Quote:
Originally Posted by sailaway21
Where Windy got the notion that Holland is a hot-bed of conservatism is beyond me. While the good Dutch burghers are indeed a dour lot they are also very liberal. They seem to be willing to protect the liberal idea of individual freedom right up to their very own extermination; witness the recent difficulties in reconciling Islamism with Holland's liberalism. There are rumours of small pockets of conservatism within Friesland!
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Sway I think you are confused from watching too many Dutch
movies.
When I was in Holland I thought the people were a serious bunch with very strong opinions on the economy, taxes, etc. Yes, they ride around on bicycles and have crazy artists and allow a lot of unusual stuff to happen in their country, but I found them to be pretty conservative when I was there. On the idea of individual freedom I did NOT find them to be open to the idea of individual freedom in the same way that a lot of Americans are. In the U.S. individual freedom is almost used as an excuse for doing all kinds of crazy things without taking any responsibility for your own actions, but I think they are much more like "classical liberals" where they just don't like the government getting involved in people's personal business.
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