Election Day

The Norwegian parliamentary election is only two weeks away. But while most politicians are now busy bidding for votes, I've quietly made up my mind months ago as to what party will get my vote.

And it won't go to the highest bidder, I can assure you. I'm done with the game of who-can-dole-out-the-most-money-through-a-single-election promise. They all babble tirelessly and ruthlessly on about how wonderful our schools and our health system will become if only their party will get the majority. And as if they are the only ones qualified for the positions of power, they never let go of an opportunity to give their opponents a proper tongue-lashing for their presumed lack of competence. That's when I call it quits. That's when I turn off the television.

MONEY'S NOT ALL, YOU KNOW

Because the world runs on much more than money. To achieve healthy communities, you simply will have to do much more than just proposing ingenious ways of how to spend liberally on any given long-term political scheme. What about coughing up some really good policy ideas based on some really good values?

Our current government is made up of people of a generally secular orientation. This is not at all a new trend if you look at the European political arena, but to us Norwegians it's somewhat of a novelty to come across leading politicians who seem bent on treating public display of religious affiliation as an intolerable nuisance. They are, paradoxically, more than happy to parade their self-styled 'piety' publicly, by e.g attending State Church services every now and then, but once you confess the lordship of Jesus in their presence, that's when their faces turn red with annoyance and ire.

THE THREAT FROM THE SECULAR ELITE

Our former Education Minister, a certain Øystein Djupedal, is a sworn member of this new breed of secular-minded politicians. Well, pursuing a secular agenda is certainly no crime or inherent threat to society as non-believers are also quite capable of first-class policy-making, as well as first-class governance. In fact, being a Christian has proven time and again to be of no benefit whatsoever when brilliant intentions (policies) aren't followed up by equally brilliant execution. And, no, I wasn't specifically thinking about Mr. Bush in this context.

But Mr. Djupedal is willing to use his political clout in ways that send chills down my spine. An absolute believer in a unified school system, he is simultaneously quite unnervingly willing to eradicate the presence of any private school, be it religious our otherwise. While professing multicultural values as a definite boon to us all, he is more than just indicating that his party's aim is a school system in which absolute truths are banned absolutely.

LET'S KEEP RELIGION AT BAY, SHALL WE?

No school prayers. No Christmas school services. No saying of grace before meals. Nothing of the kind that can be construed as public proclamation of Christian dogmas. Better still, let's keep religious influence at an absolute minimum. That seems to be his political creed.

It doesn't seem to bother him at all that his party's policy annuls the right of parents to decide over their children's education. The State seems very much to be to Mr. Djupedal the vehicle by which his grand vision of the future should be implemented. And his vision is harrowingly akin to that of the old communist system in Russia. Religious values must be derided, discouraged and relegated to the private sphere.

Because the privilige of being able to tell kids in a classroom that there is a Saviour, and only one of the kind at that, seems to frighten Mr. Djupedal more than the spiralling growth of teen binge-drinking or street violence.

In the end, I don't want the right to force my religion on others, but I certainly don't want others to force their atheism down my throat either. So, I'm going to vote this time around as well. How about you?