The US, China, Japan, Germany, Spain, Russia, Turkey, Poland, Brazil, they all have a vision for their future. They have goals they want to achieve. Italy and the Netherlands don't have goals. Two countries dominated by small business minded populace, only interested in day to day profits. The Dutch will worry more about how much their beer cost today than what their country and Europe will meet up the the world challenges of tomorrow. Italy is not even worth mentioning because the government it is not worth any serious consideration. It's a shame a country could be run that way. Any country.
In general however Europeans are not ready to take responsability to become a superpower. They will only sit there and complain about what the Americans do, but they don't have an alternative. The EU as a block is powerful and usually expresses good ideals. Concern for environment, social justice, education, progress. But the populace don't want any of that. Each country thinks they will be better off by itself. Holland is no exception. They think they are the best anyway, and they can take on to the whole world all by themselves. The Hutus and the Tutsis thought the same. The real winner of the Europeans stupid disputes? Americans, Chinese, Russians. They will be the powers of the future. The losers? Europeans. Nobody will be able to look after their interests any more.
Holland was doomed anyway, by demografic implosion, cultural stagnation, natural elements. The sea, sooner or later, will claim that land. Probably too late for the sake of all of us.
The Dutch think Euroskepticism is cool. It is fashionable right now. Let's go back to the (whatever name their insignificant currency was called). We are better off on our own. They say this with a little grince on their ugly faces, and their friends laugh around them. It's Dutch humor. The type that says :"I'm realistic, I'm practical, I don't fall for intellectual crap."
Even the least sophisticated American farmer is much more educated than the average Dutch. So any direction their government would want to take would not have the support of their own people. For God's sake the Dutch are still worshipping a royal family! It's a country that should be shamed for its past, but they are afraid of the future. So the best they can do is hold on their small currency and hope it gets them more beer as a unified currency would.
The USA has given Europe everything it has today. It has already rescued Europe (with the help of the Soviets) from their little querrels and conflictual tendencies. Because of EU and NATO Europeans have not been fighting each other for 60 years. But this is a small anomany in thousands of history of divisions. You want the real face of Europe? You want to know how the Dutch really are? Look at Yugoslavia in the 90s. Look at Lebanon. Look at South Africa before the 1990s. Not only are they the mirror of Europeans true nature, but those are all situations provoked by Europeans.
The Dutch would love to have South Africa again. They can't, but their diamond mining companies are still operative and responsible for some of the worst human right abuses in history. Then the Dutch will tell you we believe in human right. Oh really? Look at your fu**ing mines. Why is Amsterdam the center of European diamond trade? The Dutch think their little slave trades will keep them wealthy for ever, just like Norwegians rely on fishing and oil to maintain their standards. You could argue that some arabs are doing the same. But if you look at the Emirates and Dubai, you know they are using oil to jump into the future. Not live in the past.
Europeans are within their rights to ban immigration from Muslim states. China, Japan and South Korea do not allow immigration. Neither does Saudi Arabia or any of the rich GCC states.
