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Om et par dager er det 17. mai, og i den anledning ønsker jeg å dele en artig historie fra da jeg gikk i 4. klasse:
På skolen var det sånn at annethvert år var det frivillig om vi ville gå i 17. mai-toget. Det vil si at i første klasse var det obligatorisk, i annen klasse frivillig og så videre. I fjerde klasse var det altså frivillig, og et par dager før nasjonaldagen spurte klasseforstanderen oss om vi skulle melde oss frivillig som tributter gå i toget.
«Najaaa, ehhh, kanskje… Naaai…» Dere vet, typisk fjerdeklassing-svar, men det var i hvert fall tydelig at ingen av oss egentlig hadde så fryktelig lyst til å stå opp i otta for å tråkke gatelangs og vifte med flagg hvis vi kunne slippe det.
Da smalt det fra læreren vår: «ER DERE IKKE GLADE FOR Å BO I ET FRITT LAND?!»
Vel, alt hvad fedrene har kjempet og mødrene har grett, så vi vant vår rett til å tilbringe hele nasjonaldagen til sengs med Netflix og kake, som er min faste tradisjon for 17. mai. Lenge leve friheten til å gjøre hva man vil i et fritt land.
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In a couple of days, it will be the 17th of May (Norwegian Constitution Day), and on that occasion, I wish to share with you a funny story from when I was in fourth grade. But first, for those unfamiliar with the Norwegian Constitution Day: Elementary schools participate in parades all over Norway. In Oslo, the schools parade to the royal castle for the kids to wave their flags to the royal family. (You can read more in this Wikipedia article.)
At my school, we had a system where every second year, it would be voluntary to participate in the parade. I.e. in first grade, it was mandatory, in second grade, it was voluntary et cetera. So, in fourth grade, it was voluntary, and a couple of days before the Constitution Day, our teacher asked us if we were going to volunteer as tributes participate in the parade.
«Naaaah, ehhh, maybe… Naaay…» You know, the usual fourth-graders’ answer, but it was obvious that we weren’t too keen on getting up at the crack of dawn to trudge the length of the streets and wave flags if we could avoid it.
From our teacher came fuss and fume: «ARE YOU NOT HAPPY THAT YOU LIVE IN A FREE COUNTRY?!»
Well, all the fights fathers have fought, and the mothers have wept, so we won our rights to stay in bed all Constitution Day with Netflix and cake, which is my tradition for the 17th of May. Long live the freedom to do whatever one wants in a free country.