Go To The Widow-Maker?
Day 1,444, 13:42
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Published in Netherlands 
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by
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by Pierre Delvaux
I cannot forsake my principles
"The shits are killing us, even as they're killing themselves".
Norman Mailer
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Thomas Keesman. Jonny Theory. Hans Rienveld. Jack Ritell. These names may not mean much to many of you. They may even elicit a "WTF? I lol'ed" reaction from the usual suspects. But they mean something to me. They're dug in to my political psyche: people who believed in ideals; people who fought for change; people who wanted to make things better for everyone, rather than just themselves. These men, and others like them, stood at the forefront of eNL progressivism, that benighted calling of the brave and foolhardy.
I'd like to imagine I walk in their footsteps. My wish to honour, or at the very least respect, their memory, is what's made this past week so difficult for me. My party, CLN, has entered into a coalition pact with Iron and Wine. that perennial thorn in the side of all who seek to reform our nation for the better. There are good people in I&W; of that there is no question. However, I fear their upcoming CP campaign has fallen under the direction of the 'wreckers'; those who seek power as an end in itself and therefore cannot be trusted to govern respectfully. I&W has developed a reputation for glasshousing inequitable, opaque, elitist, and boondoggle style policy positions: their conduct during the coalition 'negotiating' process suggests that little has changed. Depending on intention, their behaviour could be described as, variously, calculatedly disingenuous or fundamentally disinterested; neither interpretation inspires confidence. Their CP candidate appears to have had little involvement in the drafting of his own manifesto; a 'stage left' pupeteer manipulates the strings, verbally abusing all who dare question motive.
To what end? One can only speculate. I believe they intend to profit from the current instability in the political landscape and return I&W to 'number 1' party status, precipitating the destruction of the CRAP reforms in the process. It is certainly their right to attempt this. I just don't want to lead my party towards disappointment or disillusionment in the endeavor, which is why I resigned as PP after the membership voted in favour of collaboration. I trust my successor, Shakerr, to help steer the party through the rough waters I suspect lie ahead. Whether my decision is honourable or cowardly will be for history to decide. I just can't march to a clarion call of "Jij doet niet meer mee!" Such sentiments are antithetical to progressive ideals, and to kowtow to them would be a betrayal of my forebears.
I will cast my vote for Mr. Sphere. Whilst I have my disagreements with him on certain issues, I respect his commitment to democracy and realistic foreign and domestic policy. He has always been straight in his dealings with me. He is the right choice for CP this month. I wish him luck on election day.
Sincerely,
Ambassador Pierre Delvaux
Congress Member: CLN
"The shits are killing us, even as they're killing themselves".
Norman Mailer
Advertisements For Myself
Thomas Keesman. Jonny Theory. Hans Rienveld. Jack Ritell. These names may not mean much to many of you. They may even elicit a "WTF? I lol'ed" reaction from the usual suspects. But they mean something to me. They're dug in to my political psyche: people who believed in ideals; people who fought for change; people who wanted to make things better for everyone, rather than just themselves. These men, and others like them, stood at the forefront of eNL progressivism, that benighted calling of the brave and foolhardy.
I'd like to imagine I walk in their footsteps. My wish to honour, or at the very least respect, their memory, is what's made this past week so difficult for me. My party, CLN, has entered into a coalition pact with Iron and Wine. that perennial thorn in the side of all who seek to reform our nation for the better. There are good people in I&W; of that there is no question. However, I fear their upcoming CP campaign has fallen under the direction of the 'wreckers'; those who seek power as an end in itself and therefore cannot be trusted to govern respectfully. I&W has developed a reputation for glasshousing inequitable, opaque, elitist, and boondoggle style policy positions: their conduct during the coalition 'negotiating' process suggests that little has changed. Depending on intention, their behaviour could be described as, variously, calculatedly disingenuous or fundamentally disinterested; neither interpretation inspires confidence. Their CP candidate appears to have had little involvement in the drafting of his own manifesto; a 'stage left' pupeteer manipulates the strings, verbally abusing all who dare question motive.
To what end? One can only speculate. I believe they intend to profit from the current instability in the political landscape and return I&W to 'number 1' party status, precipitating the destruction of the CRAP reforms in the process. It is certainly their right to attempt this. I just don't want to lead my party towards disappointment or disillusionment in the endeavor, which is why I resigned as PP after the membership voted in favour of collaboration. I trust my successor, Shakerr, to help steer the party through the rough waters I suspect lie ahead. Whether my decision is honourable or cowardly will be for history to decide. I just can't march to a clarion call of "Jij doet niet meer mee!" Such sentiments are antithetical to progressive ideals, and to kowtow to them would be a betrayal of my forebears.
I will cast my vote for Mr. Sphere. Whilst I have my disagreements with him on certain issues, I respect his commitment to democracy and realistic foreign and domestic policy. He has always been straight in his dealings with me. He is the right choice for CP this month. I wish him luck on election day.
Sincerely,
Ambassador Pierre Delvaux
Congress Member: CLN
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Comments
I got really sad reading this. Was it your intention to sound so gloomy?
"Was it your intention to sound so gloomy?"
Well, it's not a day for candyfloss and ice cream, that's for sure🙂
I can only confirm that Pierre and myself differ as much as we are the same. We have many points in which we disagree however in the last months we have been able to discuss hot topics without putting each other down. Basically if you talk about politics we are not looking for people how support our programs to gains influence. We are looking for understanding and mutual respect. We are looking for constructive ways to improve our community and be able to actually have a good discussions about the pro's and con's of new plans. It is not about power, it is not about money. It is about bringing our community to a higher level in which we try to have everyone benefit from this. I very much respect Pierre for he is the one to remind us we cannot forsake our principles. Principles is what make people great. It is a sign of strenght not weakness.
Again, Pierre and I have our differences but we have always showed each other respect and that should always be the basis of any relationship (friends, politicians, government officials or even enemies).
Although I find it very dissapointing that this was needed, I very much respect your decision Pierre. It shows respect, honor and principles. To me that is what you have always stood for and it shows you indeed have not forsaken your principles.
You once again have earned my respect and I can only wish more people in eNL would see this as an example.
Thank you for your contributions within CLN and eNL. I hope we will continue hearing from you in the future.
Now, it sounds like Pierre died and Mr. Sphere pronounced the eulogy 😁
Hans Rienveld was a very good and stable politician, and I was very happy that he has been elected PP of LSD back in the day. We had some good times, for real.
To clarify the 'Jij doet niet meer mee', it is based on a satirical tv program and it referred to people so incredibly stupid they right to participate in society should be voided (people wrote hatemail to a dead 'terrorist'). The 'Jij doet niet meer mee' campaign was (sadly) never really seriously used, and rapidly turned into a joke on irc between both I&W and Dem NL and spread to the forums.
Nice read!
It's always a pleasure to work together with you!
I admire your ability to do politics based on ideology by creating good ideas and translate them into a program, instead of doing politics in order to be likeable only.
@Broersje, don't be silly, Pierre is a surviver which he has showed multiple times. He will do just fine, that I know for sure.
@Sphere: I'm not being silly, I'm trying to be funny here. With all due respect 😁
I think Broersje's comments are quite funny and points a valuable point about the style of the article and particular comment
+1 😛
Nice comments🙂
By the way, who are all these black-white people you apparently adore? I've always wondered...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Louis_Trintignant