14/09: EU Should Take a Lesson from Belgium
Category: America and the World
Posted by: an okie gardener
The Washington Times has this editorial on the political problems in Belgium that may lead to that nation splitting into two: the Dutch-speaking, wealthier Flemings, and the French-speaking, poorer Walloons. Although the Walloons are the minority, at 30% of the population, the Belgium constitution guarantees them 50% of the government. In practice this has made the socialists and their Francophile agenda dominant. Now, months into a political impasse, the future of country as a united nation is in peril.
The Washington Times editorial warns the EU to take note:
It is Belgium's business whether it chooses to split in two, and certainly any observer who sympathizes with the right to self-determination would see Flanders' point. It seemingly cannot escape from the harmful policies of its central government. A split would likely send Flanders packing to join the Netherlands, while Wallonia would be pressed not to join France. What becomes of the bilingual capital, Brussels, is a devilish problem with no easy solution.
Let us hope for the European Union's sake that Brussels' E.U. leaders learn the right lessons here. Sooner or later, the will of the people must be respected. A government which aims to herd people for its own selfish purposes, or for the purposes of an overempowered minority, risks eventual destruction. As a courageous band on the other side of the pond once put it: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it."
The Washington Times editorial warns the EU to take note:
It is Belgium's business whether it chooses to split in two, and certainly any observer who sympathizes with the right to self-determination would see Flanders' point. It seemingly cannot escape from the harmful policies of its central government. A split would likely send Flanders packing to join the Netherlands, while Wallonia would be pressed not to join France. What becomes of the bilingual capital, Brussels, is a devilish problem with no easy solution.
Let us hope for the European Union's sake that Brussels' E.U. leaders learn the right lessons here. Sooner or later, the will of the people must be respected. A government which aims to herd people for its own selfish purposes, or for the purposes of an overempowered minority, risks eventual destruction. As a courageous band on the other side of the pond once put it: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it."
