Many people tend to be offended by my critical analysis of Sweden because they do not understand that there are negative aspects of Sweden. When young Americans are asked which country they admire most, often times they will respond, “Sweden,” “Sweden,” “Sweden.”
Over the years it has become a mission of mine to break this utopia stigma about Sweden and to educate the world about Sweden’s shortcomings, partly to assist with helping Sweden solve its own problems, and also to boost westerners’ pride in their own countries.
Like many millennial Americans, I grew up with an understanding that Sweden is an admirable country that offers “free” healthcare, “free” education, and has low crime. It is a country that does not been involved in wars for nearly a century. What is there to not like about Sweden? In a sense I had more patriotism for Sweden than my own home country, the United States.
I went beyond most Americans in learning about Sweden and its culture. I attended Swedish-American meetings in the United States starting at eight years old when my mother started bringing me along. I participated in Swedish holiday events, browsed Swedish markets and stores, and was even in a Midsummer Queen beauty pageant. For four summers I attended a Swedish language camp in Minnesota where the highlights of Sweden were crammed into two weeks. As you can imagine, dancing to Abba, celebrating Midsummer and eating Swedish meatballs convinced me even more that Sweden is the coolest country ever. Additionally, the camp counselors were incredibly friendly and outgoing, I loved it. (Note, I highly recommend attending language camps in Minnesota, they are seriously fun – ask me about it).
I became so infatuated with Sweden that I decided to visit the country myself. Soon I was on a ten month adventure in Sweden as a foreign exchange student. I settled into a small rural village and attended the final year of Swedish high school while splitting the time between two Swedish host families that took me under their wing. (I encourage everyone to look into foreign exchange programs for teenagers. It is an amazing experience that will change their lives, as it did mine – ask me about it.)
I was amused by my new foreign environment for approximately three month before I began picking up how Swedish society really is, and realized it was was not as fun as Swedish camp or the holiday events I attended in the US. I wondered why my classmates held their heads down when they walked past me in the hallways instead of greeting me? Why was there a lingering feeling of loneliness and detachment in most villages I visited? Why did Swedes tend to not speak until they downed a few drinks at a bar or party?
The feeling of homesickness began to settle in by four months of living abroad. My utopia image of Sweden began to shatter. I observed that there were many things I admired about Swedish society, but there were many things I did not admire. I began to acknowledge how there are so many wonderful things about the United States that I had failed to realize and had taken for granted. Eventually I returned back to the United States with a new appreciation for my homeland. I thought I would never return to Sweden again.
To my surprise, however, I have found my way back to Sweden, this time coming here for love. It was difficult to decide to move back to Sweden, and honestly for a while I told my Swedish partner to find someone else because I did not want to move to Sweden. Eventually though I decided we are a good fit, he’s more established than I am.. Okay, fine, I will move to Sweden.
I’ve come to terms with the way Sweden is, and have been gaining more understanding how its come to be this way. I enjoy sharing my analysis of Sweden, and cluing in people that it is not the perfect country they think it is. It takes living here to truly understand, and not many people have the opportunity to live here like I did, or even to visit (Sweden is one of the most expensive countries to travel).
I hope this gives insight on why I criticize Sweden, and shows that I am not out to heckle Sweden out of malice. I draw attention to Sweden’s problems because I consider people all over the world to have a grave misunderstanding of what Sweden truly is like, and I think Sweden needs to seriously look at challenges it continues to face.
Lauren Ell is an American blogger born and raised in Southern California and is currently based in Sweden. She discusses Epilepsy, Politics and Fun. Professionally Ell is an Online Marketing Consultant and Virtual Assistant. She is also founder and president of Republican Atheists and GunSafetySociety.org. Connect with Lauren on Facebook and Twitter.