Hard to find anything funny these days. But once in a while, I find something that really tickles my funny bone.
Some of you might get a kick out of it. Here’s where I found it. And why it was so funny.
On Dec. 11, I was online when I came across a Washington Post article that included one of the funniest responses I’ve read in a long time. It was written by Sture Stahle, a Swedish man. Don’t ask me how to pronounce his name.
Stahle has a Facebook page. It’s written in Swedish, but his posts include English translations. His response to a Washington Post article about Zohran Mamdani, a self described socialist who is emerging as a political figure in New York City, was written in English and framed as a warning about the “terror” America could face as a result of his election.¹; ² In the post, Stahle sarcastically imagines Americans “ending up looking a tiny bit like those nightmarish Nordic countries,” including Sweden, Norway and Finland, countries routinely ranked among the freest societies on Earth.³ He writes that such an outcome would be “just dreadful.”
He goes on to imagine “the horror” if the United States became a place where people are not bankrupted by medical bills, where murder rates are far lower, and where families in expensive cities actually have a chance to make ends meet.
4; 5
Stahle continues that if rent control or public grocery options gave working families even a small amount of breathing room, America might end up with lower poverty rates, longer life expectancy, safer streets and functioning public services. He calls that outcome “utterly unthinkable.”
All of this satire comes from a man living in one of the places America once aspired to resemble after the American Revolution in 1776.
Quit laughing. Until the United States resolves these issues, it will not come close to ranking among the freest nations on Earth, including Sweden, Norway, Finland and several others consistently ranked at the top.
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American unemployment is at a four year high, according to federal data.
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On the economy and cost of living, surveys show many Americans feel they are falling behind financially despite overall economic growth.
Health care access and affordability remain among the most urgent social issues in the country, with millions unable to afford or obtain necessary care.
Housing prices have risen sharply since the pandemic, while rental affordability continues to worsen.
A 2025 Gallup survey found that 64 percent of Americans believe racism against Black Americans is widespread, the highest level recorded.¹¹ On immigration, Gallup reports that a record share of Americans now say immigration is good for the country, while support for reducing immigration has declined.¹² Wealth and income inequality remain stark, with the top 1 percent holding roughly one third of private wealth and poverty rates for Black, Latino and Native households more than double those of white households.¹³ I’m not laughing anymore. Are you?
1 Washington Post, political coverage WashingtonPost.com
2 Sture Stahle Facebook page Facebook.com
3 Freedom rankings, World Population Review / Freedom House WorldPopulationReview.com FreedomHouse.org
4 Health care affordability, Commonwealth Fund CommonwealthFund.org
5 U.S. homicide rates, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC.gov
6 Global freedom rankings, Freedom House; Freedom-House.org 7 U.S. unemployment data, Bureau of Labor Statistics; BLS. gov
8 Economic sentiment and cost of living, Pew Research Center PewResearch.org
9 Health care access, Kaiser Family Foundation; KFF.org
10 Housing prices and affordability, Zillow Research; Zillow.
com
11 Racism perception survey, Gallup; Gallup.com 12 Immigration attitudes, Gallup; Gallup.com
13 Wealth inequality, Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances; FederalReserve.gov Jodie Sinclair is an award-winning writer who holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and resides in Bandera.
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