I wrote previously that we felt like we lived in a technologically advanced country that had the social feel of 1960. Oddly enough, I am not the only person that feels that way.
New Friends
Denise was introduced to two expats via Facebook that moved to Portugal from Texas a few weeks after us. The couple took time to visit us in Cascais just over a week ago and the four of us had a wonderful time. So when we were planning our trip to Lisbon, last Wednesday, we reached out to them to join us. During our day in Lisbon, we decided to stop at El Corte Inglés, a very large shopping center as I had been told I could find the brand of walking shoe (Hoka) I prefer. As we walked through the store, I commented to Becky that it felt like shopping in an upscale department store 30 years ago. The racks and displays were impeccably merchandised and helpful sales personnel are stationed everywhere. “That’s it! That’s exactly it,” she exclaimed. “I feel that too.”
I found it odd, that this was the second time in two days that someone had this shared observation. (Frankly, it is odd for any two people to agree with me on anything in just 48 hours…but I digress…) You see, the day before, I was golfing with a Swede in the “Ladies Day” event. When I asked her why she moved to Portugal (granted she returns to Sweden in the summer months) she responded, “There are a lot of reasons. But mostly it is the peace. I feel so safe here. It is like Sweden 30 years ago.”
Surprising Response
Frankly, I was shocked by her comment. I thought the Nordic countries always were on the top of the World Happiness Index. When I came home, I actually “googled” it:
In late March, the United Nations published the 2020 World Happiness Report, a comprehensive look at what makes the most contented countries work so well. For the seventh year in a row, the Nordic nations of Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden dominated the top ten.
I explained to Maria, my golfing partner, that American news is almost exclusively about the States. And as such, I was surprised to find that she didn’t feel safe in Sweden. She then said three things that shocked me:
It is much safer here in Portugal. This is like Sweden was when I was growing up.
All news is that way…our news is only about our country too.
And, of course, much of what you hear on the news is just made up.
Fake News
I read enough to know that the prior administration did not create the concept of “fake news”. However, I was stunned to hear a Swede say these things. Then today, after another round of golf, I was parking my electric bike in the basement parking area and ran into our neighbor. Warner is German and probably 10-15 years older than us. I mentioned how shocked I was by Maria’s comment. He nodded and said, “Well I agree with her. All the news is made up.”
How sad…how did we get to this place?
Is wholesale distrust of the media our second pandemic?
Does anyone else miss Walter Cronkite?
In the U.S. what changed the news industry began with Congress’s approval of the 1996 Telecommunications Act which resulted in broadcasting company mergers and acquisitions to the point where local TV and radio station programming and messaging would became controlled by media conglomerates.
According to Wikipedia, in 1984, fifty independent media companies owned the majority of media interests within the United States. By 2011, 90% of the United States's media was controlled by six media conglomerates: GE/Comcast (NBC, Universal), News Corp (Fox News, Wall Street Journal, New York Post), Disney (ABC, ESPN, Pixar), Viacom (MTV, BET, Paramount Pictures), Time Warner (CNN, HBO, Warner Bros.), and CBS (Showtime, NFL.com).
We feel safe in Canada too. The rise of violence and mistrust is palpable however. I have not been to Portugal but look forward to that day! I have been to New Zealand and found it to be much like you describe Portugal. There really are beautiful
Places and beautiful people throughout the world! Stay well!!!