As reported by Newsweek, the world's #1 country based on relatively reasonable criteria is the country of my heritage - Finland. It's the world's northernmost country in terms of average latitude, and has a population of about five million people.
Bill O'Reilly read about that #1 status in Newsweek, and, based on a single trip to Helsinki and (apparently) some quick internet research, threw together a column that is not so much about Finland as it is a reminder and reinforcement of racism, thanks to numerous misconceptions O'Reilly throws out. The column:
http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2010/08/24/33183558/index.xml O'Lielly's Lies in BOLD CAPS:1. LACK OF HOMELESSNESS FALSELY ASCRIBED TO COLD WEATHER: O'Reilly claims there are "saunas everywhere, and that's a good thing" because it's close the arctic circle in Helsinki. Actually, it's over 400 miles to the Arctic circle and the Gulf Stream keeps Finland's weather much milder than it would otherwise be. But O'Reilly is really setting up his false explanation for the virtual lack of homelessness/poverty in Finland, claiming there are "few poor people floating around – you'd be a block of ice." The fact is that Finnish taxpayers get what they pay for, higher taxes than here are used to prevent poverty. People are on the streets in the U.S. in cities with colder climates than Helsinki.
2. INFERRING THAT #1 STATUS RELATED TO "LACK OF DIVERSITY." O'Reilly says there is "little "diversity" in Finland" and claims the only time Finns see blacks, Asians and "other ethnic groups" is
"on videotape." FIrst off, Finland is the most wired and wireless country on earth; home to Nokia. You'd think the "World Christian Database" would be a reference work Billbo would have, and it notes there are numerous other "ethnic groups" O'Reilly claims don't exist, besides the Russians and Swedes he acknowledges:
Somalis (4,700)
Arabs (2,600)
Persians (1,700)
Turks (incl. Tatars) (10.000)
Kosovars (1000)
Pakistani (400)
Thai (40)
Others (500) There are numerous refugees, especially after Finland joined the European Union. Many are from Somalia.
3. LIE: THERE COULD NEVER BE A MOSQUE CONTROVERSY IN FINLAND. Citing the country as 83% Lutheran and 15% atheist, O'Reilly concludes that mosque controversies couldn't happen there. Well that's probably true but
not for the reason of religious uniformity but because of religious tolerance. O'Reilly claims to have visited Helsinki, yet there are "many mosques" there. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Finland There are over 20,000 of the Islamic faith in Finland. There is, in fact, a Finnish Mosques Foundation
http://www.rabita.fi/english/mosque.html 4. FINNS ARE LIBERALS EXCEPT ON GLOBAL WARMING WHICH THEY WELCOME. "Finns are generally liberal thinkers with the exception of global warming. Many ask: Why fight that?" This is total baloney and a lie, Finns are leaders in the fight against global warming/global climate change. O'Reilly embellishes by saying one can't swim in Finland's 60,000 lakes, but he likes the USA because we can swim in our lakes. More baloney. Finns swim their lakes even through the ice in winter (after sauna), not to mention extensive summer swimming, including the first dip of the year, which is called "losing your winter coat" in an idiom suggestive of connection with animals and nature.
Here again, O'Reilly's working redundantly to explain social conditions in Finland without referring to government programs at all.5. WERE FINLAND DESIRABLE PEOPLE WOULD "SNEAK ACROSS THE SWEDISH BORDER." O'Reilly: "Unless I missed it, I don't believe millions of people are sneaking across the Swedish border trying to take up residence in the paradise of Finland." In fact there's substantial emigration to Finland, enough to make it controversial with some Finns. But there's not a closed border with Sweden, Finland has open borders and people can pass fairly freely, especially compared to the way O'Reilly would like to run our southern border.
Immediately after his "sneaking across the border" comment, O'Reilly concludes his column by saying:
"Or am I wrong?"
Yes, Bill O'Reilly, of course, you are so wrong in so many ways, not only about Finland but about the ideas you're trying to reinforce in your largely white American audience.
The way O'Reilly made Finland into a cartoon in order to reinforce domestic conservative stereotypes and deflect Finland's success n human welfare is propaganda. One can not honestly chalk up Finland's #1 status overall in education, economy, welfare, safety and quality of life to religious and racial uniformity as O'Reilly tries to, nor can one explain the virtual absence of visible poverty in Finland as being due only to freezing cold temperatures keeping the poor away.
I often disagree with O'Reilly, but in this article, for me, the misrepresentation of the facts is somehow more clear than ever before. He didn't need to write about Finland at all,
he only did so in order to lie about it so as to boost his dangerous ideas about uniformity of race and religion being helpful to social progress. That's the subtext of his article, and I'm sure he knows that subtext often flies in under the radar and is not examined consciously by readers.
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