An imaginary war

I’ve done a lot of walking recently, and that has given me a lot of time to listen to audio books. Now I’m listening to a great book by Norwegian author and satirist Knut Nærum called WAR! (KRIG!). I really enjoy this book. The main storyline is that Norway declares a war towards the Netherlands, and the root of the conflict is a Norwegian skater hindering a Dutch skater from winning the World Championships! The book reveals how hate is built through the big and small occurrences that changes the way we think and act. It’s incredibly funny, but at the same time thought-provoking, because you can’t think of two peoples with more things in common than the Norwegians and the Dutch. I’ve experienced it again and again. When I meet Dutch people it feels like meeting someone from the next village or town here in Norway. It’s usually very easy to meet, and there are few cultural obstacles in the conversation. Usually we enjoy visiting each others countries, and we have a lot of the same values. In this book the harmony between our countries is daily challenged by little things, and throughout the audio book the listener is little by little manipulated into hating parts of Dutch culture as well :). The author describes so well what happens when we give room for prejudice and hate. The book describes a situation where Norway is manipulated into a meaningless war with a friendly ally. A skater, a comedian, journalists and secret agents are involved in building up hate and prejudice against the Dutch. I definitely think the description of the process is close to the truth, and in this way satire is a powerful weapon to expose and reveal how meaningless a lot of today’s conflicts are.