Tomorrow, the people of the Netherlands will elect their representatives for the national government.  I will not be taking part in this election -- because I don't technically count among "the people of the Netherlands."  Of course, I don't take this personally; however, I do think that it's unfortunate that I don't have a voice in a situation such as this despite the fact that I've lived here, legally, for over seven years; despite the fact that I own property here in the Netherlands; and despite the fact that our household has contributed over €100,000 in taxes throughout the years in order to support the Dutch system!  I'd say that it's the American in me who becomes so frustrated by this "taxation without representation" -- but then again, I imagine that immigrants to the United States are not treated much differently when it comes to American elections... So is the world that we live in these days.

Immigration is a particularly pivotal issue in this election.  Some of the main candidates in this election have distinguished themselves particularly in regards to their stance on immigration.  And I will be very interested to find out how the Dutch people express themselves on this particular point.  Will they side with someone along the lines of Geert Wilders, leader of the PVV (Party for Freedom), who has built a name for himself primarily by speaking out boldly against the "problems" with immigrants (particularly Muslim immigrants)?  Or will they side with someone along the lines of Job Cohen, leader of the PvdA (Labor Party), who spent years as the mayor of multi-cultural Amsterdam and developed a reputation as something of a "bridge-builder" or conciliatory "multi-culti cuddly-bear" (depending on who's perspective you might take)?  As a fair-skinned, blue-eyed immigrant, I feel like I've gotten a unique perspective on this societal issue facing the people of the Netherlands -- and I'm honestly not sure how they're going to choose.

I recently finished reading a book called "Murder in Amsterdam:  The Death of Theo van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance," by Ian Buruma, and I feel like this book offered a very valuable complement to my personal experiences as an immigrant here in the Netherlands.  The book talks rather extensively about Job Cohen and Geert Wilders -- along with such figures as Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Mohammed Bouyeri, Pim Fortuyn, and of course Theo van Gogh (whose murder just so happened to take place just two blocks from our house, back in our second year of living here in the Netherlands).  And I learned a lot about how the complex political environment surrounding this issue of immigration has developed through the years.  For any foreigner living in Amsterdam, I would highly recommend the book (though I think it could also be somewhat instructive to Americans currently working through their own set of issues related to Mexican immigration).  It's obvious that there are no easy answers to these issues of immigration and tolerance and globalization -- but it's certainly helpful to read up on things a bit.

I, for one, personally find myself pulling for Job Cohen and the PvdA in this particular election.  Not just because he seems to have a more reasonable perspective on this particular issue of immigration, but also because he's an Amsterdammer.  His party's headquarters are just 100 meters down the street from our church's ministry center, and I've regularly seen him around the neighborhood; once he even came to visit our ministry center.  I can't say that I agree with all of the party standpoints of the PvdA -- but given the implications of this particular election, I'm personally hoping that they do well tomorrow.

Whatever comes of this election, I'm guessing that we'll learn a lot about the future of the immigration issue and the will of "the people of the Netherlands" tomorrow.  For now, however, all that I can really do is wait and see...