Sanity, Madness and the American Promise

A view from Finland (redux)

(Photo by Imagedepotpro via Getty Images)

This was originally published last year on July 25. This week I’ll be back in the thick of things, but wanted to pause one more time to share with you some insights derived from a country that has been rated “the world’s happiest country” for nine straight years. I would humbly suggest the Finns have something to teach us.

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In a sane world, most Americans would not be clamoring for the release of the Epstein files—remarkably including some Trump cultists—if the electorate had not voted in an adjudicated rapist with a self-confessed history of sexual assault and a close relationship with a convicted child rapist and sex trafficker.

In a sane world, Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Alina Habba would never have been installed as the U.S. Attorney in New Jersey nor would her competent replacement have been fired by sycophantic Attorney General Pam Bondi who prioritizes loyalty to Trump over her duty to justice and the Constitution.

In a sane world, the Director of National Intelligence would not devote her time to the outrageous effort to find reasons to prosecute former President Barack Obama.

In a sane world, undocumented immigrants would not be violently and carelessly rounded up without due process, nor would a major political party pass legislation that hands over $75 billion to grotesquely expand that lawless enforcement and detention. These are funds not to make the country safer but to appease a vengeful demagogue who despises the rule of law, demonizes migrants and yearns for a white nationalist nation.

Most of all, in that sane world, a vast voting public would have grasped that they were gifted a unique country with an extraordinary opportunity to pursue self-governance and expand freedom—an exceptional experiment in the history of the world that should be embraced, improved and cherished rather than tossed away to the whims of a malignant sociopath.

All this has been on my mind since I came to Finland to see family and friends and breathe for some days. Given the fires blazing in America, it’s been difficult to be thousands of miles away.

But I have benefited from a brief change of venue not because I could free my mind from the realities in my home country, but because it has deepened my conviction that our 249-year-old democratic project cannot and must not be forsaken. This is true for the good of America, but also for every country and people who recognize the promise and possibilities derived from liberal government, seek the expansion of personal and collective freedom, and have long counted on America’s influential example.

It’s good to remember there are other worlds, places where it’s well understood that a country’s embrace of extremism, fascism, cruelty and lawlessness represent the failure to govern, a rejection of equality and a denial of basic human dignity. If such a country once was an uplifting model to the world, it has become instead a grave warning—that the pursuit of a healthy society can be overtaken by grievance, the dark impulse to seek vengeance and the silencing of dissent. In other words, a polarized and troubled democratic country really can lose its mind.

Arriving in Helsinki can almost feel like a recrimination. I mean, you go into the bathroom at the Helsinki airport and you hear a recording of birds singing to make the experience more pleasing. And it’s not just there: You’ll even hear the cheerful recordings of chirping birds in bathrooms at gas stations, along with photo murals of birch tree forests.

You may have heard that Finland has been ranked the happiest country in the world for the last eight years. [Author’s note: In March, Finland was selected again for the top spot.] That label is typically a source of amusement to Finns—the harsh winter weather conditions and the everyday demands of life can cause plenty of irritable moods and negative feelings, especially as the days grow darker and colder. But the friends I asked about this survey agree that the more accurate way to summarize Finland’s mindset is to talk about the unusual level of well-being.

The ranking employs a single survey question for a country’s self-evaluation:

Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?

In addition, the resulting happiness score draws on seven key indicators: GDP per capita, inequality, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and perceptions of corruption. Other factors such as trust, social connections, shared meals and communal kindness play into the resulting “World Happiness Report” produced by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre in partnership with Gallup, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the group’s editorial board.

Interestingly, the top four countries in the rankings are Nordic: Finland is followed by Denmark, Iceland and Sweden. The United States is 24th—its lowest level since the report was first issued in 2012—and Afghanistan is at the bottom of the list of 147 countries.

So what’s going on here? It should come as no surprise that income inequality—or rather the relative lack of it—is a key determinant. So is a strong social safety net, a family-friendly society, an educated population and environmental consciousness.

Both people I know and surveys of Finns generally agree that the significant expenditure by the government for health care, pensions, unemployment and other social services help create that sense of security and well-being. Finland spends more than 20 percent of its gross domestic product on these services, which is among the highest within the European Union.

A 2022 survey found that 85 percent of Finns are satisfied with the (low cost) education system, 82 percent with the justice system, 70 percent with the country’s (low cost) health care system. In addition, Finns have a high level of trust in their public institutions, including the national government (61 percent) and the civil service (66 percent); that’s well above the average of other European countries.

Several years ago, I explored this topic with a plumber by trade and a father of three, who was quick to mention some of the societal factors that have made Finland a model country. “It’s safe here,” he said first. “Everything works. When you ask for help from an expert or authority, you can trust their advice…If you want to study, everyone has the possibility” because it’s so low cost. He went on to talk about gender equality, the lack of corruption, how “everyone has human rights in this country” and “immigrants are treated as equals.”

Later, my wife’s sister, who works as an early childhood specialist, added her thoughts, emphasizing education, unemployment benefits, health care and other social services. “Even if you are a poor single mother, the country will take care of you. You will be safe.”

Their observations impressed me then—and frankly make me rather jealous now. It’s not that their lives are easy, without struggle, but they worry less about the bottom falling out hastened by hostile government policies.

It’s not all rosy, of course. One of my long-time friends, a film director, talked about the declining support for NATO since its peak when Finland first became a member in April 2023 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The data bears him out.

While 66 percent of Finns still have a positive attitude towards Finland’s NATO membership, support has dropped by five points in the last six months. Now, 53 percent believe that NATO membership does not guarantee that other countries would ultimately assist Finland in a real crisis. That’s down 17 percentage points. And just 29 percent believe it would be in Finland’s interest “to engage in the deepest possible cooperation with the United States, regardless of the issue.”

The reason for this shift is fairly obvious: “Behind this change lies the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States,” writes Sami Matelinen, managing editor at EVA, the Finnish Business and Policy Forum.

While the rising doubt about Finns toward partnership with America is new—and reasonable—their historic skepticism toward its Russian neighbor is not. And while the independent-minded Finns successfully fended off the Soviets during the Winter War and the Continuation War during World War II, they have continued to build their defenses. They have underground bunkers (“civil defense shelters”) throughout the country for about 4.8 million people, including spaces in the Helsinki area exceeding the entire population. Many of these double for peaceful purposes such as swimming pools, playgrounds and hockey rinks, but they were built in recognition of their 830-mile border with an unreliable Eastern neighbor.

I can tell you that Finns have long admired America, maybe particularly American music, classic cars, movies and fashion. So too, they have respected American democracy and such values as equality and justice.

But in most every conversation I’ve had about our present moment, my Finnish friends have struggled to understand how America could have put itself in such danger by electing a man who rejects and is working to dismantle American values, traditions and institutions. Several have also expressed their doubt (and sadness) that they will be visiting the U.S. anytime soon.

When we succeed in overcoming the current madness in America, I’m expecting many of these same Finns to find their inspiration again. I’m counting on them marveling in our ability to beat back this hostile regime, rather than focusing on America as a place that’s lost its mind. Meanwhile, maybe it’s high time to recognize that we can and should learn from countries like Finland that—while relatively homogenous demographically—offer an embrace of the values we hold dear and a mission to keep building a healthy society.

Finnish white birch trees. (Photo by Steven Beschloss)

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