A country's dignity rarely reveals itself in its palaces. You're more likely to find it in a room everyone needs to visit sooner or later. On the edge of a cliff overlooking the Aurlandsfjord, at the Stegastein viewpoint, stands a small building with a large window. Inside, visitors can gaze out across the water. From outside, nobody can see in. Giving people a spectacular view without exposing them is an art the Norwegians have mastered even when building toilets. In Washington, that art has apparently gone out of fashion. Admission is free. In 2015, an architecture website ranked this toilet No. 1 on its list of the world's 10 most beautiful public restrooms. And that brings us to Norway's answer to the president of the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Sunday, October 25, Donald Trump stood before his supporters in Port Huron, Michigan, and declared: \"Norway has become a shithouse country, actually.\" What had Norway done to deserve this? The answer goes back a few weeks. In early October, the Nobel Peace Prize went to international jurist Navi Pillay. Trump had claimed the prize for himself and repeatedly questioned whether the Norwegian Nobel Committee would ever award it to him. The fact that the committee operates independently of the government in Oslo has done little to restrain his language. A bruised ego doesn't care who's responsible. It simply goes looking for the biggest available target, even if that means an entire country. Of course, a prize you publicly demand is already lost before the committee even meets. Peace is hard to impose. Apparently, so is getting an award for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n