Finland: More Snow, More Equality

I blogged this over at After School Snack already, but I can't stop thinking about it: an article on "Why can't we Americans be more like Finland?" Go to A.S.S. for my response. (A teaser tidbit from the article's author: "Finns are enormously proud of their egalitarian tradition. They are the only country in Europe that has never had a king or a homegrown aristocracy." I dunno if that's true, but it's interesting anyhow...)

As I contemplated the comparison between Finland and the U.S., I came across a report in a Finnish-American newspaper that the Finnish expatriate parliament has recommended that Finland expand the right to emigrate back to Finland and take up citizenship there. Presently, Finland allows the children of emigrants to obtain dual citizenship there the paliament recommends that grandchildren of emigrants also be allowed to obtain Finnish citizenship and to move back. See "Thousands to regain their Finnish citizenship" here. Hmm: Was grandpa's trip west just an experiment for the family? Keitele sounds better every day...