Finnland
Johnny Jones, May 1987
What is the only European nation to share a common border with the USSR in 1939 yet remain independent today? Finland.
"Finland is the toughest of the Scandinavian countries. It is tough in both senses of the word: resilient and difficult." This tough-mindedness sets their small nation apart from practically everyone else in the world. Finns possess "sisu" - a mixture of courage, perseverance and stamina, with a pinch of stubbornness.
How did the Finns develop these qualities? Not as the result of an easy life. Denmark ruled Finland in the 1300's. Sweden took over from them in the 1500's, then Russia from the Swedes in the 1700's. Not until 1917, when the Russians were busy with their own revolution, did Finland become a free and independent nation.
Civil War immediately broke out in Finland, with "whites" favoring independence and "reds" favoring continuing union with Russia. The whites were victorious and by 1920 the Finnish borders were established.
But independence came with a price tag; it seems for the Finns, nothing comes easy. Finland borrowed money from America after World War I to keep their people from starving.
One-tenth of Finland is water, so many poor fishermen made a living on the lakes. For example, Lauri Rapula was born in 1907 in great poverty. For 21 years he lived with his wife, and eventually seven children, in a one-room cabin. Wars and war debts were financed, not out of abundance, but in spite of great need.
Regardelss of the non-aggression pact Finland signed with the USSR in 1932, a great horde of Russians invaded Finland in 1939, using the distraction of World War II to regain their lost prize. Finns, with their sisu, asked, "So many Russians. Where will we bury them all?"
Their Viking ancestors must have inspired the courage of those Finns fighting the Russians for their country. That winter the temperature often dropped to 40 below, a point at which the shock from even a minor wound can prove fatal. The Finns developed an "invisible wall" of ski troops dressed in white. These Finnish soldiers struck the Russians, then faded into the vast landscape of drifting snow.
In spite of their sacrifice and their 100 days of resistance, the Finns were forced to cede large parts of their eastern lands to Russia in 1940.
Finland joined with the Germans shortly afterwards, hoping for help in regaining their lost territory. In 1941, with German assistance, the Finns pushed the Russians out of the occupied zones and back into Soviet territory.
But the tide of war turned again. In 1944 the Soviets recaptured their original prize. In the last bitter blow, the Russians insisted that Finns throw the Germans out of the country. The Germans, in a rearguard action, burned virtually every structure in over 38,000 acres of Finnish Lapland as they went.
By 1945 the Finns, not ever having been blessed with prosperity, were left with war debts to repay to both sides, with 7% of their population killed in the fighting, and with almost a half million people dispossessed. People like the Hasunen family had to decide whether to be "resettled" by the USSR, or to leave everything to start over in a smaller Finland. With a heavy
heart he and about 425,000 others abandoned beloved family farms and homes and fled west to freedom.
What was the response of his impoverished fellow countrymen? Was it, "We have our own troubles; you make your way?" No. "The Finns in that hour became as one. With scarcely a dissenting voice they levied a special tax on themselves to provide for their countrymen." As Winston Churchill said, "Finland alone - in danger of death, superb, sublimb, Finland - shows what free men can do."
This true story shows democracy at its most inspiring and decent. Cynics say a government by the people can't work. Our Founding Fathers thought otherwise. They believed in the ability of an informed citizenry to do what's right, not just what's easy. They believed ordinary people could rise above self-centeredness with their vote.
This attitude is found in Philippians 2:4: "And look out for one another's interests, not just for your own." In a democracy we have the opportunity to look out for one another with our ballot. I'm thankful I live in a country that affords me the privilege of deciding to help my neighbor with my vote.
That's why I'll vote "yes," June 7: Not because I like paying taxes, but because I love children - yours as well as mine. Let's be like the Finns: tough, even when it costs something. Let's look beyond our own interests, our own pocketbook, to what's best for the children of our school district. Let's show democracy can work: we can decide for a tax, not just against it. We can show sisu by passing a tax increase in this time of need.
Quotes and information on Finland from National Geographic's Finland, 1968, and Fodor's Scandinavia 1988.
