Monthly Columns
Happy New Year: Hollandy
Happy New Year
By: Sarah Aarssen
“It’s not all Holland, it’s not all Illinois, it’s just a little Holland-y”
It’s only natural that my first instinct when writing my January “Hollandy” would be to first wish you all a very happy New Year and best of luck for 2012 (albeit slightly late) and then proceed to share with you about the cultural differences between how we would celebrate New Year’s in central Illinois versus the city of Amsterdam. I’m a “go with your gut” girl so I’ll do just that.
It’s been a long time since I’ve rung in the New Year back in Illinois but it’s safe to say I can remember the traditions well enough. I’d get together with my usual group of awesome, fun friends. We’d decide if we should stay in or go out. We’d discuss the dangers of driving and risk of getting in an accident or being pulled over (from no fault of our own, mind you). Then we’d drink, dance, do the countdown, kiss our loved ones at the stroke of midnight (or kiss random strangers because, well, you saw the part about the drinking didn’t you?). Eventually the night would wind down and you’d spend the next day nursing a slight hang over and eating Bagna Cauda with your family.
My first experience of New Year’s Eve (2004 – 2005) Amsterdam style was somewhat similar to Illinois in that there was a countdown. That’s where the similarity pretty much ended.
Still in the “new love” phase Marco and I didn’t make plans with anybody and decided to spend our first New Years together just with one another. We walked through the streets of the city and I was blown away by the size of it all. On every big “square” there were huge deejay booths and stages set up with gigantic speakers and music blaring. The entire city was in party mode. We decided that Dam Square, where the palace is, (did I tell you the Dutch have royalty? Well now you know) would be the best place to spend our very first New Years together. Rather than a small club full of people, there where thousands and thousands of people gathered around, drinking, dancing and listening to the deejay rock some techno-dance music while videos were shown on a massive screen.
I remember the excitement that I felt being there. I was living the things that I had only seen on TV. Me, a girl from mapdot Illinois , I was really standing there on Dam Square, in front of a palace, amongst this sea of people that I didn’t know, who didn’t know me and I was loving it. The music was pumping. People were partying. The energy was fantastic. It was a dream. As cheesy as it may sound, it was seriously a dream for me. I don’t know if it will make sense to anybody else but I felt tiny. I felt so small and little and my world seemed to be super-sized. No, it wasn’t the space cakes. It was just the city doing its thing.
Television stations happened to be taping the square to show the celebration on TV so at about two minutes to midnight they had us all do a “practice” countdown to show on the air. We did the countdown, everything went fine. It was what I expected. Awesome.
Then the real countdown began. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! We kissed. (I didn’t kiss any random strangers that year, if you were wondering). The crowds erupted in shouting and celebration.
Then the most bizarre thing happened. All smiles around just soaking it all in and suddenly I felt a little, yet firm, push and turned around to see what was happening. Seconds later Marco yelled “get back” throwing a heroic arm in front of me sending me stumbling a bit. There was a group of young guys creating a small clearing, probably three feet in diameter. What in the world? Seconds later a gigantic firework exploded into the air spraying it colors across the crowd. Scared me to death! Not three seconds later it happened again. A little push. Somebody would yell “look out” (or kijk uit in Dutch) and BOOM!
I’m not talking about bottle rockets here. These were big, glorious, professional fireworks, think Fourth of July…only in the hands of every single drunken tween, teen and young adult on the square filled with thousands of people. I’d love to pause here and say it was gorgeous but I’d be lying. It was terrifying. It took the magical “I’m in love with the city” feeling down a notch or two and I was now feeling more “you crazy Dutch, have you lost your minds?!?!?”. -ish It was absolute mayhem! No “Auld Lang Syne” sung here but more like “Ode to Anxiety”.
That was my first and very last experience of New Years in the grand old city. We now ring in the new year from the comfort of our living room, watching those crazy-firework-loving-Dutch light up the sky from the safety of our double glazed windows.
Happy New Year’s everybody!
Comments
Dear Editor:
This is not about Donald Trump. It’s not even about the sad souls seduced by him. The insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol to prevent the peaceful transfer of power were primarily guilty of being gullible. They fell for the fraud. They did not do the defrauding. Many have been held accountable for their actions. Most of the ones who fooled them have not. Yet.
I refer to Republican Party leaders who cashed in their moral courage to ride a demagogue’s coattails to power. They learned from their adored leader how to spew out coded calls to mob mentalities eager to vent their resentments. I used to believe people had to be taught to hate. Donald taught us you only have to invite people to hate. Let them know it’s OK. Normal. Join the gang. Have some fun.
Who would you like to hate? It doesn’t have to be a race, religion, or immigration status. People really want to hate “Elites.” Who are elites? Anyone who knows more than they do. People want to feel like they know more science than scientists; feel more righteous than the devout. What better leader could they have than one who tells them what they want to hear. Someone who claims to “know more about the military than all the generals.” That injecting bleach might cure Covid. Forget evidence. Forget knowledge. Too time consuming. Too boring. All you have to do is what Donald does. Just “feel” you’re right. Personally, I’d rather lose with honesty than win with lies.
They call themselves something they are not: “Conservatives.” True Conservatives value character, civility, and intelligence. Trump-pets reward arrogance, anger, and self-delusion.
“Alternative facts” is an oxymoron. Except in minds that can’t face an uncomfortable truth. They’re just opinions masquerading as facts. Using partial truths is not just a way to fool others. It’s how we fool ourselves. If you embrace Donald, you embrace his lies and self-delusions. You become what he is: a fraud. In the end, you will be a mere follower of a pathetic, narcissistic bully. I would rather be dead than that.
If you are one of those silent conservatives who still respect the Constitution, Democracy, and the rule of law, but allow yourself to be intimidated by Trump Trolls, the death of our democracy will be on you.
James Tweed; 1512 Wesley Ave. Ocean City, NJ 08226; (609)398-3124
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President Donald Trump will formally accept the Republican Party nomination for President at the Republican National Convention next week.
America is a country divided and by virtue of accepting the Republican Party’s nomination for president, half the country will embrace him while the other half will want nothing to do with him.
The divide between Democrats and Republicans is nothing new, but what is new is the use of lawfare to target political rivals. Here in Illinois, the moment President Trump and his delegates filed their paperwork to be on the ballot in the Land of Lincoln, a group of far-left radicals immediately filed an objection to the filing. The objection was an outlandish legal charge that President Trump was the instigator of the events on January 6th, 2021, and was therefore not eligible to be on the ballot.
In the end these bogus accusations went nowhere. Even legal experts who were no fans of the 45th President thought the objection was ridiculous. But this is the state of affairs in politics today. Instead of putting ideas on the ballot and campaigning on the merits of those ideas, the far-left radicals are weaponizing our courts and targeting people solely on the basis of political ideology.
Donald Trump is without a doubt the most famous person in the world and like all famous people, he has his fans as well as his detractors. He is not “literally Hitler” as the extremists on the left claim. He is not the enemy of Democracy. He is a candidate for office like any other candidate. His ideas of a strong border, a strong military, low taxes, reduced business regulations, trade deals that protect American interests and a desire to protect America’s interests abroad have been a part of the public discourse for a long time. The notion that these ideas are an “assault on our Democracy” is just nonsense.
President Trump was leading in the majority of the battleground states long before the country saw Joe Biden’s decline in real time during the recent Presidential debate. And the reason he was leading in the polls is because Americans in growing numbers have rejected Joe Biden’s failed policies. The fact that Joe Biden has demonstrated his complete inability to serve has only served to give President Trump even more momentum than he already had ahead of the Republican National Convention.
It is time for our party to rally around our nominee. We cannot afford to continue Biden’s open border policies that are crippling our cities. We need a President who is strong on crime and who will work with state and local governments to keep our communities safe. We need a leader who will put an end to the inflation hurting so many families. I hear all of the time from constituents who are overwhelmed by the price of food and other household necessities. The current Administration won’t fix a problem and in fact they won’t even acknowledge the problem exists.
I call on everyone who may have voted for someone other than Donald Trump to watch the Convention and rally around our nominee. So-called “Republicans” like Adam Kinzinger who have done the unthinkable and endorsed Joe Biden are not only embarrassing themselves, but they are contributing to our nation’s decline.
We cannot afford another four years of the Green New Scam, the open border policies and the weaponization of the justice department to target political opponents. Joe Biden ran to heal our country and all he has done is fracture us even more. It is time to put America first and Donald Trump will do just that. It is time for Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, and moderate Democrats to rally around President Trump and Make America Great Again!
State Representative Adam Niemerg
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Dear Editor,
Domestic Violence within Macoupin County is prevalent. It is destructive and can be both physical and psychological. It can affect anyone of any age, gender, race, or sexual orientation. It may include behaviors meant to scare, physically harm, or control a partner. While every relationship is different – domestic violence generally involves an unequal power dynamic in which one partner tries to assert control over the other in a variety of ways. The following statistics are all according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
We can see domestic violence inside the home: through the use and control of household pets. In one study, 85% of survivors who experienced co-occurring animal abuse reported that the behavior of their pets had changed. An even higher percentage of survivors who reported partners had harmed or killed their pet, have also reported their partner for domestic violence. We can also see an increase usage of firearms within the intimate partner violence home. A survey of contacts by the National Domestic Violence Hotline found (of those with access to firearms):
- 10% said their abusers had fired a gun during an argument.
- 67% believed their abusers were capable of killing them.
We can see domestic violence inside our schools: as partner violence is not exclusive to the home. There are many instances of violence between dating partners that begin in high school. Nearly 1.5 million high school students in the United States are physically abused by dating partners every year. Within those relationships, 13.4% of male high school students report being physically or sexually abused by a dating partner.
We can see domestic violence inside our community: Macoupin County provides a specific set of needs for those victims and survivors of domestic violence. There are several complex concerns within a violent relationship that come to light once action has been taken. Safe Families sees a few main re-occurring concerns within the county:
- Survivors have fewer financial resources, making them more financially dependent on an abusive partner.
- The lack of rental units or other affordable housing options makes it more difficult for survivors to leave spouses or co-habiting abusers.
The Macoupin County Safe Families program provides support for residents as they journey the emotional endeavors to leave behind domestic violence. As a contributor to that experience, we will be hosting a Domestic Violence Awareness Walk on October 7th on the Carlinville Square. An event shirt will be included with a ticket sale. The online tickets will close 09/29 at 5pm. Tickets will be sold at 9am day-of event at the Safe Families booth. More information about the Awareness Walk can be found on our website at mcphd@mcphd.net. We urge Macoupin County residents to join us and rally against domestic violence together.
Juliet Wooldridge and Lilly Booth
Domestic Violence Advocate Coordinators
Community Health Worker
Macoupin County Safe Families
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Bunker Hill hosting Fall Festival this Saturday, Sept. 14
Gillespie Council votes to buy building for police department
Gillespie Council establishes penalty of late lake lot lease payments, green lights programs to display banners honoring local veterans
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Community News4 weeks agoBunker Hill hosting Fall Festival this Saturday, Sept. 14
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Community News4 weeks agoGillespie Council votes to buy building for police department
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Community News4 weeks agoGillespie Council establishes penalty of late lake lot lease payments, green lights programs to display banners honoring local veterans
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Obituaries4 weeks agoDeath of Norma Jean Sanks