The land of "Heidi" is not what it used to be. Mr Seiyo sent me an essay of his, recently published in the Brussells Journal. To quote:
As Swiss post-war prosperity grew, so has it demand for working hands, and its disincentives to native labor due to ever-growing entitlements. The great influx of foreign labor started in the 60s, and it worked spectacularly well. Italian waiters, and Spanish or Portuguese seasonal workers, and Serb engineers and secretaries did their jobs well, paid their taxes, respected law and order, meshed reasonably well in the culture, and either sprouted roots and were allowed to naturalize, or returned to their home countries, there to enjoy their pot of Swiss earnings.
ShareBut the West's toxins were seeping in. Since the 1970s, feminism, leftism, neurotic self-loathing, boredom with the staid Swiss lifestyle, material plenty with a deep safety net, have undermined traditional Swiss virtues such as prudence, circumspection, respect for tradition, patriotism, self-reliance, devolution of power, and a fanatical devotion to quality work.
Switzerland succumbed to statism, with the liberal-left activities of the federal government undermining the proud conservatism of many of the cantons that make up the Swiss Confederation. The Swiss public sector has grown proportionately larger than in any other developed country, and the country of erstwhile hard work and thrift is now classified as an "extreme welfare state" (2).
3 comments:
This is sad to hear. I visited Switzerland briefly in 1990; I was enchanted with its beauty. Words cannot ever describe how lovely Switzerland's mountains, lakes and hills are. I was dumbstruck by Lake Geneva's ethereal blue-green color. I will never forget it. The towns and cities were so clean. Shops were quaint and impeccably tidy. Vibrant flowers cascaded out of every window, basket, doorstep. There was a lovely sense of order, pride in craftsmanship, tradition and contentment.
I would hate to see Switzerland's heritage destroyed by post-modernism. It breaks my heart.
Yes, I think that in the back of my mind I always thought Switzerland was a place I could go if everything else goes down the tubes.....
+JMJ+
I used to feel that way, too, Elena. Several years ago, when Switzerland joined the UNO, my immediate reaction was, "Now where will I go when the superpowers rise again???" =(
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