Message from an American friend

Beste Nederlanders,
I’m an expat living in Rotterdam, and have fallen in love with the forward-thinking, creative, diverse, leuk and gezellig Dutch lifestyle. Thank you for welcoming me! I’m also an American who is watching with alarm as Trump works to dismantle much of what Americans could be proud of in our progressive, tolerant society. I have come to know the Dutch to likewise pride yourselves on your common sense, humor, and tolerance, and so I write this heartfelt plea to report about recent American experience and warn you against making the same mistake we did. Please don’t let this insanity escalate – banning whole groups of immigrants because of fear of a few bad apples is a new flavor of intolerance we should not allow to spread. Immigrants make our countries richer. Crime must be confronted wherever it occurs, but it is wrong to paint all Muslims, or all Moroccans, or all Syrians with the same brush. We live in a globally connected world and cannot close ourselves off, but rather should embrace refugees with the opportunity to contribute to our society, whether in Nederland or the U.S.A.
How did our Trump happen? Many Americans were swayed by his populist message of improving the prospects of the “forgotten” working-class by building a wall and restricting immigration. While this message can sound good in the midst of disillusionment with the current status quo, such simple solutions as these types of candidates offer rarely work in practice. His “America First” plan is beginning to isolate us from the rest of the world, creating unproductive trade barriers and hindering cooperation to address the important global threat of climate change. His racist rhetoric and immigration policies turn us against one another – we have seen a frightening spike in hate crimes. Trump lies, attacks the free press and rejects scientific evidence and dismisses expertise, creating mistrust and fear. The Trumpsters distract us with false patriotism while dismantling the systems that truly made America great, in protecting our health and environment, funding science research to spur innovation, welcoming immigrants, and providing everyone upward mobility through education
In contrast, the Netherlands can yet preserve your global leadership in science, environment, education and tolerance. Please learn from our mistake! Go VOTE on March 15, but vote against dangerous populist demagoguery. For your sake, and for the world.
MVG, je vrienden in de VS