Cogs can think.

The festivities concerning the Afsluitdijk had a prominent place on today’s television. The closure of the dike was commemorated by ‘re-enacting’ how it took place 75 years ago - at the exact moment the dike was closed (a few minutes after 1pm), the flag of the Maatschappij der Uitvoering Zuiderzeewerken (’Company for the Execution of the Zuiderzeeworks‘) was waved at the point of closure, after which all ships in the area sounded their horns. The man who waved the flag was the grandson of the man who waved the flag 75 years ago. The exact same flag was used. The flag had lived in a cupboard for ages, it survived the war, it had all sorts of holes in it.

In a strange way, I found it a very touching moment.

You see, this particular dike symbolises everything my country stands for. It’s the single biggest symbol of our struggle against the water, and when you walk across it, you feel dwarfed by the immense bodies of water on either side. As a vault falling from the sky, you realise that those bodies of water have claimed 100000s of lives during the past millennia. That water, that looks so pristine and silvery calm today, ought to be treated with the utmost respect and care. Because, you know, fcuk god. It’s the water that ‘giveth and taketh’. That water blessed us with very fertile land, but it has also taken the lives of so many people.

And still, the one word that kept on haunting me today was complacency.

It isn’t terrorists that are the biggest threat to this country. It isn’t war, famine, plague, or poverty. It has always been, it is, and always will be the water that is the biggest threat to not only the stability, but also the prosperity, wealth, and the lives of people living in this glorified swamp. Even though the recent climate hype has re-iginited the fear for our oldest enemy, still, far too many people are complacent. They think the Afsluitdijk and the Deltaworks will eternally protect our swamp; they don’t realise that even though we may have entered the 21st century, the water knows no time, no technology, no nothing. It will kill and cleanse everything in its path.

Nobody saw 1953 coming. Nobody.

And it is not a question of if, but of when the water will strike again. Climate change or not. Those that do not respect the water, are bound to be drowned by it. The struggle against the water remains a struggle by and for man. For all eternity. This is a war you cannot win. And therefore, you cannot ever rest on your laurels.

The water has done a lot of givething lately. The time of takething will, one of these years, be upon us.