Switzerland: Model of political wisdom for the whole world

reply to post by sodom


Ich bin en Agglozürcher, wohne im Grüene und schaffe z Züri. Kei Angscht, bin kein typische Zürcher. Han Familie in Bern und Basel

I'm from the outskirts of Zürich, I live in the green and work in Zürich. Don't worry, I'm not a typical Zürich-guy; I have family in Bern and Basel


Kromsson, where are you from?

On Topic:
It looks like Winterthur will be the place where the Club of Rome will set up tent. See here and here (text in German). I'd very much like to know what influence they have on our politics...

Its not all a bed of Roses, parts of Geneva are a #hole and a friend of mine was mugged there.

Es isch echli komisch Schwiizertütsch uf ATS z'läse, aber meh muess ebe mit allem gwaffnet sii.

It's weird reading Swiss german on ATS, but you have to be prepared for everything.


Let me just add my 2 cents about the seemingly tolerant lifestyle and neutral (foreign) politics; you have to remember that our country's seeds were planted over 700 years ago. Our ancestors were so bold to kick out Austrian royalty (the Habsburger*), which attracted others to join in. Their purpose wasn't victory in defeat but rather defense, securing their land of the oppressor and live in peace with each other.

Now, this gives an entirely different base of a political system where the laws and policies are geared towards the well-being of the people and not the state. Sure, there were restrictions but we are talking about the Dark Ages and nobody had it lovey-dovey then, right?

An interesting fact most people forget is that our soldiers used to fight each other in the name of our neighboring countries/kingdoms since there was no need for them to divide and conquer in the name of Switzerland. In return we had to declare ourselves neutral being surrounded by the strongest forces of Europe, but we managed to stay on our own, successfully.

Earlier in the thread it was mentioned, we looked away when the Nazis pooped all over Europe. From what I can gather, the Federal Constitution from 1848 sealed the deal on our neutrality which prevents other countries from invading us. There were plans, though but they failed miserably.

Also, it's hard for me to pinpoint the Swiss mentality. I wasn't raised entirely here, which makes me kind of a cheat, but judging from the fact that we have to learn at least three languages in school, are so close to other countries and that we have so many people of other nationalities and cultures among us, gives us a broad perspective already, accepting differences in cutlure from an early age on.

I say this because I used to live in the US and unless you live in a larger city at either coast, you don't have much variety of culture to choose from, not even on television.

*BTW, their name-giving castle is still on our soil.

[edit on 6/11/08 by blue dome]

reply to post by blue dome


Indeed political neutrality does not equal "looking away", it just means not getting involved in the BS the rest of the world feels the need to get involved in.

This is an excerp from switzerland.isyours.com...

But did Switzerland have any other choice? Probably not. Totally surrounded by the Axis, most of its coal supply came from Germany every week, and all of its exports had to go through Axis controlled territory. For a landlocked country with no natural resources, this meant the Swiss had to work out some form of accomodation with their neighbors. The problem is that the postwar generations have been raised to believe that it was the Swiss army, and not the country’s usefulness to the Germans, that protected it from the wrath of war. The Swiss are now coming to terms with this part of their history, as for example the people of France and Japan have. As a foreigner, it is best to avoid passing judgment on them and giving lessons, at the risk of offending your hosts.

What a pleasant surprise, it looks like there are a lot of Swiss people here on ATS.

I think it was not only our "usefulness" to the Reich that prevented the invasion; invasion would have been terribly costy and bombing us into submission would have served nobody in the end. I think it was a lucky mixture of several factors that spared us a dire fate.