Switzerland

Switzerland

A community portal about Switzerland with blogs, videos, and photos. According to Wikipedia.org: Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked alpine country in Central Europe. The country, which borders Germany to... [more]

A community portal about Switzerland with blogs, videos, and photos. According to Wikipedia.org: Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked alpine country in Central Europe. The country, which borders Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east, was historically a confederation, and has been a federation since 1848. Switzerland has a strong economy in finance and banking, and a long and strong tradition of political and military neutrality. This background allows Switzerland to host various international co-operations and organizations.

Honorary Residents of The Fifth Switzerland, perhaps?

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SOME OF YOU REGULAR READERS MAY RECALL MY PREVIOUS ITEM DISCUSSING A RUNNING GAG OF STAN FREBERG'S on his 1957 summer-replacement series over CBS Radio as referred to any and all foreigners as "Swiss" so as not to offend anybody, or so the thinking went--and imagining its possibilities as a way to deflate xenophobic egos here in a "morally superior" United States when it comes to immigration and racial issues.

(And speaking of The Stan Freberg Show, all 15 episodes' worth can be heard online thanks to The Old-Time Radio Network @ OTR.net, in case you're interested.

(IMHO, perhaps the best examples of the gag were in episode 11, where, in the opening routine, Our Host referred to his having "Swiss flu" as explained his feeling a bit poorly ... and in a parody of the Western dramas then popular on TV entitled "Bang Gunleigh, U.S. Marshall Fields," where a Mexican-sounding character named Pedro, as "materialises at the end of every episode" without any running story line, explains where he's Swiss when asked if he's Mexican.)

In any case, Your Correspondent has to wonder if this makes such targets of the gag honorary residents of "the Fifth Switzerland," as the Swiss themselves are fond of referring to Swiss Abroadi.e., the Swiss diaspora, as opposed to to the traditional geolinguistic divisions of Switzerland based on the four official languages thereof (French, German, Italian and Romanch).


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