Hoo boy, this is going to be one of those comprehensive takes I have to make.
Behold. From the northern reaches of the world, lands of Kaleva & Pohja unseen & untouched by most, the finnish man cometh.
This land of mine is but a youngling in the context of modern history, yet it has already gone through many trials. Let it be the World Wars, the clash between the "white" & the "red" blood, the test of national strength in the face of a struggle for influence between the western & the eastern block... it's all there. And even now, we are being tested by the same forces at play, looking to get their hands on the proverbial
Sampo, thinking the solutions they import from here would serve as a miracle to them.
Let's start with the negatives to lay out my points. We have always had a problem when it comes to people expressing their sentiments, which has often come with a horrible human cost attached. The current figureheads in office... are not that good at their jobs. And the society has become too reliant on the system to provide them the necessities as per the usual shortcoming of democratic systems. Lot of the way things are run are not up to the standards outsiders mythologize my country for currently.
I can admit that I was never able to feel connected to my countrymen. It seemed as if I, someone who desperately needed that connection, was abandoned. So I sought solace on the internet thinking that I would find that connection here, only to come face to face with the far crazier and honestly worse-off outside world with my fair share of bad interactions that would drain my soul. Many of these problems the other places have, mine share after all, so why not give into cynicism and just accept that people are solely out for themselves, I thought.
But then after years of fighting with dissociativity so I could return back to the real world to carve myself the place to belong to, my trusted acquaintance said something that resonated with me somewhat.
"I still believe in my country, in spite of everything."
I start to recall parts of the past I once longed to bury within the black mass of trauma.
I would not trade this country or my soul for the false salvation of nihilism. Long live the
Land of the Shining Moon,
the shores of Kaleva & Pohja.
The reality is, this country has been through far worse, and survived. I do not see despairing faces where I walk, and neither have people retreated to isolation. And most importantly, the stories of this land have not disappeared, they've only been strengthened through the merits we have achieved. A high trust society that has a chance to reach a similar technological advancement to Japan is not something I'd laugh off.
Are we truly the happiest country on planet Earth? No. But do we have the ability to truly live up to the title? I believe that with a little more resilience, we absolutely can if we reject the binary of the West & the East and focus on walking our own path.
I gained a newfound appreciation for my own culture by observing and seeking to understand japanese culture. This is where, ironically, Pokemon among many things came to play. Seeing the dedication they have for their own culture, I received a newfound desire to explore mine. And so, through the interaction of the opposites, the yin & the yang, the West & the East, the Sun & the Moon, I was remade.
