YES, I AM DAMNED PROUD OF MY COUNTRY

I am proud of our armed forces for they are doing our country proud where-ever they serve.

Whether it is in the hills of Afghanistan where our Special Forces look for Osama and his Al-Qaida buddies right now:


Or Uruzgan where the dutch are fighting the Taliban right here and now (and bring peace and stability to Uruzgan):




Or when they were helping out our friends from the United States after Katrina hit:




And when my brother in law and his fellow soldiers served in Iraq. And on the numerous other military missions my country has provided troops for:

Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Lebanon, Congo, Korean war, Liberia, Burundi, and many many more missions (about 50 in total).


Very proud of my country and it's achievements

And there is much more that I am proud of:

- being the 16th biggest economy in the world for example (wikipedia list of countries by GDP) when we are only the 58th largest country in the world by population.

- the 8th largest exporter in the world (Nationmaster list exports) when being only the 58th largest country in the world by population.

- we are one of the most generous economic aid donors in the world

- the third largest direct investor in the USA

- our culture

- our political system

- our legal system and the fact that we are one of the legal/law centers of the world

- our struggle against the water (Delta Works)

- our royal family (Wikipedia article on dutch royal family)

- our sporting tradition in many sports

and last but not least our wonderful dutch population. And yes, the dutch population is not always terribly proud of the Netherlands. Countries sometimes do things that it's population ought to not be very proud of. And sometimes populations are not happy with the direction their country is going and at that moment they are not proud of their country either.

In my opinion, people should stop mistaking pride with patriotism and love for ones country. I love my country but like any other dutch person sometimes I am not very proud of my country actions and I criticise if harshly whenever it deserves to be criticized harshly and honestly.

This song is from Baas B. (boss B. and Lange Frans (Tall Frans)



and talks about this typical dutch (at least that is my opinion) character trade. I translated the text for you:

I come from the country of Pim Fortuyn and Volkert van der G.,
The country of Theo van Gogh and Mohammed B..
Come from the country of kroketten, frikandellen,
that you can order from here up to the Spanish coast.
Come from the country where Air Max will never go out of fashion,
where you get critized the moment when you are going to make it big.
Come from the country of red-white-blue and the golden lion,
robbing the world and calling it the golden century.
Come from the country of cannabis plantations and cycling events,
the country where you can ask a drug-addict for a bike.
The country that became champions in '88,
the country of "herring eating", dykes and canals.
Come from the country of Tall Frans,
the country I come home to when I have been on vacation.

I come from the country where I was born in 1982,
where I lost the guilder to the euro.
The country that is participating in the war in Iraq,
because Mr. Bush has Balkenende in his pocket.
The country of being stingy,
where giving a round of drinks is too expensive,
the country where you can eat out of the wall at Febo.
The country of riots between Ajax and Feyenoord,
but when our national team plays everybody is each others brother.
The country of Johan Cruijf and Abe Lenstra,
where the fans will not let the lion down.
The land where we hope everyday for better weather,
that Piet Paulusma (weatherman) is someone I don't trust anymore.
The country that has been free since '45
the country where I will stay because I love it there.

I come from the country that you can drive through in three hours,
with another dialect every ten minutes.
I come for a country where on paper there is a place for everybody,
and where XTC is export product number one.
I come from the country where Andre Hazes,
in a hundred years is still the best played artist in every pub.
I come from a country where Peter, Gert-Jan, Raymond and Jutten,
Frans, Bart and Ali run the game.
Come from the country where hiphop is a child of 30 years and older,
and you can decide for yourself how "cool" that really is.
The country where you pay so much tax when you are rich,
that you wonder if it is really worth working that hard.
The country where prostitution and smoking pot is legal,
the country of Sinterklaas and Koninginnedag.
This is the country where I have lost and have been cheated on,
come from the country where I was born and bred.

Come from the country with the most cultures per square meter,
but where one is afraid to go and eat at your next-door neighbor.
And integration is a beautiful word,
But sh*t it is f*cking sad that nobody hears it.
I share my country with Turks and Maroccans,
Antillians, Moluk people and Surinam people.
A country where we keep too much botted up,
and are represented worldwide by Harry Potter.
A country where "apartheid" around the world,
is the best known word from the dutch language.
A country that ticks like a time-bomb,
The country that eats at 6pm and always comes on time.
This is the country where I will be victorious in the end,
when you will all sing this at the edge of the Arena stadium.
And until that time I will proclaim that I have lost my heart,
This one is for the Netherlands, from Baas B. and Lange Frans.



Or in other words, we are a complaining, cantankerous, not very easily pleased bunch of people but we love our country no matter what.

So if anybody belittles my country again (and yes, Michelle, that means you too) realize this, when you point your finger at someone three are pointing backwards at YOU (dutch saying, when you accuse someone you'd better look at yourself first).