I have had a long relationship with a family in the Netherlands, as I was an exchange student there in 1960. I visited again in summer of 2003. Life is prosperous, but too much uniformity for me. Even though my contemporary has done graduate work in history, neither she nor anyone else is thinking. she seemed very surprised that I have my own confident thoughts, but I am PhD, and that is my job. These people with their own proud history and culture are trying to keep their identity while being European. American umbrella of protection is getting oppressive, I think. Then there is the bit about hedonism. that has never been the most respected philisophy, but that is what they are pushing. It seemed to me that people lacked meaning in life. It was summer and they all rode bikes.
the things I would change is to privatize the media and withdraw American troops so they have to think about their own defense. Welfare makes people babies, as you say, and NATO has become a kind of welfare.
I doupt you would find that uniformity there any longer, as in the 60´s. They have gone way to far into multiculturalism and completely failed to assimilate the countless immigrants (mostly muslims) they have imported to their old capitalistic, rich land.
Although not knowing enough about Holland/the Netherlands I would guess they have less welfare system than here in the nordic countries or many other European countries, due to their old richness and long tradition of capitalism and Calvinism. Am I right about that in your opinion?
Of course they are trying to keep their identity, but the EU wants to destroy their national identity and replace it with a European identity, this pan-Europeanism is the basis for the EU.
Pleace explain to me better what you mean by their inability to have confident thoughs? Are they not thinking at all about social issues or only according to political correct thinking or opposed to your views?
It is one of the mantra of the Euronationalists/Pan-Europeanists that the US is oppressing and a evil empire and thats way the EU needs to challange it as a single country with better economy and later as a better military. I and other right wingers in many European countries oppose that and trust the US better than the Brussel powers.
Hopefully the US will not leave us on the mercy of the Brussel powers, but rather ally us in building our own nations as independent units again with their own military and independence, participating freely in the cooperative allience of NATO.
People are lacking a meaning to life because of breakdown of cultural norms and christian ethics. People don´t beliewe any more generally. I don´t understand your reservations about bikes, I wish my city was better planned so we would not need the car as much.
Maybe you are correct partly about the US protection beeing a form of welfare, but that is only partly true as the NATO is a cooperative allience and most of the countries are pulling their weight although they propaply could do more. But it is not only a protection, as the US has a mutual gain in this also, and it is better like I said here abowe to have the NATO than a EU with their own military like they are trying to create now.