Remote
Rien
@rien@mastodon.green
mastodon 4.7.3Living in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Married to Wendy.
Enjoy:
* learning (about history, [geo]political developments, technology, psychology)
* playing (from soccer, swimming, running, boulder-climbing up until bord games)
* listening/reading (to beautiful stories and music)
Working in mental health care.
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28 Posts
Joined May 01, 2022
Replying to
@ErikJonker@mastodon.social still we should support the call to be truly loyal to country and constitution and refuse to follow illegal orders.
https://mastodon.social/@RunRichRun/116363990512043015
Finally our prime-minister delivers a speech that has the beginning of a course: "new realities call for new approaches"
Tough careful in his sentences about NATO, the direction is clear: strengthen European cooperation, forge new partnerships and alliances. Bring the middle powers together in values-based realism, while being willing to look in the mirror and acknowledge and correct our mistakes in our relationship with the Global South and others.
Replying to
@Veza85UE @Ulmo @EUCommission we will have to repeat this message over and over again: our own national governments are the executive power of the EU. Do not let them hide behind a fake story about 'what the EU is doing to them'.. they are cowardly stepping away from their own decisions (especially when there is some not so popular element in it, otherwise of course everything is their accomplishment).
Thanks @Veza85UE for your patience in calling them out!!
Replying to
@Ulmo @EUCommission I will try to read more about this topic the coming weeks. If you have suggestions for articles or books to read, please let me know!
Replying to
@Veza85UE @Ulmo @EUCommission aging populations and increasing costs in the future may also play their part. But agreed - we vote for parties that advocate these kind of policies.
Replying to
@Ulmo @EUCommission fair enough, you are right. In my country these policies are implemented by succeeding governments made up of Liberals, Christian Democrats and even Social Democrats for a few years. Apparently most of us fell for the stories of cost reduction and we went after the short term gains (in perceived lower taxes or higher incomes). Now we pay the price for the downsides of these policies.
Replying to
@Ulmo @Veza85UE @EUCommission could be ideological as well.. I think we lack political parties that outline a different vision for our countries and continent. Where values (What do we want for our citizens in terms of wellbeing) are more equal to economic outcomes when reforms of public services are on the table.
Zin om weer te gaan! :)
Replying to
@Ulmo @Veza85UE @EUCommission I like your passionate contribution, but would it hurt to keep it friendly and refrain from judgements about contributing anything when someone posts one meme you do not appreciate?
Replying to
@Ulmo @Veza85UE @EUCommission see my other reply - I try to reason with you about the topic. AND I ask you to maintain a friendly tone. Not too much to ask for right?
Replying to
@Ulmo @Veza85UE @EUCommission from my perspective we all make the same mistakes (austerity, privatizing healthcare etc) because at the time governments belief they have something to gain. And then the pendule goes further than intended.
(And it is my big frustration that we as voters chose political parties that advocate privatizing healthcare, budget cuts on public services and blame everything on migrants. And when these parties do as they said we are angry at the EU? Beats me..)
Replying to
@Ulmo @Veza85UE @EUCommission If you find my post unfriendly than I apologize, that's not my intention.
Replying to
@Ulmo @Veza85UE @EUCommission My question is who delegated powers to the EU? It always were member states governments. We as a collective are the EU. For a lot of topics member States can still veto almost anything - look at wat Orban is capable of all these years.
As an EU citizen I want honest information from my politicians in stead of a blame game.
Replying to
@Ulmo @Veza85UE @EUCommission
All right, I hope I am getting closer to understanding your perspective: I am also against the tendency to put all our faith in privatizing public services. Still my point remains that we as member states governments have created the treaties and decide on which subject and in which direction we submit ourselves to pressure from the EU. (See how member states where perfectly capable to curb policies in the pandemic or when farmers got angry about the Green Deal).
Replying to
@om @Veza85UE @Ulmo @EUCommission fair enough, we will continue to develop in this ever closing union. Simply because in the current geopolitical climate there is no alternative. If we trust in our small seperate nation-states the big power brokers and their dictators will pick us apart one by one.
Replying to
@Ulmo @om @Veza85UE @EUCommission if the EU is out of touch with its citizens, that means member state governments are out of touch. That may be the truth and I am worried about that. Solutions are not found in resisting our supra-national institutions, but in training better politicians to stand up for policy choices and the trade-offs that they make. We need brave politicians that listen and TALK BACK. Not populist cowards who play a blame game and tell Fairy Tales.
Replying to
@Ulmo @om @Veza85UE @EUCommission glad we agree about not breaking up the union by the way. Even corrupt Orban does not want to leave because he knows the alternative is way worse!
Replying to
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai unfortunately that is a painful yet accurate description of what is happening in the Netherlands (where this photo is taken)..
(We did not want to put too many limits on our farming and other industries, the state of our wildlife has had not much of our attention)