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How the Netherlands became a bad country
Translated from Dutch. View the original post
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Compared to the euphoria of 15 million people, the Netherlands has become a grumpy country.
“Land of a thousand opinions, land of sobriety.” That's already not right anymore. There may be a handful of opinions left, you have angry right and upset left, and in between the land of fifty shades of gray, ranging from light to dark between cheerful indifference and an equally general “unease”.
“All together on the beach, rusks at breakfast.”
All of them yes, despite corona. This whole corona thing, we're too sober for that.. To the beach, the park, the forest. Normal people don't get that hard with the foot and a half and all, we're not gonna let the head go crazy.
“The land where no one lets go, unless we win.”
Not only do we not win that often anymore, we prefer to let ourselves go all the time. The Netherlands is addicted to party, normally. It could be a reason why the corona task is only moderate: we have fallen into our souls. That soul is a beer, the Toppers, the hands into the air.
“Then the passion breaks loose, then no man stays inside.”
The economist and Green Columnist Ewald Engelen sees neoliberalism as the main culprit of the — all — problems. In his essay Awaak! he wonders how it is possible that all kinds of marginalised groups continue to vote stubbornly on parties that harm them. It is indeed a big mystery why, for example, in municipalities in the Groningen earthquake area in the last elections, the VVD became the largest, the same VVD that leaves these citizens in the cold. Even more unimaginable is the popularity of the Forum for Democracy, which wants to continue gas extraction at full speed.
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