Jante Law

As I was poking around on the internet today looking up some words I didn't understand from class (hoggorm means viper, rovdyr means predator and gaupe means lynx), I ran across something that really rang true with me in regards to Norwegians and their natural way of being.

Aksel Sandemose, a half Danish half Norwegian writer\poet created the idea of Jante's Law in his book En flyktning krysse sitt sporr (1933) or A fugitive crosses his tracks. Jante Law demands that people be modest and not 'think big'. Generally Norwegians try to see all people as being on equal footing. They do not flaunt their wealth or financial achievements and look askance at those who do.

The tenets of Jante Law are:

1. Du skal ikke tro at du er noe. You shall not believe that you are anyone (important).
2. Du skal ikke tro at du er like så meget som oss. You shall not believe that you are as good as us.
3. Du skal ikke tro at du er klokere enn oss. You should not believe that you are wiser than us.
4. Du skal ikke innbille deg du er bedre enn oss. You should not imagine that you are better than us.
5. Du skal ikke tro du vet mere enn oss. You should not believe that you know more than us.
6. Du skal ikke tro du er mere enn oss. You should not believe that you are more than us in any way.
7. Du skal ikke tro at du duger til noe. You should not believe that you are going to amount to anything.
8. Du skal ikke le av oss. You should not laugh at us.
9. Du skal ikke tro at noen bryr seg om deg. You should not believe that anyone cares about you.
10. Du skal ikke tro at du kan lære oss noe. You should not believe that you can teach us anything.

While I admire the underlying humility of the Law, I think this is a bit extreme. While it is important to be humble isn't it also healthy to believe that you are good at something? And that people care about you? And that you have something to offer?

The difference, in my opinion, is to yes believe that you are worth something but not that you worth more than others.