybe I should feel relieved?

We risk getting insulted and provoked because part of living here is the right we have to practice freedom of speech. On the other hand we do not have to agree and tolerate it by not standing up for ourselves. We should speak up when we disagree or feel molested. Even more so if we think someone else is unfairly spoken about.

Freedom of speech is not the freedom to express discrimination or to put others down. Freedom of speech boils down to be freedom to utter what you feel about matters in general, not to specify or frame individuals. We accept that freedom of speech implies responsibilities and limits. To be protected from becoming a victim of racism and degrading acts are more important than a person’s right to say whatever he or she wants.

Still… Have you ever tried to make two lists: one for synonymes to boy/man and one for synonymes to girl/woman. Add all the proper words you would find in a dictionary and all the words you use in your everyday language among family and friends (and be honest).

Boy/Man	Girl/Woman

I think you will be surprised over the result. And as you look at your list and count how many expressions you added, consider this: Are there more positive names than negative? What does the list tell you about how you regard people around you? The strangest part of it all is that what you wrote is most likely not conflicting the freedom of speech.

I embrace our democracy and the privilege it is to live in a country where we include and acknowledge individual differences, but it does not mean I don’t find it annoying.