Transcription
Amsterdam, Wednesday 11th February 1998
Dear Stuart,
Today could be spring. “Time is out of Joint.” And what a luxury to be sitting at my desk at 10:30 am, while the room is filled with Bach's Matheus Passion.
One of the great joys of writing is that you can broach any subject you like, and if there are more subjects "in pectoris" (in the chest, that is, in the store), the letter writer can determine the order of the strokes.
Let's start with Amsterdam. While it's true, we still enjoy living somewhere in the city for the first time. Imagine, I have a lunch appointment with a director of the Holland America Trust in Amsterdam at 12:30 and I take my bike to the restaurant. On a whim we may decide to go to a concert in a cinema or theater.
We no longer need to invite friends because they announce their own visits.
Last January, Floris bought an apartment in Amsterdam. His office is also in Amsterdam and working until eleven o'clock at night is 'de rigueur' among younger employees in order to be accepted by their organisation. The employer has pursued a personnel policy of surrender.
Before that, Floris rented an apartment in Rotterdam and the daily commute to his office in Amsterdam was too much effort.
Since you visited us, Vera has made many improvements to the furnishings of the apartment's sitting room. The bookshelves on both sides of the fireplace have been moved into the living room and we have purchased a large antique mirror for the wall in the living room etc.etc. Last week I indicated that we have finished decorating the apartment. I will not be ashamed to receive the Queen here. Enough is enough!
Common sense.
Of all gifts Nature has donated to mankind, common sense has been divided among the people in the most honest and impartial manner, since nobody is dissatisfied with he got.
Does English Prime Minister Tony Blair have common sense? And what about Bill Clinton (US President?) Can we attribute common sense to him? What is the essence of common sense?
It could be, "Don't do to others what you don't like, so that they do the same to you?" Or act as long as the benefits outweigh the costs or: implement the ideas of the (uneducated) majority?
Does common sense apply to your overall behavior or does it refer to specific sectors of your activities/interests?
Poor Bill Clinton has too much testosterone in his veins. He can't help it and the world shouldn't reprimand him. Besides this “minor aberration,” his presidency is one of common sense (that is, it must be understood by the masses, I thought).
The European Union
I am attaching a number of articles clipped from the Herald Tribune. The image of Tony Blair derived from those articles is that he is a tightrope walker.
Major politicians dare to commit themselves to a (sometimes visionary) great idea. For example: Roosevelt on the New Deal; Truman: on Marshall help program and Churchill on the destruction of Nazi Germany. It takes a lot of talent to get the idea accepted by the people. The huge effort President Bush undertook to get the world opinion behind him to punish Iraq, as yet has not been matched by Clinton. Can you tell me what the great idea is that belongs to Tony Blair?
I also vehemently oppose globalisation. It throws mankind back ± 100 years. Capitalism dictates the world economies at the expense of labour. A new Karl Marx will arise.
Love to Ursula, also from Vera, Adriaan
