Pride
So, I was browsing on YouTube (originally for Dutch songs - from Het Goede Doel - and I ended up with the Wilhelmus, which is the Dutch national anthem.
Did you know that the Wilhelmus is the oldest anthem in the world? It was written in the 16th century by someone whose name I can't remember right now, and it's about prince Willem van Oranje (William of Orange) who kind of has to choose between being loyal to the Spanish (who ruled over what's now the Netherlands at that time) and loyal to the Dutch people. This summary makes it sound kind of unimportant, but it really is an impressive anthem, at least to me.
www.youtube.com/watch
Here you can listen to it.
Anyway, I was reading the comments to some of those typically Dutch songs, and I noticed how there's such a debate going on on the topic of immigration.
Dutch people usually pride themselves on being tolerant, how the Dutch are usually one of the most tolerant people in this world. But some of those comments make me be ashamed to share the nationality with those people.
Personally, I'm pretty proud to be Dutch. We have issues, we have problems, like every other country does. I can't say I'm proud of some of the people who share my nationality, but then again, every people has its bad seeds (or whatever the expression is). Still, in general, I like The Netherlands and its people, and I am proud to be coming from this small country. That pride grows when I hear songs such as '15 miljoen mensen' by Fluitsma & Van Tijn (www.youtube.com/watch) or 'Het land van' by Lange Frans & Baas B (www.youtube.com/watch). The second song is a bit less idealistic than the first one (it's also more recent; '15 miljoen mensen' means '15 million people', and we've outgrown that number by now) and it generally sounds more modern, but I like both.
I'm proud to be Dutch when I hear something on the news, or when (foreign) people praise The Netherlands. For example, when I was in New Orleans last year, we got quite some compliments on the Dutch water management and its expertise. And even though I have pretty much nothing to do with all that technical jazz, it still makes me proud to be coming from that country.
I'm proud when I read about the Gay Pride Parade (which was today)in Amsterdam compared to the one in Moscow, and in Amsterdam it is more peaceful, more happy, and much less grim. Even though some people had to screw it up with slogans like 'Gays go to hell', still, I think the majority of the Dutch people is okay with gays. I still believe (whether it is naïve or not to do so) that most people are okay with immigrants, with foreigners. Maybe it's idealistic, maybe it's a too positive point of view and maybe I just haven't seen the worst side of this country.
All in all, I'm glad I was born here.
Did you know that the Wilhelmus is the oldest anthem in the world? It was written in the 16th century by someone whose name I can't remember right now, and it's about prince Willem van Oranje (William of Orange) who kind of has to choose between being loyal to the Spanish (who ruled over what's now the Netherlands at that time) and loyal to the Dutch people. This summary makes it sound kind of unimportant, but it really is an impressive anthem, at least to me.
www.youtube.com/watch
Here you can listen to it.
Anyway, I was reading the comments to some of those typically Dutch songs, and I noticed how there's such a debate going on on the topic of immigration.
Dutch people usually pride themselves on being tolerant, how the Dutch are usually one of the most tolerant people in this world. But some of those comments make me be ashamed to share the nationality with those people.
Personally, I'm pretty proud to be Dutch. We have issues, we have problems, like every other country does. I can't say I'm proud of some of the people who share my nationality, but then again, every people has its bad seeds (or whatever the expression is). Still, in general, I like The Netherlands and its people, and I am proud to be coming from this small country. That pride grows when I hear songs such as '15 miljoen mensen' by Fluitsma & Van Tijn (www.youtube.com/watch) or 'Het land van' by Lange Frans & Baas B (www.youtube.com/watch). The second song is a bit less idealistic than the first one (it's also more recent; '15 miljoen mensen' means '15 million people', and we've outgrown that number by now) and it generally sounds more modern, but I like both.
I'm proud to be Dutch when I hear something on the news, or when (foreign) people praise The Netherlands. For example, when I was in New Orleans last year, we got quite some compliments on the Dutch water management and its expertise. And even though I have pretty much nothing to do with all that technical jazz, it still makes me proud to be coming from that country.
I'm proud when I read about the Gay Pride Parade (which was today)in Amsterdam compared to the one in Moscow, and in Amsterdam it is more peaceful, more happy, and much less grim. Even though some people had to screw it up with slogans like 'Gays go to hell', still, I think the majority of the Dutch people is okay with gays. I still believe (whether it is naïve or not to do so) that most people are okay with immigrants, with foreigners. Maybe it's idealistic, maybe it's a too positive point of view and maybe I just haven't seen the worst side of this country.
All in all, I'm glad I was born here.