MY HOPES FOR MY COUNTRY

As with all countries 2008 was not such a fantastic year for The Netherlands. Like everywhere else banks threatened to collapse and you were likely to feel depressed after hearing the news almost every single day for the last six months. Of course I hope that it goes better economically in 2009 but my main concern is that the spirit seems to have gone. How can you keep up the spirit if specialists and politicians say day after day that it gets even worse than we ever thought; what do they want to prove and what is the news value of such a statement ? They only want to be in the picture, that's all.

Losing your job is a life-changing experience, of course. But there is more to life - your health, your love, your personality, your spirit, your soul. Believe me, now I am the specialist. It is worse if that goes down the drain too. We have to keep the spirit up, even it is not easy. A lot of people have lost their jobs over the years; did we pity them or did we support them ? It is the tyranny of the masses - it only gets bad if a lot of people are involved. No, it is the individual that counts - every story is different and every life is worth for society as a whole. The last sentence I read during my study of law years ago as a rationale for why committing suicide is a criminal offence. Although I do not agree with the outcome (suicide is in my opinion an individual decision we have to respect) this rationale is so beautiful that it almost convinced me.

For 2009 I hope we are able to look beyond the economic horizon. In my country the liberty of the individual is getting more and more limited: there is the threat of terrorism, partly forced upon us by paranoia; there is the loss of privacy and attacks out of cyberspace; there is the dogma of religion, which I think is still a form of indoctrination and misplaced feeling of superiority; there is the growing hate crime, which is if you belong to a minority giving you the feeling you do not belong in society; there is the increasing dominance of the family, which pushes you as a single individual more aside and there is the growing amount of official bans of all kinds.

I want to live in a country that respects me as an individual and that gives me the courage and the liberty to live up to my potential. Ten years ago Holland was such a country - it was looked upon as a free and controversial country and was a guiding country in the world on issues such as drugs, gay rights, abortion and euthanasia. I was proud that there was an open discussion possible on these issues and that every individual could decide for himself what to do with his life, as long as nobody else was hurt. I can still remember that a lot of people abroad actually thought that we were all taking drugs and that if you are old you were given an injection to die, hilarious.

Ten years later some groups are forcing their fears and their moral superiority upon us and Holland is back in line. The moral majority rules again like in the fifties. Let us decide for ourselves; everyone has the right to make up his own decision. If you make a conscious decision and nobody is hurt - be my guest. Personally I do not care if I go to hell and don't receive 72 virgins ... if you find comfort and wisdom in religion you are lucky; count your blessings but do not bother someone else with it.

Let's hope that in 2009 the influence of conservatism and paternalism will decrease and that the influence of optimism, individualism and liberty will increase. Down to earth: this government has to go. But that is not enough. We as people also have to take our own responsibility; we get the government we deserve. We all made this country into a colourless, dull and boring country.