Lögberg-Heimskringla - 17.03.1995, Blaðsíða 10

10 • Lögberg-Heimskringia • Föstudagur 17. mars 1995 .
An American Visits lceland y Cont’d.
Left to ríght: Jón Benjamínsson (cousin), Ásta Björnsdóttir (cousin), Thora
Ásgeirson du Bois, and Grímur Björnsson (cousin)
idea of Iceland as a treeless country
was dispelled by first hand observa-
tion. Trees both indigenous and
imported are everywhere to be seen.
Purists like Thora’s cousin Björn
Björnson deplore the planting of
imported varieties because they alter
the original character of the country.
To retain it he favours planting only
the small indigenous birch, a small tree
as much a shrub as a tree.
Family Bonding and
lcelandic Democracy
celand is the world’s oldest
democracy. Unlike American
democracy it has a firm commit-
ment to socialism in the area of social
needs and guarantees. Our cousin
Björn Björnson, a professor at the
University of Reykjavík, told us that
genealogy was the “national sport” of
Iceland. Support of each other in the
area of social needs may be connect-
ed to a national passion for genealo-
gy. An obsession to know how you
connect to relatives and to common
ancestors seems related to the high
value Icelanders place on family and
community.
Over the years I have spent many
drawn out evenings with Thora’s
Icelandic family in Canada. It took
me years to realize that the underly-
ing agenda was a kind of family
“bonding”. Before going to Iceland I
had no idea where it came from, that
it was not unique to her family, but is
part of Icelandic culture as a whole.
Family members come together to
talk, eat, and to interact, yet the
underlying agenda is “bonding”.
Towards the last of our visit to
Iceland we spent an evening at the
home of Thora’s cousin, Grímur
Björnson. Every member of the family
is musically literate. All joined to sing
Icelandic songs in four part harmony.
It was a memorable and beautiful
experience. To sing that well is testa-
ment to many practice sessions and to
“family bonding”.
In addition to short term “bond-
ing” sessions, it is a custom in Iceland
to have an extended family gathering
approximately every four to ten years
at the maximum. This may involve
200-300 relatives, a great deal of plan-
ning, and continue for several days.
The reunion is to enjoy each others
company, to reinforce a sense of
belonging, to solidify family ties, and
to “bond”. The importance of family
accounts in my view for the unques-
tioned support of national health
care, and every other social support
program, as being the only natural
and rational way to educate, raise,
and support each other. Iceland
appears to be a country in which the
well being of the greatest number is a
principle of government. Politicians
and politics seem ruled by a mind set
that is civilized as well as spiritual.
Cousin Grímur explained that
Iceland has no Army or Navy. Hitler
considered Icelanders to be ideal
Aryans, but would have killed all
Jews, handicapped, and aged persons,
i.e. those who could not work. British
air power protected Iceland from
German planes and thus German
occupation. Icelanders are in debt to
both British and American military
power for allowing them to continue
as an independent nation, and as a
peaceful and loving people — a kind
of Shang-Gri-La of the North. With
no military of its own, some
Icelanders served in the U.S. military
or Merchant Marine.
Until recently a kind of moral and
ethical education for children could
be observed. War toys and films
depicting violence were not allowed
in the country; however there is little
objection to nudity. Today the desire
for profits from the sale and rental of
video tapes and war toys have
replaced former restrictions. We are
left to ponder their effects on a coun-
try without military forces, and where
young children until recently played
only with toys that fostered positive,
constructive, and co-operative activi-
ties.
The lowest income for an Icelandic
worker is 60-70 Krónur, or about
$857 (U.S.). A church minister makes
much more, and business tycoons
make unknown profits. Corruption
and inequity are present, yet the ratio
of highest to lowest is estimated to
not be more than one to ten.
Thoughts on the Religion
of Odin
eligious freedom is guaranteed,
yet I was surprised to learn that
the state religion is Lutheran
(evangelical). The government pays
the salaries of ministers and to some
extent the repair and maintenance
expenses of all Lutheran churches. I
was told by a retired bishop, one of
Thora’s many relatives, that those
who practice alternate religions are
not obligated to pay taxes for the sup-
port of the state church.
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Continued on page 11
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