No better, nor worse than I

THIS COLUMN WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN WRITER’S BLOCK IN THE June 14, 2018 EDITION OF THE CHRONOTYPE, RICE LAKE, WISCONSIN.

Janteloven. The law of Jante. I am no better nor any worse than anyone else. This concept is generally used colloquially in Sweden and the rest of the Nordic countries as a sociological term to describe a condescending attitude towards individuality and success. The term refers to a mentality that de-emphasizes individual effort and places all emphasis on the collective, while discouraging those who stand out as achievers.

Sounds extremely un-American, right?

Taken from a book by the Danish author Aksel Sandemose, the concept suggests that the culture within Scandinavian countries discourages people from promoting their own achievements over those of others.

When reading the ten laws of Jante, it could be a humble mantra or slightly self-deprecating. They are: 1. You’re not to think you are anything special. 2. You’re not to think you are as good as we are. 3. You’re not to think you are smarter than we are. 4. You’re not to imagine yourself better than we are. 5. You’re not to think you know more than we do. 6. You’re not to think you are more important than we are. 7. You’re not to think you are good at anything. 8. You’re not to laugh at us. 9. You’re not to think anyone cares about you. 10. You’re not to think you can teach us anything.

Though it may sound harsh, particularly to our very American ears, the practice of Janteloven was explained differently to me from a 5th generation Danish-American. It means the conduction of greatness does not rely solely on the limits of the self. There is always more to learn, more ways to grow. It embodies the infinite and takes the responsibility of achievement and disperses it amongst the support. Because really no one has achieved greatness alone. There is always a support team, no matter how indirectly associated, one can usually find the bodies that helped. We constantly inspire each other.

As James Bryce, British ambassador to the U.S. (1907–13), wrote in The American Commonwealth, “Individualism, the love of enterprise, and the pride in personal freedom have been deemed by Americans not only their choicest, but [their] peculiar and exclusive possession.”

I’d like to think that humankind should exist somewhere in the realm of always wanting to know more with the freedom to pursue it, but not at the expenditure or exploitation of anyone else’s worth.