407: Good News from Europe to U.S. on peaceful value of sharing our stories

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“This year we celebrate 400 years of enduring friendship between the Netherlands and the United States. Four hundred years ago, a Dutch ship called the Half Moon was guided to the shores of what is now New York City with Captain Henry Hudson at the helm. This resulted in the establishment of New Amsterdam and the New Netherland colony. Some 167 years later, in 1776, the Dutch were the first to salute the flag of the United States of America. NY400 celebrates the free spirit, openness, entrepreneurship and tolerance of those Dutch-American pioneers, and their continued relevance today and beyond.”
    On that NY400 Web site, Timmermans wrote his own impressions of the visit to Dearborn.

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CLICK HERE TO JUMP TO OUR SITE so you can see the 7-minute video from Timmermans’ talk.)
    We have transcribed several key passages from this clip:
    Why are we seeing a rise in interfaith and cross-cultural friction?
    “This is not something orchestrated by someone who wants to manipulate or create social or ethnic tension. This is simply a knee-jerk reaction to fear in people’s lives. … The best driving force in politics if you want to win an election is the use of fear. Fear is a very powerful tool.”
    Why now?
    “It’s by and large because people have lost the feeling that they control their own lives. The world is changing so quickly, you’re no longer sure you’ll have a job from the beginning of your career until the end. … You’re no longer sure that your next door neighbor or you will be safe. … Just imagine all that insecurity amassed around people. … What am I going to do? What are my children going to do?
    “This is the first time since the second world war that the middle class in the Netherlands and in Europe has this feeling that we’re in decline. We no longer believe in progress. … This is the background we need to understand – a feeling of loss of control.”
    What should we do to restore community?
    “We need to create more storylines. We need to get the storylines about why each of us came to the Netherlands. What happened in your life? How do you see the future of your children? We need to talk to each other about this—and not just stay within our communities.”

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