We have just returned from a two-week trip to Europe. We visited two airports in each of England, Belgium and Portugal, stayed in one hotel in Belgium and two in the Netherlands, and drove extensively in Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands. I understand each culture and each language poorly, but just well enough to observe, and learn, and spot lessons, usually simple lessons that the world fails to heed.
Having lived in Holland for eleven years and rarely having been back since, that part of the trip was the most interesting to me. We spent time with our daughter in a small town in the south and visited relatives and friends elsewhere, and a short trip to our former hunting ground of The Hague proved very fruitful. Our former Church had an event planned so we could meet many acquaintances and enjoy a dinner afterwards with friends, and later we even met another friend by chance on the street.
The Dutch are a special race. I was reminded of this even before the visit, when attending a music workshop in New York led by a Dutchman. He was confident, with no airs and graces – his whole demeanour said: “take me as I am”. He offered a few life lessons, as he called them, prompted by things that came up in the workshop. One such piece of advice was “argue properly”, something I had never heard but which immediately resonated. It is the Dutch way. They love a good debate, and everyone takes debates seriously and offers opinions, sometimes for hours. But eventually a conclusion is reached, based on shared data rather than hierarchy, and after that implementation starts. This is a large part of what is called the Polder model, and it is how Dutch society operates.
This trip reminded me of several ways that Holland and the Dutch can be really ugly. The land is stunningly flat and featureless. While the old towns are beautiful, much of the modern architecture lacks variety. The language is loud and guttural. The weather is wet and windy. The people seem to lack warmth and taste and care little for style, and their customer service is abysmal.
Yet despite all this I had a great time and my admiration for the land and its people was rekindled. I remembered how simple it was to do business there, because people wasted little time, said what they thought, implemented well and were careful with money. I could see the results of this everywhere I looked, with functional industry thriving. We drove along the coast through the delta, and saw wonderful examples of the water management skills of the Dutch, a competence that the whole world will benefit from as climate change wreaks its toll.
Most amazing of all was the transportation. Unlike the US, Europe seems to have a method of asphalting roads that avoids them becoming immediately pitted with potholes. The smooth ride is helped by wonderful signage and smart design of junctions, although I found many of the roundabouts a bit strange – they often had two lanes with a divider between them at certain points, which meant you really had to choose carefully.
Then there is the provision for cyclists and pedestrians. In towns, the car is very much the junior partner, with any journey interspersed with pavements that are either light grey, indicating a pedestrian route, or red for cyclists. Add in tramlines, and it can feel like a maze. It was unfamiliar, even for someone who had driven there for many years, but it was functional and safe.
One thing this system requires to be effective is obedience. The Dutch have ensured obedience by embracing technology and heavy penalties. The parking meters are a technological marvel. The motorway speed limits are even more amazing, changing every few kilometres, often in real time and automatically depending on traffic. It foreshadowed a possible future of unmanned cars, all of us tootling along at the same speed without changing lanes or looking to game the system. And we all arrived safely and without delays – well played the Dutch. But I must pray that my car hire company doesn’t send me a bill in the next few weeks for some unknown offence.
The Dutch have among the most car miles per square kilometre of anybody, because of the dense population and developed economy, so they need all this innovation to avoid gridlock. I also loved the way so many traffic lights had sensors determining when they would change for optimum flow. Actually, I fell foul of the system until I realised what was happening, because amber lights repeatedly stopped me. I was at the back of a line of cars, and the sensor wanted me to get through and then change the light, but I was going a bit too slowly and being a bit too cautious.
I love theories about how geography and history determine character. In the Dutch case, it is simple. The land is flat and prone to flooding, but productive if managed. The delta provides a source of income via trade and especially tariffs for passage. So think of a grisly lock keeper, hardened by the weather. He or she must be technically proficient, resilient and ready to endure hardship. He or she must also be tough, almost brusque and uncompromising in taking fees and counting pennies. He or she must work in partnership with other lock keepers but be ready to argue. That is the Dutch character. Take me as I am.
As soon as I drove in Belgium, I could detect differences. The people are softer but also more slapdash. The signage is poorer, the roads are less safe and some drivers lack discipline. But the welcome is warmer and the food so much better! I find it fascinating that just a few miles distance has created such stark and sustained differences.
The world has become much smaller since the Dutch character was formed, and there is a chance for future generations to defend their unique characteristics while also learning more readily from others. Transport again offers so many simple opportunities.
In New York, the longer phasing of traffic lights is smart, but sensors could make things so much smoother. A lesson in procuring and laying asphalt is long overdue. Bike lanes are smarting to emerge, but are compromised by double parking and carelessness of drivers. Speed limits are lower than in Europe but hardly followed or enforced, even though technology would make that simple.
A transport experience is highly visible. But there is no doubt that the Dutch have used their character equally effectively in less visible areas of public policy, such as health and education. Lessons would be abundant, were we ready to accept them.
What holds this learning back? Partly it is resistance to change, often masked as protecting freedom. Perceived freedom means a lot to Americans, descended as they are in most cases from pioneers. Discipline and cooperation do not often gel well with such priorities.
It is not surprising that Dutch is a language full of proverbs, reflecting outcomes from years of Polder model learning, passed through the generations. “Argue well” is such a saying, one that I had not heard before but which I love. The US political system could benefit from learning to argue well. The Dutch used to run New York – it was originally settled as New Amsterdam. Perhaps it would be a better place if they were to return, though the food would certainly take a turn for the worse.
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