First, this might be the only American blog post about Sweden that won’t have some lame Ikea joke (though we can’t resist a picture of ‘70s disco hitmakers ABBA).
Second, it will likely be the only story that will provide a somewhat accurate answer to Donald Trump’s bizarre claim at a recent rally in Florida that a dramatic incident occurred in Sweden—one that spiraled into an embarrassing global headscratcher: “What happened last night in Sweden?”
It seems not even the Swedes are quite sure. The country’s Twitter account is run by a series of volunteer citizens, and it appears Emma, a librarian, was the lucky one on Twitter duty when Trump’s ominous suggestions of tragedy hit the @Sweden feed.
We can’t say for sure what Trump was referring to (though, reportedly, it was in response to a “refugee crisis” as explained by Fox News). But we can say what likely happened in Sweden last night, as it does just about every day: it upheld a series of progressive policies for its citizens, including:
An established, unthreatened, woman’s right to choose
One of the most generous parental leave policies in the world
Commitment to architecture and design to combat climate change
Proudly maintains a “feminist government” (and admits there’s still work to do.)
This is just a peek at what happened in Sweden, as it happens every day. The kind of unabashed progressiveness that the Trump administration finds threatening. To see what we could aspire to get, and maybe even demand to happen in the U.S., go to the country’s website.