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Wednesday, March 21, 2007

People, release your positive power!




Pim Fortuyn (bad closing, left), Jan Peter Balkenende (good closing, middle) en Wouter Bos (good opening...?, right)

Received a few mails reacting on my blog entry yesterday. Was a bit disturbed by them. Most had a negative view on society, focussing on the banality of modern life; while I am optimistic. After a period of banality and negativism (bad closing), when alienated groups feeling powerless and resentful choose negative closing and voted only AGAINST things- as an outlet for protest (the Pim Fortuyn People, the way the Dutch rejected the European Law concept, the society-wide cynism and closing of the borders: 'get rid of all those foreigners!'), there is now a tendency for good closing.

Though the current timeframe is not my favorite period either, loving any kind of innovation, but I understand its necessity. So many structures and common drivers have been destroyed. There are hardly any positive causes on which people can unite. So I am not joking when saying our new government's slogan "working together-living together" is a positive sign. In any case it is inclusive, in all its boringness. A big move from the rigid closing of Mrs Verdonk! We can see in our culture a new search for common ground, positive issues we can share, along with nostalgia, looking back and searching for pride in our shared history (the creation of a Dutch Canon, history being popular). And there is also the tendency to take up future oriented issues again, like the environment. Not that big yet, but here in Canada even a daily newsprogramme has promised it will focus on environmental issues at prime time. So the energy is moving from negative to positive, be it slowly and hesitating.

You can see it in the way we describe our politics. The PvdA (our Dutch labour party), always notorious for choosing the wrong tone of voice in elections, had Wouter Bos being called a 'draaikont' (a too pliable person), a deadly term in a timeframe where people are looking for order, leadership and consistency. In a few years time, when we head into good opening, he would be called flexible and open to new ideas, while our current leader would then be called rigid and controlling.

Things do change, people, not always for the better, not always for the worst. And we are heading for better days, the coming years.

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