It's been a busy week -- with Marci's brother's family coming to Ohio for a visit, followed immediately by me taking a trip out to South Dakota -- so blogging has taken a back-seat.  The stories from Richland County are still percolating in my head, and I'm still very hopeful about writing them out in the days to come.  But for now, I've been focusing any blogging energies that remain within me to keep up with my Proverbs 365 project.

Today's entry feels to be particularly timely to me, though, so I thought I'd reference it here.  It's titled P221 - Land Issues, and it explores one of the trickier issues of North American history:  the conflict between the Native American populations and the white settlers who forged their way across the continent over the last 500 years.  The discussion is all based on Proverbs 2:21-22, where it says, "For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be torn from it."  As you can see from the illustration on the right, it's a passage that can feel a bit provocative -- particularly when juxtaposed with American history.

And I have to admit:  I'm genuinely confused and conflicted about how American history is supposed to be interpreted -- or, more accurately, how we're supposed to deal with the aftermath of history.  Significant problems remain in the Native American community, which is still fairly prevalent in South Dakota (from which I'm writing this).  The local newspapers from this weekend have carried several stories detailing the complexities of land claims, issues of national sovereignty, and basic problems of poverty and substance abuse among the Native Americans in the area.  In addition to this, I've been reading a biography of Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of the United States of America, who developed something of a reputation for himself as an Indian killer and developed some significant policies during his presidency which led to the issues we are dealing with today.  And even further, Elliot has been reading a book from the library about Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief from the area which is now called Ohio -- which challenges some of the standard ways that American history has been interpreted (particularly regarding who's the "Good Guys" and who's the "Bad Guys")...

Suffice to say, it's an interesting issue to consider, especially in light of Proverbs 2:21-22.  I'd be curious to hear if anyone else out there has any particular thoughts to add to the mix.  So please, take a minute to read P221 - Land Issues, and let me know what you think...

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...

The trash collectors' strike has finally ended.  It's nice to see the streets getting cleaned up again.

I've found it very interesting to note the public reaction to this strike.  By and large, I'd say that public sympathy has been with the trash collectors -- with the city being made out to be the "Bad Guys."  It's been framed as "poor, under-appreciated, blue-collar trash collectors" versus "stingy, heartless, evil, corporate / government monolith."  And likely due to this public sentiment, the trash collectors seem to have come away from this confrontation as the "winners," having gained more ground in the negotiations.  It would seem like most Amsterdammers would say "Good for them."  Everyone likes to see it when someone sticks it to "The Man."  Myself included.

But it's recently occurred to me that, in this case, "The Man" is us -- the citizens of Amsterdam.  That is:  the government is made up of publicly-elected representatives who have been charged with the task of managing the money that is collected by our taxes, right?  So that means that it was effectively us (the citizens of Amsterdam) against the striking trash collectors.  So even though our streets are getting cleaned up again now (which is definitely appreciated), we ended up being the "losers" of the show-down.  It will ultimately mean either higher taxes for us, or budget cuts in other areas of municipal government.

Strange shift in perspective, huh?  Am I missing anything, in thinking through the scenario (other Amsterdammers seem to be significantly better-informed in things like this)?  Or if I've got it correct -- that our interests really were more tied up in the government's side of things -- why do you think it is that we "sided" with the trash collectors?  I'm just curious.  Again, I'm very appreciative to have the trash collectors back on the job.  But I'm just confused about if I should really feel like a moral victory was won or if I should feel like I was unfairly coerced into making concessions (via my elected officials)... Strange the way that all of these things work.

Link: http://proverbs365.ericasp.com

I'm now officially one-quarter of the way through my Proverbs 365 project:  taking a Proverb for each day of the year and then considering it and applying it for 21st Century living.  And it's still going like gang-busters.  In fact, there seemed to be a surge in momentum and in readership over the course of the last month -- which makes it even more instructive and enjoyable, getting to experience the Proverbs in (electronic) community.

So I thought I would continue what has now become something of a monthly tradition -- highlighting three of my personal favorites from the month of March:

One of the month's most meaningful entries for me, personally, was drawn from Proverbs 19:3 where it says, "A man's own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the LORD." It occurred to me that I have, on more than one occasion, thrown myself a pity party when there was no reason for pity.  I can make such a big fuss of the "horrible curses" God has thrown my way -- when in fact the difficult circumstances really result from my own life choices.  In particular, I recalled a cold February night in 2007, when really found myself raging against God.  I'm guessing that others might be able to relate to my experiences.  If so, you may want to take a look at P1903 - Misplaced Rage...

Another highlight from the last month was my post entitled, P1704 - Accomplices.  In it, I consider the questions of how one is really supposed to deal with awkward social situations like someone mouthing off about their boss, or openly insulting one's own spouse, or sharing inappropriate information about one's own vices.  These situations happen all the time.  Proverbs 17:4 says, "A wicked man listens to evil lips; a liar pays attention to a malicious tongue." But how is this really supposed to work itself out in these awkward social situations?  This particular post may not offer any magical answers -- but at least it poses some interesting questions...

And thirdly, one of my most personal entries in the past month was P617a - Pitfalls of Pride.  In this post, I share about one of the most significant moral struggles in my own life:  pride.  I pick apart some of my negative thought processes -- ranging from "The Blame Game," to "The White Knight Complex" -- and I realize how frequently my life can unpleasantly veer towards the "haughty eyes" that are listed in Proverbs 6:17 as one of God's most hated human vices.  I don't know about anyone else, but I definitely know that I was challenged significantly by this particular Proverb in the month of March...

For a more comprehensive listing of March's content, here are the titles of all 31 entries, along with direct links to the rest of the content.

• P118 - Burning Flesh, Bleeding Wounds, and a Nice Big Bowl of Popcorn
• P208 - The Pathmaster
• P305 - Life Mandate
• P425 - Pick Your Line
• P508 - Practicing Peripatetic
• P617a - Pitalls of Pride
• P719 - Long and Gone
• P801 - The God Who is There and Is Not Silent
• P908 - Mockers and Sages
• P1011 - Busting an Agent's Cover
• P1101 - Calibrating the Scales
• P1228 - The Path to Immortality
• P1320 - Call to Community
• P1405 - God's Honest Truth
• P1511 - Sheol, Abaddon, the LORD, and Me
• P1615 - When the Compulsory Education Bureaucrat's Face Brightens
• P1704 - Accomplices
• P1802 - Listening for Heaven's Sake
• P1903 - Misplaced Rage
• P2024 - Following the Inukshuks
• P2105 - Lessons Learned from the Acquisition of a Cherry Bomb
• P2229 - Pining Away on the Island of Obscuritania
• P2331 - Red Red Wine
• P2413 - Sweetness
• P2525 - Coldwater News
• P2602 - An Undeserved Curse Does Not Come to Rest
• P2707 - A Honey-Loathing, Gruel-Gobbling, Crying Shame
• P2801 - Lessons from the Three Amigos
• P2911 - E-mail Wars
• P3017 - Quoth the Raven
• P3121 - When a House Becomes a Home

April promises to be another great month -- so check it out for yourself at http://proverbs365.ericasp.com.  And feel free to spread the word, too... One of the distinct advantages of the Proverbs is that it's easy to tune into them, whenever one might so choose.  It's not like if you missed the first three months, then you're "behind" or anything like that.  The Proverbs are just like these little power pellets that can be consumed and digested immediately.  So it's never too late to start enjoying them!

Tomorrow is my first opportunity to participate in Dutch democracy.  I'm not sure if it's because I've now been officially registered in the country for a certain number of years now, or if it's because I'm now a property owner, or what -- but I'm going to vote for the municipal elections tomorrow.

The only prolem is that I haven't figured out exactly how I'm going to vote.

I've tried a couple of the different on-line "stemwijzer" (voting test) sites, plus I've read a number of the printed materials put out by the government and by the parties themselves.  But all this has done is help me to decide how not to use my vote.  That is, I'm pretty sure that I will not be casting my vote for the CDA, who has chosen to make the main thrust of their Amsterdam campaign a "Big Brother" like camera system to capture any wrong-doing that might happen throughout the city... And I can't really see myself voting for the Party of the Animals (making animal rights the primary issue) or the nationalistic PVV (a sort of anti-immigration party, like the 21st Century Dutch version of the 19th Centry American "Know Nothing" party)... But who should I vote for?

I'd be very open, if anyone had any advice they wanted to pass along to me.

For me, I'm voting primarily as (1) a follower of Jesus, (2) an immigrant, and (3) someone who naturally tends to prefer a less invasive form of government (i.e. someone who could tell the leerplichtambtenaar to relax a little bit).  But are there really any parties who tend to combine these issues?  Open to religious freedom, and even cooperation between the church and the government... But also more liberal in its views on immigration and immigrants' rights... While still entrusting power to the people, more than to the bureaucracy???  Do these terms ring any bells, for those of you who might be more familiar with the Dutch political system?

I've got some ideas for how I might use my vote, if all else fails.  I'm not going into things totally ignorant.  But if there are any last-minute pieces of advice that could be thrown my way, I would certainly appreciate it.