Earlier today, a Norwegian gentleman who is a mild acquaintance of mine posted the following on his website, and I thought it was worth sharing, for anyone who may care. I am responsible for the emphasis added through the use of boldface and italics.
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“The attack at Utøya was an attack on Norway’s future. This island has been the site of yearly political summer camps for socialist youth from all over the country for decades. Half of our Prime Ministers since WWII got part of their political schooling there.
Among the kids that were killed or survived the attack many were and are likely to become future leaders of our country. What they went through yesterday will be a backdrop to the rest of their lives and political careers. This experience will color politics in Norway for decades to come.
Had the perpetrator turned out to be a foreign fundamentalist group, the risk of a wave of hate would have been even greater.
It is now important that we find a way to react that can preserve our principles of democracy, openness and freedom, and refuse to let this turn us on the road to becoming a police state. All signs indicate that we will be able to build on our strengths and continue developing our democracy, humanism and multiculturalism.”
