from the Washington POST, known for its objective (cough cough) approach:
Thank God America Isn't Like Europe -- Yet
TOOLBOX
Resize
Print
E-mail
Yahoo! Buzz
Save/Share +
Digg
Newsvine
del.icio.us
Stumble It!
Reddit
Facebook
myspace
NewsTrust
COMMENT
washingtonpost.com readers have posted 364 comments about this item.
View All Comments »
POST A COMMENT
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Log in | Register
Why Do I Have to Log In Again?
Log In Again?
CLOSE
We've made some updates to washingtonpost.com's Groups, MyPost and
comment pages. We need you to verify your MyPost ID by logging in
before you can post to the new pages. We apologize for the
inconvenience.
Discussion Policy
Your browser's settings may be preventing you from commenting on and
viewing comments about this item. See instructions for fixing the
problem.
Discussion Policy
CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other
inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site.
Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by
someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will
take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards,
terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this
site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and
discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging
» Links to this article
By Charles Murray
Sunday, March 22, 2009; Page B02
Do we want the United States to be like Europe?
The European model has worked in many ways. I am delighted whenever I
get a chance to go to Stockholm or Amsterdam, not to mention Rome or
Paris. There's a lot to like -- a lot to love -- about day-to-day life
in Europe. But I argue that the answer to this question is "no." Not
for economic reasons. I want to focus on another problem with the
European model: namely, that it drains too much of the life from life.
The stuff of life -- the elemental events surrounding birth, death,
raising children, fulfilling one's personal potential, dealing with
adversity, intimate relationships -- occurs within just four
institutions: family, community, vocation and faith. Seen in this
light, the goal of social policy is to ensure that those institutions
are robust and vital. The European model doesn't do that. It enfeebles
every single one of them.
Drive through rural Sweden, as I did a few years ago. In every town
was a beautiful Lutheran church, freshly painted, on meticulously
tended grounds, all subsidized by the Swedish government. And the
churches are empty. Including on Sundays. The nations of Scandinavia
and Western Europe pride themselves on their "child-friendly"
policies, providing generous child allowances, free day-care centers
and long maternity leaves. Those same countries have fertility rates
far below replacement and plunging marriage rates. They are countries
where jobs are most carefully protected by government regulation and
mandated benefits are most lavish. And with only a few exceptions,
they are countries where work is most often seen as a necessary evil,
and where the proportions of people who say they love their jobs are
the lowest.
Call it the Europe Syndrome. Last April I had occasion to speak in
Zurich, where I made some of these same points. Afterward, a few of
the 20-something members of the audience came up and said plainly that
the phrase "a life well-lived" did not have meaning for them. They
were having a great time with their current sex partner and new BMW
and the vacation home in Majorca, and they saw no voids in their lives
that needed filling.
more dreck at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/20/AR2009032001779.html
--
Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own
way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
_______________________________________________
pen-l mailing list
[email protected]
https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
