Last saturday I read an opinion-article in my Dutch newspaper. It was dead-on on the way I feel after this election. It is worth sharing with you I believe, because it gives a good summary of how the sentiments are in The Netherlands (and the rest of Europe, I think) now after the (re)election of president Bush. Any translations faults are entirely mine.
Disgrace for democracy US
By Thomas von der Dunk
The American president George W. Bush doesn’t care about the whole world and for this he has been rewarded with his reelection. America is more and more drifting away from Europe. The violent approach of Bush in Iraq and his blind support for Israel create the same hate which was the basis for the murder of Theo van Gogh (a Dutch filmmaker, columnist and critic of islamic/religious fundamentalism, who was murdered by a Dutch/Marrocan islamic radical on november 2, the day of the US-election).
The reelection of Bush is a disgrace to the American democracy and a danger to the cooperation of the West. At first he bought the presidential candidacy within his own party in 2000 and subsequently he stole the presidency with the help of the supreme court and now he has prolongued the same presidency by lying. The self-cleansing capacity of the American system proves to be minimal.
In no other civilized country it would even be plausible for a government leader, who has started a war under false pretenses, which consequently results in chaos, to be reinstated into his function by the electorate. In spite of Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib the war is been sold to the population as a political and a moral succes. Therefore 75% of the Repubican electorate does not only believe that weapons of mass destruction have been found, but also think it has been proven that Saddam Hussain was responsible for '11 september'. As Josef Goebbels (the propaganda-minister for Nazi-Germany) used to say: 'only the big lie will be believed in'.
The American media have completely failed, which surprises no one, because an important part of it is in the hands of figures, which have close financial ties with the White House.
From the beginning on Bush has systematically shown that he does not care what the world thinks and now he has been rewarded for that. His ascension in 2000 could still be interpreted as an incident, but now he has been granted the electoral approval for his autistic foreign policy. The continuation thereoff will change the temporary anti-Bushsentiments outside of America into a lasting anti-American-attitude, here as well as in the rest of the world.
Earlier on the American politicologist Robert Kagan already stated dismissively in regard with the European criticism of the American Middle-Eastpolicy, that America and Europe live in different worlds, and he is right. Amerika has fundamentally changed and is drifting mentally farther and farther away from us.
This becomes especially clear if you study the irrational motives of the Bush-supporters against which you cannot reason. These motives are mostly of 2 sorts: the image of forcefullness of the sitting president and his faith/religion, translated into ‘family values'.
After the sexual escapades of Clinton on of the main reasons that Bush got into the White House was his moral integrity. Time and time again this is emphasized by the Bush-camp, who therefore are clearly more upset by someone who cheats on his wife, than someone who dislocates the world.
The USA are increasingly becoming a strict-religious nation, which starts to show fundamentalist tendencies, and this is were the European and Americans ways go astray.
Fifty years ago it was unthinkable that the Republican candidate for the presidency Eisenhower would constantly have to emphasize how much he believed in God – and therefore forcing his democratic opponent to do the same. Now this is for a growing part of the electorate the number 1 criterium. America is turning from a nation of liberal freethinkers into a nation of bigotted fools. These were always there in the Mid-West, but now they have a grip on the power in Washington. 40% of the Americans by now believes that the bible is literally true, from A to Z.
The intolerant, anti-modern worldview that is a consequence of that is starting to have more and more negative implications. The freedom of science is under heavy pressure, because some discoveries do not agree with the religious dogma’s of the Republicans.
Take the following Bush-adept, who is even a studied geologist, quoted in this week’s NRC Handelsblad (a Dutch newspaper): ,,Whatever stories the environmentalists are telling you, the effect of global warming is process guided by God''.
Bin Laden would not be able to improve on that and the fact that he and Bush do not only think alike about the private possesion of weapons and the death penalty, but also abortion and premarital sex is no coincidence.
Europe on the contrary has increasingly less in common with America and the last Atlantic believers in the Dutch government, who based on their love for New York cling to the 'westers coalition' as a political beacon, cherish an illusion. New York is not representative for America and becomes so less and less.
By the increasing trend to stop the enlightenement of their people on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, reaffirmed by these elections, Europe has to stand alone, more so because of the loss of the Sovyet Union as a common enemy.
For The Netherlands this means, that a longer stay in Al Mutannah (the province in Iraq, where the Dutch forces are stationed) is meaningless, because Bush and his violent tactics in Iraq and his religiously blinded support to Israel will only increase the hate among the Arab population towards the West, which will consequently threaten us here too. It is that increasing hate, which is the basis for the murder of Theo van Gogh.
Thomas von der Dunk is a historian and publicist.
PS Off-topic
Vote for the Aowe Kino All Time Hot 100 2004
The link above refers to a voting page at
www.aowekino.nl, where you can vote for a new version of the Aowe Kino All Time Hot 100.
On Saturday, November 27 the total of votes will be presented at the bar D’r Aowe Kino and the Top 50 songs will be played, along with several songs between place 51 and 100. This is
the internet link of the Aowe Kino, which literally means old movietheater.
The voters determine which songs will be in the All Time Hot 100. Enter your Top 10 of best songs ever made and determine which song will be number 1 on November 27!
There are 2 restrictions to enter a valid Top 10 list, the songs must be at least one year old (released before 2004) and every artist or band can only be mentioned once in your Top 10.
The Aowe Kino All Time Hot 100 was first held last year. You can find the endlist of 2003 right here:
Aowe Kino Eternal 100 2003 .
If you decide to enter your Top 10 at the link at the top of this message to influence this years list (
to maybe get your favourite band in there), go to the link
Vote for the Aowe Kino Dutch All Time Hot 100
You have to fill in
Your name
Your e-mail address
Your Top 10
Thanks for the attention.
PS Translation for the non-Dutch readers
You can choose songs from the songlist with almost 1000 examples on the right of the voting page, click on ‘noa lies’ to add a song to your Top 10, or you can enter your own choice of song. With the + and – besides the entry-fields you can move the songs up or down.
The button ‘isjikke’ will forward your finished top 10, the button ‘op nuj’ means ‘start over’ and can be used if you want to correct the list, it will erase all songs in the top 10.
So go to
http://www.aowekino.nl/nl/page00023.asp to cast your vote and enter your Top 10.