Most of the articles we have read so far this semester, while being educational were lacking in the department of entertainment. Reading a ten page article took more willpower and energy than writing an actual ten page paper. Instead of trying to comprehend the meaning of the article, finding the author’s point and arguments; it took all my strength to just get through the piece with the vaguest understanding of the main point. This wasn’t the case with Michael Lewis’s article. It may have helped his case that the piece was on an interesting current and relevant topic, the collapse of the Iceland economic system as well as its government. But what Lewis brought to his piece, that the past authors ignored was humor and simple, everyman language. I didn’t need a dictionary in one hand with the article placed in the other. It’s an amazing thing when writers realize that they don’t have to use big words and complex writing that hides their meaning within a maze of a paper. The best, most educational articles that people walk away from with the feeling of actually learning something new, are the ones written with no desire to be anything more than they are. I felt as if Lewis was talking to me about this every complex situation in a way that I and even my little sister could understand. It was new and refreshing; a welcomed change.
To the actual context of the article… “We are Iceland” was a fascinating look at what has occurred in the almost forgot country of Iceland in the past few years. From the ranks of the lost and unimportant, to having a booming economy with outsiders looking in on this unknown land and culture. After reaching an unimaginable peak with the rapid expansion of their banking system, Iceland reached the depths of horror when they become the center of the “greatest act of madness in financial history.” What’s amazing isn’t that these former fishermen with no financial experience and barely any financial knowledge began making millions, what’s amazing is that no one questioned it. Sometimes - most of the time, when something seems too good to be true, usually is. It seemed like everyone in Iceland became that wife whose husband suddenly starts spoiling her with jewelry, trying to hide his on-going affair. They ignore their instincts because the jewels were just too pretty to give up. I get that they experiences wealth that they never even imaged, but didn’t they realize that it wasn’t going to last forever and when it did finally all fall apart, it wasn’t going to be worth all the previous joys?
One of the reasons why they refused to hear-out and consider the criticism might have been due to their unbelievable desire for individualism. Even when the outside just wanted to help, they refuse to hear out their reasoning; whether due to anger, mistrust or even jealousy. For a country with so limited knowledge in the field of finance, to turn a back on the masses amount of people who tried to warn them of their inevitable future; it just seems so stupid and almost immature. When it seems like everyone but you agrees on something, they are probably right.
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