Culture: Boardrooms and Bedrooms

I was at an event last night hosted by the Swedish-American Club here in Stockholm. The club, in the last year, has had new blood in the leadership. It has gone from the formal, meet the diplomats at the Grand Hotel black tie events, to a more casual approach. Which, for me, is the more American way of doing things. This event is held on the third Thursday of every month in the fall and winter. It would be impossible to hold this or any event in the summer. Sweden traditionally shuts down for vacation between June and September. Doing business is an iffy proposition here in the summer.
The event started out to be a business mixer. You know, drink and food in one hand and your business card in the other. But like the immigrants we are, it has turned into a haven for us Yanks. To be able to speak in the American idiom, with the common slang and speed is a treat. There is business contact, but it’s much more on the “Here’s a guy you should call” or “I hear you’re into websites…?” kind of thing.

The reason for the background is at yesterday’s event, I was in a group that included a lawyer from California, a women from Stockholm whose passion was astrophysics and the head of 3M in Sweden. The women asked our 3M guy what he thought were the differences he found doing business in Sweden vs. doing the same in the United States. “Everything “ was his response. In true Swedish fashion, she probed deeper into the question, asking for distinct examples. Which, of course, is one of the examples she was looking for. Business is run in Sweden by consensus. A project is brought before a committee and is poked at, questioned and everyone gives their opinions round and round and round. When a consensus is reached the action plan is formed and then is implemented. Does the phrase measure twice and cut once ring a bell? It was developed here in Sweden.

The man from 3M was a distinquished and savvy man. And I’m sure one of his references would have been to the cultural differences, which leads me to the two stories I saw in the news yesterday.

In Black Jack, Missouri, the city council has rejected a measure allowing unmarried couples with multiple children to live together, and the mayor said those who fall into that category could soon face eviction. The town's planning and zoning commission proposed a change in the law, but the measure was rejected Tuesday by the city council in a 5-3 vote.

Did I read that right? A city council has decided to impose a law on the private living habits of its citizenry. Not in the public housing, but in any housing in the city. If you are an unmarried couple with one child you are ok under the law. But when you have a second child, look out, you can be evicted! By law! (1)

"Marriage is no longer considered an indispensable preliminary to welcoming a child" found a recent French parliamentary report on the family, which noted that "free unions" have become much more common — and not just for very young people. Across Europe, the number of children born to unmarried couples has risen six fold over the past 35 years to nearly 1 in 3 of all babies, altering the face of the European family beyond recognition — and beyond recall — say demographers and social analysts.

Most governments have regarded the transformation as simply a sign of the times. But nearly all nations share two salient factors in common: The numbers have skyrocketed in recent decades, and the increase is due to children born to co-habituating couples, not to single mothers. (2)

And that, dear readers, is one of the differences between the United States and Europe. When faced with a social situation like unmarried couples, Europe says how do we adapt to this change in our populace. What must we do to change with our citizens?

In the U.S., social change is met with resistance and bigotry. Instead of providing for the changing times, it employs punitive measures.

I mean, after the miserable failure of Prohibition, do the modern members of Congress think a gay marriage amendment to a Constitution that speaks only to the rights of individuals is germane? Well, I guess if they don’t think that the Government tapping your phone is worth discussing, which is a right already in the Constitution, that probably answers my question.

When is the government going to get out of our bedrooms and start building our nation?

Thanks to Peter King of The Christian Science Monitor (2) and the Associated Press (1) for their hard work