Calandrella

Swedish star blogger.

Get It Try It

'More and more people refuse to accept helplessness against the political powers that be', wrote Rick Falkvinge on New Years Eve 2008. 'Instead they're talking of hope. One of them is Calandrella who has become a star blogger. The entire civil rights movement is a generation issue where the dinosaurs in the parliament don't understand what they're inflicting on others.'

'There is hope - but there's still a feeling of helplessness', writes Calandrella herself on the same day. 'And I'm not a pessimist. I believe the Pirate Party can win seats in the EU parliament next year. My feeling of helplessness comes from two factors. The first is that politicians didn't listen much to the citizens (who communicate through blogs and email) in 2008. The other is a more personal reason. I don't have much chance to influence things.

But why not? Calandrella's blog is a work of art. Her writing is meticulous. Sometimes a formal language one might readily associate with kanslisvenska. Her thoughts are deep, multifaceted, and strikingly honest.

Calandrella is only 13 years old.



'I'm only 13 years old but I still want to be able to have an influence over how this country and the European Union are managed. It's disappointing to get involved in politics but not have a real chance to change anything. Should we lower the voting age? Eh. No matter what I think about equality we can hardly let infants vote. We need to draw a line somewhere. But where? This is a difficult question. There's hardly a scientific threshold where everyone is mature enough to independently assess arguments and opinions instead of just voting like one's parents.'

And so it goes. Calandrella's views in a nutshell:

• Free knowledge is a good thing.
• Gender should never make a difference.
• We have to do something about the climate.
• We have to even out the gap between the rich and the poor.
• War never solves anything.
• Personal integrity must be protected.
• Democracy is the best form of government.
• Generalisations and statistics are rather insipid, as least when they're about people.
• Copyright law should be reformed.

Calandrella's blog is in Swedish with but a small section in English referring to Google translation services. But maybe the latter can suffice. Rarely has a mind like hers been seen anywhere at any time in any age.

See Also
Calandrella's Blog