The would-be one in seven

I guess I won’t be immigrating to Sweden any time soon. It’s kind of a drag since I just got my new silver Tretorns. After Ingmar Bergman and Alexander Skarsgard, the nerdy line of shoes is just about my favourite Swedish export.

It appears, however, that the spacious and highly urbanized country is not immune to the fearful and prohibitive crazies that are infecting many industrialized nations these days. Having just seen a significant rise in support for the far-right Sweden Democrats in its recent elections, the country doesn't seem well positioned to take on some of the greater challenges of social integration and productivity growth. Immigration restrictions were reportedly top of mind for enough voting Swedes to prevent the formation of a coalition majority government, and in a nation where one in seven individuals is foreign-born, it's evident that the recent voting patterns signal some serious cultural divides. But the disconnect of Sweden’s status as leader of the world’s democracy index isn’t so poignant when you consider how often the freedom and democracy argument is used to justify bad behaviour. Those arguments, though, are always short-sighted. Prohibition doesn't take away fear and ignorance, rather it exacerbates the misunderstandings that get in the way of real cultural change. It stifles innovation and growth. Which is why freedom and democracy aren't enough if they're not understood as promoting openness and collaboration.

Breaking down the fourth wall

I love New York City. It’s like a mini-world of some of the greatest things that the human race has come up with, condensed into a small geographic area. I love the diversity of the neighbourhoods. I love that I can walk 100 blocks and not get bored. Love that I can get good food just about anywhere. Love the cultural familiarity, shocks and surprises. And I love that everybody’s got their own show going on. For me, New York is like one big stage, and the rest of my life is the greenroom.

One of the most notable things for an outsider going to New York is the glaring immediacy of freedom as a fixed concept in the culture. There are signs of it everywhere. If you fly to Newark, you will land at Liberty International Airport. For less than a quarter of the price of a taxi, you can take the Liberty Express bus into Manhattan. Along the way, you will pass several signs for companies aptly named liberty this or that. In fact, in that 300-square-mile area alone, there are more than a thousand businesses branded with “liberty” nomenclature. From banks to pawnbrokers, from bagel shops to pizzerias, from moving companies to production companies, to jewelers and barbers and cobblers, people in that place conceptualize freedom on virtually every corner. And that’s not even counting any business associated with her Lady of the Harbor. Liberty, for those city dwellers, is at the heart of the social economy. And in some way, this reflects what so many of us throughout North America have come to take for granted as a fundamental tenet of western civilization: People should be free to do as they please in order to be happy in this otherwise incomprehensible universe.

It does seem though that freedom in some contexts isn't much more than a received idea. I think we've come to a point in our societal evolution where freedom is taken for granted. People don't need to think about what it is, because it is unquestionably right. Because of this, it often gets used as an adjunct label to effect a political agenda, or sometimes appropriated for easy spin ("economic freedom"). It's the lack of thinking beyond the terminology that I think prevents any real discussion about how freedom and democracy can advance human knowledge. What is freedom without openness? What is liberty without citizen engagement? Or consideration and collaboration? It’s as if a certain malaise has infected our culture and it is taking its toll on otherwise really progressive commitments, such as the pursuit of knowledge and discovery, and care, and social contracts. I wonder if there’s a remedy. Can we fix the civic engagement gaps that are holding us back from realizing 21st-century advancements? Do that many people really want to opt out? After all, we’re living in a society. I'm inspired by people that do want to participate, no matter how distanced they are from public policy makers. I’m holding out for something better, hopeful that this show can get off the ground, and reminded of the colloquialism that in the theatre, there are no small parts, only small actors.