Amsterdam Circa 1700 and America Circa 2300 (by Byron Williams for HuffPost)

[marmar]

Byron Williams
Amsterdam Circa 1700 and America Circa 2300


I find it to be a helpful exercise to periodically leave the country and view America from the other side of the Atlantic, Pacific, or from the below the equator.

This time my travels have taken me to Amsterdam, the city that claims Rembrandt and Van Gogh, and housed a young girl by the name of Anne Frank whose diaries continue to inspire. Amsterdam is also known for its famous or infamous lifestyle, but like most cities with a highly touted reputation there is one part accuracy and two parts hyperbole.

Since Amsterdam's golden age was in the 17th century, there is not a lot of talk about the "good old days." Politicians do not to speak of returning Amsterdam back to the days when it possessed major shipping interest that sailed to Indonesia, Brazil and Africa, assembling an impressive empire in the process.

No one laments that they don't produce any more Rembrandt's or laud the construction of the canals. In the 17th century Amsterdam was also an economic power, with the world's most important port and was an international center for banking.

These days there is more self-reflective curiosity about the WWII resistance movement against the Nazis.

The people living in contemporary Amsterdam do not harbor many notions of once again being a world power. Because of this, there is a humility in the overall disposition of the city that is missing when I glance back at America from this side of the Atlantic. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/byron-williams/amsterdam-circa-1700-and-_b_57331.html

[Demeter]

1. That Was a Strange Article

Far more concerned about the effects of the Bush regime on "appearances", than on any of the massive and real problems and disasters they have spread around the world and especially at home.