Don’t Blame the Rats
by Swedish Ex-Socialist
I received a lot of comments on my previous article, “Socialists on Ice”.
A ‘Moderat’ (Swedish ruling party) posted lots of replies in defense of Multiculturalism and the current political agenda in Sweden (and the rest of Europe, except Hungary). I understand his position, and I would like to reach out with a helping hand to him and other politically correct people all over the world. I realize that GoV is not the main source of information for my intended audience, but if The New York Times wants to print this you’re welcome to do so.
I am not in favor of Socialism or Multiculturalism any longer, but I was not long ago. This article is about my experience of that transition.
When I went to school we had history lessons about the Black Death that killed one third of the population in the cities of medieval Europe. A flea carried the disease and the rats spread the fleas to humans.
I finished school (with excellent grades), became employed, started a family, and was happy…
I went to the zoo with my kids and we watched the crocodiles, monkeys, and snakes. And then I noticed the rats. What really hit me was the sign that stated that the rats came to Sweden during the mid-19th century.
When I subscribed to the Discovery Channel, I zapped into some debate about the plague in England, and the remarks were the same ‘There were no rats at that time’.
Someone might argue that rats spread other diseases, although they didn’t cause the plague. That’s not the point! I revived false information during my education!
That’s the real plague.
For most citizens of Europe, the U.S.A., Canada, Japan and lots of other nations, education is the second-biggest investment in your life. The biggest would be your children. You might spent about twenty years in schools, and although most of it is free or subsidized, it’s a major investment in your identity and self esteem.
Who would want to throw that away just because some rats were wrongly accused of spreading plague?
I did not.
There were lots of other flaws in my education, but one thing I became certain of was that you could learn things just by reading books.
In search of a philosophical position, or just of curiosity, I read the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (pdf version here). It’s worth reading, but if I had put my conclusion in a sentence it would be: “You can acquire new knowledge by observation.”
Whatever knowledge you acquire is great, so long as it doesn’t challenge your previous knowledge. But what if it does? What if you have to unlearn something that you worked hard to learn?
Don’t worry! I’ve been there, done that, got the t-shirt.
If you learned false information and did it well, you’re not a bad person. You could relearn it just as easily.
I was stuck in my old false knowledge too long, I admit that.
There was the WTC on 9/11 in 2001 and the Muhammad cartoons in Denmark.
The one that opened my mind was Lars Vilks’ roundabout dog (see also: The Modoggie Archives). This was another experience where the news did not fit the facts.
Then I met the greatest teacher I had in non-science classes, Robert Spencer . In reality he’s not my teacher, but when I read his books The Infidel’s Guide to the Koran and Stealth Jihad, as well as watching his video-clips, there was a presence.
He told me things I didn’t like.
I said, “I don’t believe you!”
He replied, “Don’t take my word for it; check other sources.” And he provided the references to them.
I suspected he was quoting the Koran out of context so I read all of it.
There was no other context.
The Koran promotes theft, murder and other abuse. The part about religion is mostly the afterlife, which is the reward you get for slaying infidels.
I was not able to keep this new knowledge to myself so I started to share it with friends and family. They said, “You’re a racist.”
I said, “It’s not my point of view; it’s the holy book of Islam.”
Then they said, “There are bad things in other religions, too.”
I replied, “Tell me one bad thing Jesus said.” (I’ve read the Bible, too.)
They responded, “The Swedes didn’t help the Jews during World War Two.”
I replied, “Raoul Wallenberg did help 100,000 Jews in Hungary, and at least 8,000 Danish Jews were saved in 1943.”
They responded, “Everybody should be free to worship whatever god…”
I replied, “Does that include a Muslim who wants to convert to Christianity? Does it include Jews in Malmö?” ( I provide some news from Sweden’s greatest blog, or from my own site .)
They said, “You’re a racist.”
This goes on and on. I lose friends but find new ones.
Some previous friends come back, after about two months.
They pick up the discussion where they left off, but now I am regarded as an authority on the subject. They have done some homework and are eager to contribute to the common wisdom of mankind.
It’s hard to change your mind. You need to be brave and take the time to relearn.
It’s worth it: you get rid of the burden of false knowledge and go on with your life without blaming the rats.
Previous posts by Swedish Ex-Socialist:
| 2012 | Jan | 28 | When is a Swede not a Swede? | |||
| Feb | 2 | Socialists on Ice |
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