It's a free country indeed!

Submitted by Paul Wilders (Netherlands), Feb 13, 2010 at 08:06

Dear Mr. Charles,

Thanks for the compliment; it's indeed a nice name "Wilders". It happens to be mine as well as it is.

I do agree: what has happened to Mr. Fortuyn was and still is regarded as a black page in Dutch recent history. Same can be said about President J.F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Thomas Jefferson, to name a few in American history. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

That being so, it looks like you're missing the real point here. First and foremost, there's no country in this world where all is just fine. The Netherlands is no exception to the rule, as goes for the USA and other nations.

Indeed: there's real democracy in the Netherlands. Overall and in a nutshell democracy is founded on one and the same foundations as for example in the USA, UK, Germany - and the list goes on. All have in common people (or as you call it: "the mainstream public") in effect are asked. There's a name for it: elections. And as is the case in all democratic nations, people/voters are informed. Press, political parties, academics indeed have impact. As is the case in all democratic nations, none excluded.

So I'm actually rather baffled by your comment in this context: you describe the way democracy functions in all democratic nations. The mere fact The Netherlands fits in here and is no exception to this common rule is most assuring in my view. Obviously it isn't in yours: you seem to prefer The Netherlands being an outcast in this context and abolish democracy as known all over the world. I'm sorry to disappoint you here: that isn't going to happen.

As for Mr. Fortuyn: he might have be represented in a big way in Dutch parlement. In reality, we can only guess if or not that would have been the case. For arguments' sake let's believe that would have been the case: reasons? Obviously voters would have disagreed with politics as they were. Personally I can come up with various reasons for that. The sole fact Mr. Fortuyn has been murdered does not imply a conspiracy in some way. At most a lunatic being part of a very, very small minority. Those have always existed, in every country. Thomas Jefferson was murdered by just one lunatic as well. Is the implication a vast group of USA citizens are in fact organized murderers? Not in my view.

Mr. Wilders in fact is baking cookies from the legacy from Mr. Fortuyn. Indeed, many Dutch voters are dissatisfied in one way or another. According to the polls from few days back in fact 24 seats in parlement from 150 reveal 16 percent being that unhappy to cast their vote for Mr. Geert Wilders. Please let's keep things into real perspective; no need for exaggeration.

Looks like I addressed all your concerns. Yes, it's still a free country. And democracy still rules over in The Netherlands.

Best regards,

Paul wilders
Dutch Politics

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