May
19, 2016
The
last ride on Eurotour 2016: Helsinki – Joroinen. Dear Finland, you
have received us with a warm welcome: sunny spring weather and lots
of green around. We love you, Home!
Maybe
we feel a bit more European having been to so many European
countries. On the continent the marks of the not so distant past are
still present more vividly than in Scandinavia: the persecution and
murdering of the Jews as well as the division between the capitalist
West and the communist East. I hope we have become more aware of the
devastating outcomes of any dictatorial regime, like the Nazi or the
Communist governments. To avoid similar developments in the future,
we need to be cultured individuals. As Europeans we defend such great
values as equality of all men – even now that we face the challenge
of flooding refugees. Thanks to the trip we have gained a wider
perspective that we can retain in the head and the heart. Freely
quoting a renowned German-American historian Fritz Stern (died May
18, 2016), a Jew who had managed to escape the Nazis to the USA –
we should not take Western democracy for granted, we need to uphold
it actively.
Writing
this grateful for allt that I've seen and learned and felt, in my
body, soul and spirit.
Päivi
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