King's Speech: The Worst Is Yet To Come
Speech to the throne: The land is broken
Dear members of the States General, Some insights come gradually. We are forced to do others by force. And sometimes — and these are perhaps the most valuable insights — the inspiration for a new perspective comes from all sides at once. This year, the latter has been mentioned. We have come to an insight that requires action. Radical action, that is. That's why this year, no more empty phrases, no quotes from dear historians who should appease you with an idea of the relativity of everything. If we want to open with a quote, let it be Bertolt Brecht who wrote that nothing covers the crimes of the possessive class as much as their improbability.
Because unlikely in the sense of unimaginable, it is absolute, the reality of the Netherlands in 2022. We have set up a system that has made many Dutch people poorer than they should be. The uneven (and we would like to add: the inappropriate) distribution of prosperity has also meant that the Netherlands has almost completely lost its direction. Bread and Games Let us briefly consider that, on this special Tuesday: what kind of country did we actually become? We hang together like loose sand, because the national identity of our country lives like a distant ghost in our memories. What do we need to feel that necessary connection, to feel proud to be Dutch again, proud enough to raise our flag high and not hang upside down or want to trade for the flag of our ancestors?
The ancient Romans mentioned bread and games as elements for a satisfied society. There is no shortage of play in the Netherlands. For hockey, football and car racing, we put ourselves in the national color, and when our boys and girls win, we lean against each other with wet eyes. However, that euphoria does not alter the fact that too many of us are starving. And it doesn't change the fact that bread has long since turned out to be much more important than playing
