On December 6 Finland – as every year – celebrated its independence from Russia with great fanfare. Not by showcasing massive parades or anything else that would draw mass attention to it. Instead post after post proclaimed the glory of Finland and why the poster – Finnish and foreign – considers Finland the “bestest country on Earth.” What lies beneath the surface is a whole other thing, so here are my thoughts from LinkedIn (which I only use to voice my opinion of a country that is in dire need of help if it hopes to get anywhere in the world).

My aim is to bring people together by helping them understand each other. Or rather, helping them realize how we have more in common with those we deem to be the Other than setting us apart.

In every country I lived and worked my core skills of adaptability, interpersonal and intercultural skills, enthusiasm and motivation skills as well as language and idea generation were not only valuable, they were very much sought after. I was recommended for those very skills by those I taught and whose language skills I boosted by raising g their confidence or vice versa. And yet these very skills valued in such diverse countries as Germany, France, Hungary, UK, USA are seen as a hindrance in Finland. Why? Because they are too “newfangled” “not easy to understand” they cause too much disruption, as – and this is a direct quote – “I don’t want to work (too) hard.” Most of all, because they don’t come from a Finn.

For a country that wastes no opportunity to tout its values of honesty and free speech while humble bragging about its recurring status of Happiest Nation in the World including seminars charging an arm and a leg to learn “how to be a Finn” and it’s 90 Day Finn initiative this is hypocrisy at its best. Why? Because these all come from people firmly enclosed in their little bubble of privilege, unapologetically touting their privilege without the slightest glimmer of insight, even when told what is going on.

Freedom of speech? In many ways yes, and of course it depends on whom you ask. But is it really freedom of speech if some voices are so skillfully quashed they appear not to exist?

Are you really the happiest nation on earth if only a key demographic has been sampled at a time when sunshine is coupes and the alcohol flows ever so freely?

Can you really be proud of your achievements in environmental sustainability when you so skillfully ignore one of the key pillars, namely human sustainability.

Because contrary to your proclamations, groups and forums on social media abound where Finland’s foreigners tell a different story, one that is much darker and far more sinister. That 90Day Finn program you are touoting as the Next Bestest Thing, has visible faults that were made evident when some of its participants started posting on social media groups asking for the very help they should have received from the program.

And speaking of which, how can you profess your pride in closing the gender gap soon when you’re leaving another one wide open and continue to widen the rift every day by devaluing the life of foreigners with laws and (in)actions that stand in stark contrast to the Hippocratic Oath?

You preach the values of foreigners but only in as much as they benefit you. “We need you for our pensions” is the battle cry of the Woke. But how about not seeing someone as a commodity and instead viewing them as a person?!

It would send you on a path of true discovery and truly make you the country you want to be.

When you’ve achieved all that, let’s talk again. Until then I will join the ranks of those doing their best to dispel the myth being sold. Because, doesn’t wilfully disseminating false information make it a lie? And in the land of Jenkki brand chewing gum (yes that is the slang term for anything American, used almost exclusively when referring to the entire US, alongside liberal use of the n-word to describe anyone darker) honesty is meant to reign supreme.