During this #Corona time we are stopped for a moment. Why are we doing what? What is really important and why? Who should work at home and who is allowed to travel and work at the working place. In the Netherlands, our prime minister Mark Rutte came up with the term ‘vital job occupations’. These jobs are of such importance for our society that the government has arranged Child-Care for those who have to go to their workplace. It seems that it would have been better if I had a job of a stock clerk instead of my current main job occupation, teacher and trainer at an University of Applied Sciences. And what do you think of the ethical announcement of our prime minister according to the school of Miller “that the freedom of one should not be at the expense of the health of the other?” In the #value ladder, health is put at the top. The Dutch government wants to prevent doctors from deciding in the ICU who will be allowed to use the scarce IC beds with respiratory equipment, etc., and thus decide who can live and who cannot. That would indeed be a disaster if something like this had to take place. If such a choice has to be made, it will probably be determined on the basis of age, family composition, vitality, and such who will receive priority treatment in the ICU department. A distinction will then have to be made between patients, how painful is that? Although it can be understood.

What is incomprehensible is the distinction that the German NSDAP made in World War II between Jews and non-Jews. In the Netherlands it started with a sign in the Vondelparc “banned for Jews” and it remained silent in Amsterdam on May 31st, 1941. Eventually, 75% of the Jews were exterminated from the Netherlands during the occupation. In Denmark this was only 1%. How is that possible? In his new book Countrymen, the Danish historian Bo Lidegaard explains the main reason: the Danes offered collective resistance to this injustice. There was no collective effort. He describes how this happened in his book.

You and I make individual choices every day. The Netherlands and the United States are countries that score relatively high on “individualism” according to method of Hofstede. We live in a country in which we are free to make our choices. Which choices now lead to freedom and happiness for yourself and for the people around you. For the legendary singer who died on May 9, 2020, #Little #Richard, it became clear in the late 1980s. He surrendered himself to Jesus Christ because Jesus really sets free! At first he thought that debauchery and enjoying sex, alcohol and rock & roll as much as possible would bring freedom, but that only left him hungover after a long time. He discovered that Jesus Christ died on the cross for his guilt as a result of his selfishness and that Jesus wants to forgive him and bring him to God. That insight brought such a turning point in his life that he could never be the same after this meeting, although he remained an entertainer. The good news is that God offers one solution in Jesus Christ for all on earth.  At #Pentecost we are reminded that the Spirit of God is available for all who come to Jesus for help. Here is a link to a performance by this singer and a link to an interview with him at the age of 84.

Picture: provided by Anna Bleker on Wikipedia