Surfin’ USA

Patriotism

With the Winter Olympic Games in Italy taking place right now, it once more gets very obvious how patriotic and proud of their country everyone in Sweden is. Like most people here, my Swedish neighbours gather in front of the TV to cheer at their fellow countrymen whenever they find the time. Also, throughout the year, you see a lot of Swedish flags in people’s front yards and gardens and, for instance, people wearing shirts with references to their country (flags, logos etc.).
Obviously Sweden is a rather small country (population-wise), which I think promotes this attitude even more. On the other hand, however, Swedes are probably not especially patriotic compared to other countries. It’s rather that Germans suffer from a considerable lack of patriotism — or they are afraid to show it. Given the country’s role in the two world wars that’s probably understandable, nevertheless one wonders how long it will take for this to normalise again…