Wokest nation in world is also among the happiest. What does that tell us?

This comes as no surprise to me because this past summer when “woke” was still among the most popular words in the lexicon of MAGA politicians and media personalities, I had an opportunity to travel outside the United States and see in-person how countries without a championship-caliber woke fighter like DeSantis cope with the terrible evils of wokeness.

One great example is the Netherlands. This is a country, like Florida, whose economy and identity are closely connected to water – the sea, lakes, canals and rivers. It is only slightly less populated than Florida, 17.5 million versus 22 million, although its physical size is about a quarter that of the Sunshine State, 16,000 square miles as opposed to 66,000.

Whatever physical similarities may exist between the two, however, I learned very quickly the similarities stopped there. Because if Florida is where woke goes to die, Netherlands is a place where woke seems to be thriving.

LGBTQ rights in the Netherlands rank among the highest in the world, including legalizing gay sexual activity in 1811 and making it easier for transgender people to change their gender on their birth certificate a decade ago.

With very few exceptions, the possession of all firearms, ammunition and other weapons is prohibited. Abortion is allowed at certified clinics and hospitals at any time between conception and viability, subject only to a five-day waiting period. And capital punishment is prohibited by the Dutch constitution. Additionally, prostitution is legal, although highly regulated.

Knowing that Netherlands could qualify as the poster child for wokeness, one might expect it to be a horrible place to visit, much less live. I found it to be just the opposite. Both in Amsterdam (perhaps the woke capital of the world) and the quaint neat villages and small cities throughout the country, I found the Netherlands to be picturesque and charming, with an extremely energetic population that uses bicycles as a primary mode of transportation.

Was this impression from my very brief visit an accurate assessment of life in the land of canals, windmills, flowers, beer, the tallest people in the world and liberal social policies? Can people really be content living in a land of woke?

Out of curiosity, I did a little research to see how Netherlands and Florida compare on some key quality of life statistical measures, and here is what I discovered.

The Netherlands has a much lower murder rate (0.7 per 100,000 population compared to 9.7 per 100,000), a lower suicide rate (10.8 vs 13.1 per 100,000), fewer drug overdoses (295 deaths as compared to more than 7,000), a longer lifespan (83 compared to 78), and higher per capita GDP ($73,000 vs. $63,000) than Florida.

And, not surprisingly, Netherlands is ranked the fifth happiest country in the world. (Ironically, the only place in Florida where people might be that happy is DeSantis’ woke nemesis, Disney World.)

If being woke is so horrible, why does a country like Netherlands rank so much higher on key quality of life issues than the state where woke goes to die? Maybe it is because elected representatives in so-called woke countries have greater respect for their constituents and focus their attention on true quality of life issues such as health care, climate change, renewable energy and the cost of living.

The term “woke” actually comes out of Black culture and means “being politically conscious and aware.” Using the actual definition of woke, as opposed to the right-wing alternative facts definition, I can see why the people in a woke country such as the Netherlands are healthier, more prosperous and happier than in some anti-woke countries (and states).

It is probably too early to declare anti-woke politics dead, but given the early disintegration of the DeSantis campaign, maybe even MAGA Republicans have begun to recognize that all the talk about “woke” has been nothing but a political hoax.

After teaching high school American history and government for 11 years, Lee Raudonis worked with Republican Paul Coverdell in the Georgia Senate and later with a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He also served as the executive director of the Georgia Republican Party in 1988.