When you arrive in Uruguay the first thing you’ll notice—on top of the natural beauty of the land—is it has a certain sophisticated, yet laid-back, relaxed vibe. If you’ve been to Uruguay, you’ll know the feeling.
Some say it’s the result of a docile climate—no snowstorms, earthquakes, hurricanes or other outbursts of the angry Gods.
It could be the modern approach of respect for all religions that’s been in place here for years. Many years ago, Uruguay separated church and state and opened their arms to peoples of all creeds, decreeing that no one would “Lord” it over another—so although all religions are respected, there is no official one, nor is there a religious presence in the state (secular) schools.
They even refer to Easter week as Tourism Week. One wonderful Jewish international lawyer commented to me the other day, “Uruguay is the most morally tolerant country in the world. There has never been an instance of anti-Semitism and it’s the only country I know of where the president announced on National Television that he was an agnostic.
” Maybe it’s the humble, friendly people that contribute to the laid-back vibe here. Uruguayans never tend to show-off. They say the difference between a Uruguayan and Argentine in Punta del Este is that the former own a house smaller than they can afford, while the Argentine has a much bigger one.
In fact the current president, Tabare Vazquez and the former three presidents, Batlle, Sanguinetti, and Lacalle are all well educated, well informed, they all speak excellent French or English, and in general the type of person one would love to have at an interesting dinner party or international gathering of movers and shakers.
Sarmiento, the famous educator and patriot of Argentina once said “you can judge the degree of civilization of a people by the social position of women”. Well women didn’t have to burn their bras in Uruguay to gain attention for their rights. They were granted the unilateral right to divorce without the necessity of giving a reason in 1908 and voting rights in 1917 (before the USA). Women, to put it bluntly, have pretty much ruled the roost ever since.
Right now, women head the Ministries of Defence, Public Safety (police), Culture and Education, and Health. Also noteworthy is that in the free educational system’s two favorite disciplines, law and medicine, one third more women than men graduate (with more graduates percentage-wise than Italy or Japan). The frosting on the cake is that Uruguayan women are not even aware of how lucky they are compared to other women around the world nor are the men resentful.
http://www.olauruguay.com/2009/03/27/feel-good-uruguay
Some say it’s the result of a docile climate—no snowstorms, earthquakes, hurricanes or other outbursts of the angry Gods.
It could be the modern approach of respect for all religions that’s been in place here for years. Many years ago, Uruguay separated church and state and opened their arms to peoples of all creeds, decreeing that no one would “Lord” it over another—so although all religions are respected, there is no official one, nor is there a religious presence in the state (secular) schools.
They even refer to Easter week as Tourism Week. One wonderful Jewish international lawyer commented to me the other day, “Uruguay is the most morally tolerant country in the world. There has never been an instance of anti-Semitism and it’s the only country I know of where the president announced on National Television that he was an agnostic.
” Maybe it’s the humble, friendly people that contribute to the laid-back vibe here. Uruguayans never tend to show-off. They say the difference between a Uruguayan and Argentine in Punta del Este is that the former own a house smaller than they can afford, while the Argentine has a much bigger one.
In fact the current president, Tabare Vazquez and the former three presidents, Batlle, Sanguinetti, and Lacalle are all well educated, well informed, they all speak excellent French or English, and in general the type of person one would love to have at an interesting dinner party or international gathering of movers and shakers.
Sarmiento, the famous educator and patriot of Argentina once said “you can judge the degree of civilization of a people by the social position of women”. Well women didn’t have to burn their bras in Uruguay to gain attention for their rights. They were granted the unilateral right to divorce without the necessity of giving a reason in 1908 and voting rights in 1917 (before the USA). Women, to put it bluntly, have pretty much ruled the roost ever since.
Right now, women head the Ministries of Defence, Public Safety (police), Culture and Education, and Health. Also noteworthy is that in the free educational system’s two favorite disciplines, law and medicine, one third more women than men graduate (with more graduates percentage-wise than Italy or Japan). The frosting on the cake is that Uruguayan women are not even aware of how lucky they are compared to other women around the world nor are the men resentful.
http://www.olauruguay.com/2009/03/27/feel-good-uruguay
No comments:
Post a Comment