Oslo: Being Confident in Speaking Out

Norway was a different country from the moment I got on the plane: Norwegian may have been ‘low-cost’ but it was no Ryanair. Calm, comfortable, classy with a rather expensive menu.
Then when on the bus, I received a call to say that the hotel I had booked was full but they had found us beds around the corner in a better quality hotel. Good service.

The next day when walking around Oslo, the wealth shone out in the cost of a coffee through to the upkeep of the public transport. There was, without doubt, high taxation everywhere but investment shone through.

At the same time the values also shine through. Families were everywhere, little graffiti or obvious poverty, no need for gay district as couples were free to hold hands, whatever their make-up.

This lead me to a tricky question: do the liberal values come about because people can afford to pay the taxes to under-write them or do the liberal values mean that people feel a duty to pay for the functions of state. No easy answer but I suspect it is a little bit of both.

My travelling companion (rather more conservative than me) challenged my views on immigration, on tax and on education. I am coming to the view point that if we want to pay for high-quality services like I saw in Oslo, then those that can, should pay more tax to help those with less. In my career and my research I believe in a market-led approach, the need for greater investment and liberal values within a conservative context. If I believe in these things – as I saw in Norway - then I need to say it despite it going against some traditional ‘tory’ lines. My family have always taught me to be true to myself and that includes in my politics.

As with so much of my life and travels, there was a song that summarised my trip. This time it was “Sing” by My Chemical Romance.

At the same time as trying to find a new way of living following the loss of my mother, re-assessing my research and re-evaluating my political values, then it is time to speak out about these things:

“Sing it out, boy, you’ve got to see what tomorrow brings.
Sing it out, girl, you’ve got to be what tomorrow is.
[…]
Sing it for the boys, sing it for the girls.
Every time that you lose it, sing it for the world.
Sing it from the heart, sing it ‘til you’re nuts.
Sing it out for the ones that hate your guts.
Sing it for the deaf, sing it for the blind.
Sing it for everyone that you left behind.
Sing it for the world.
We’ve got to see what tomorrow brings.
Boy you’ve got to be what the world needs.
Sing it for the world.”