This inability must be sought in its Modern teachers, not in its Traditional teachings. Its Modern teachers have inflated the doctrines of Christian caritas and humanitas to a premature and absurd degree of universality. Thus, they have fed the pathological altruism that has brought about the betrayal of the Dutch Vocation. They have diverted the moral authority and material means of the Church from their own country and their own people. For decennia now, they have supported an ‘open borders’ policy that runs counter to the fundamental identity and the fundamental interest of their own country and their own people. They have failed to distinguish between what is own and what is foreign; they have failed to distinguish between their own people and foreign sojourners. Thus, they have failed in their duty as Katechon. They have taken an undeserved and unlawful advance payment on the borderless and universal Kingdom of Heaven that only God Himself may declare. They have far exceeded their modest worldly remit, which is limited to authority over their own country and their own people. They have committed the grievous sin of superbia and they still lack the courage to turn to penitentia. They do not understand that in Heaven the ba‘al teshuvah — the ‘master of repentance’ — is superior to those that have always remained pious, despite the clear Message of Scripture: I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance (Luke 15:7).
It is the task of those theologians and authorities who have remained faithful to Tradition to cleanse the Church from the evil of Modernity. Nobody outside the Church is permitted to lecture them. But what is permitted for outsiders is to point out the urgency of the task — and to warn when the boundaries of permissible human failure are reached. When the Church transgresses the boundary between censurable shortcomings and unreasonable stubbornness by continuing to promote mass immigration and to support illegal aliens, then she finally becomes an accomplice of the destructive policies of the anti-national elite; then she becomes a part of this elite.
Ethnic Vocation — and the future of any people — entirely depends on the coherence of a double physical and psychological identity. This reality is best illustrated in the ancient People of the Covenant: the People of Israel has managed to retain its identity longer than any other historical people and the key to its preservation can be found in its adherence to its Law regarding aliens. The spiritual leaders of the Dutch people would do well to learn from the Law that has protected and preserved the People of Israel for millennia. At the most elementary level, this requires the understanding and application of the two legal principles of Ger Toshav, the ‘resident alien’, and the Ger Tsedek, the ‘righteous alien’. The first notion refers to adherence to basic legislation by all aliens with legal residence in the ancient Land of Israel. In the context of the Modern Netherlands — and that of many other Modern Western nations — this notion can be applied to all strangers who wish to (continue to) legally reside in the Netherlands as strangers, i.e. as alien residents keeping their own identity. The second notion refers to the voluntary acceptance of the whole Law of Israel, spiritually expressed as ‘conversion’ to Judaism. In the context of the Modern Netherlands, this notion can be applied to all strangers who sincerely wish to become part of the Dutch people. Thus, in an unexpected manner, the Israelite halacha provides a transcendentally inspired legal model that can contribute to a solution of the seemingly unsolvable Dutch ethnic question.
Approaching this question from the perspective of the halacha, a Dutch Ger Toshav would be the following: an alien with residence rights and legal protection who retains his own ethnic identity, including his legal nationality. In this regard, it is important to distinguish between judicial and authentic (or ‘natural’) nationality: the former refers to mere administrative citizenship and the latter refers to real ethnicity. Real ethnic identity has two complementary components: (1) the identity which the individual himself subscribes to and (2) the identity which others ascribe to him. Authentic identity requires that there is a match between subjectively experienced identity and collectively recognized identity. Authentic identity requires a high degree of collectively experienced historical continuity: it requires an actually or intentionally shared history reaching back to the oldest roots of ethnicity — and to Ethnic Vocation.
In this sense, the so-called ‘Dutch nationality’ of the large majority of ‘new Dutch citizens’ — those immigrants who have gotten hold of a Dutch passport during the last decennia — is no more than a legal fiction: they are effectively ‘fake Dutch’. This legal fiction — the personalized equivalent of a ‘mailbox company’ — may suit the anti-national hostile elite (as labour reserve, consumer mass and electoral support base), but it also involves a great risk. This legal fiction allows a large population of opportunistic ‘migrants’ undeserved access to national resources — and to profit from a ‘double nationality’. Scripture teaches that No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other (Luke 16:13). The obvious injustice of ignoring this ancient wisdom is compounded by a demoralizing effect on the indigenous Dutch people. They see that random strangers gain easy access to rights and facilities for which they themselves — and generations of their ancestors — have made great sacrifices. They also see that entirely maladjusted ‘guests’ think themselves suitable to participate in debates and decisions regarding the house and property of their host nation. Consciously or unconsciously, these observations colour the behaviour and attitude of indigenous Dutch people: they do not truly accept the ‘new citizens’ as compatriots because they do not recognize themselves in them. But they will recognize themselves in the ancient history of the persecuted People of the Covenant:
Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept the law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them. For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land, which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works. Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it. And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: and they also have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress (Nehemiah 9:34–37).
It is against this background that the much discussed phenomenon of ‘silent discrimination’ may be understood: it explains the passive but stubborn negativity of the indigenous Dutch people that many ‘new citizens’ complain about. This phenomenon proves that legal fictions such as ‘citizenship education’47 and ‘naturalization’ are simply no substitute for authentic identity — irrespective of the obligatory politically correct discourse of the supposed ‘universal equality’ of all of humanity. In this sense, the anti-national hostile elite victimizes its ‘new citizen’ population in the same way that it victimizes the indigenous population: the ‘new citizens’ are first given the sweet-tasting tranquillizer of entering a utopia of ‘equality’, but then wake up to the bitter reality of their unchanged ethnic identity.
The alternative would be to offer these ‘fake Dutch’ the option of obtaining authentic Ger Toshav status in the Netherlands: not taking on a fictitious ‘Dutch’ nationality but retaining their own authentic nationality and being recognized as such. This would mean full sphere sovereignty for each legally recognized foreign community, with its own family law, its own education, its own health care, its own social security and its own political autonomy. Suum cuique — to the degree that this sphere sovereignty is compatible with minimum standards of Dutch public life and that it does not impose undue burdens on the Dutch indigenous people. As long as these resident aliens respect the Dutch law and abstain from unacceptable habits (t
he death penalty, corporal punishment, wife beating, public butchery, animal cruelty, etc.) and as long as they provide for their own expenses they can be allowed to stay on indefinitely. By and large, they can be allowed to shape their lives according to their own preferences through their self-governance, their administrative organization, their own taxes, their own schools and their own medical facilities — as long as they do not intrude into Dutch politics and Dutch governance, and as long as they do not burden the Dutch taxpayer. In return for a modest tax, they will be domestically protected by Dutch law enforcement and they will be free to travel internationally with a Dutch travel document as Dutch citizens without being Dutch nationals.
Under the new dispensation most ‘new citizens’ would qualify for Ger Toshav status, provided they legally commit themselves, with the caveat that, as soon as they fail to live up to their contractual obligations (through e.g. terror, criminality, political activism), they will be deported without further ado. For good reason, Scripture states: Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and he will not behold the majesty of the Lord (Isaiah 26:10). But it is likely that under the new dispensation many ‘new citizens’ would themselves wish to leave, because, as soon as they are disconnected from Dutch subsidies and benefits, they will be forced to fend for themselves. The ultimate responsibility for social security will revert back to the ethnic community, which will be required by law to create a social network that conforms to basic Dutch standards of decency, i.e. no structural homelessness, no deep poverty and no unattended sicknesses. Under this new dispensation recourse to criminal behaviour will also be impossible: the full costs of criminality against the indigenous population will be charged against the community to which the criminal belongs. This will create a self-regulating modality in which there is no room for ‘free riders’, sponging, fraud and criminality. To speed up the departure of undesirable elements it is advisable to institute a universally accessible, temporary repatriation programme, which will give all ‘new citizens’ the possibility to give up residence voluntarily in return for a small life-long stipend and basic travel facilities. Investing in a repatriation programme of small inducements will pay off in the long run, because it benefits society through long-term reductions in the cost of law enforcement, legal procedures and damage control.
For those foreigners who sincerely seek to truly become Dutch, i.e. to assimilate in a credible manner, there will always be the option of applying for Ger Tsedek status. For good reason, Scripture states: Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in (Isaiah 26:2). In this regard, however, high requirements are essential: only those who have proven themselves as a Ger Toshav can apply for recognition as Ger Tsedek — the first status can be a prerequisite for the second status. The actual assimilation process can reflect the heavy Israelite giyur, or ‘conversion’, process and can include elements such as an official sponsor (e.g. a Christian Church, an indigenous community, an academic authority), guarantees (e.g. a security clearance, a background check, a surety payment) and a personalized multi-year commitment. Logical commitments can include elements such as a thoroughly tested Christian or humanist identity, a public renunciation of all other religions, a high-level language exam, the official adoption of a traditional Dutch name and an official oath of allegiance.
The Biblical concepts of Ger Toshav and Ger Tsedek are primarily valuable as solutions for the current Dutch ethnic question: they can regulate the status of the present alien population. Above and beyond this, it will be necessary to instate credible defences against future mass immigration. This means that Ger Toshav status should be restricted to those aliens who are presently residing in the Netherlands, i.e. to those who presently hold a paper ‘Dutch nationality’ or a permanent residence permit. Above and beyond this, only temporary guest workers and temporary asylum seekers can be accepted: guest workers only through sponsorship by accredited private employers and asylum seekers only through invitation by accredited private charities. Future guest workers and asylum seekers will have to be selected and screened in their countries of origin and employers and charities will bear the full financial and legal responsibility for them. They will all have to reapply for residence permits every year so that their status can be reviewed and they will be excluded from applying for Ger Toshav and Ger Tsedek status: before they come to the Netherlands, they will be explicitly told that they can never be more than temporary guests there. To discourage undue hopes, residency guest workers will not be allowed to own real estate and they will have to leave when they have children during their stay in the Netherlands. To discourage false expectations, the earnings of refugees will be kept in savings accounts until their departure and they will have to stay in especially supervised facilities. Dura lex, sed lex. Cross-border marriage and family reunification will remain the privileges of the indigenous people. Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi.
It will be up to sharp-minded legal experts to create a fitting contemporary framework for the Biblical concepts of Ger Toshav and Ger Tsedek, but it is up to the wise teachers of the Church to point out to them the ultimate purpose of these concepts: the preservation of the Dutch people — and of the Dutch Vocation. All chassidei ’umot ha-‘ōlam, all ‘pious people of the world’, are called to study the Law and to learn from it so that they can prosper in the world according to their own Vocation. If the Dutch Church recognizes the Law as its standard then it is obliged to make clear decisions — before it is too late.
Postscript: From the ‘Amīdah
Attah chonen le-adam da‘at u-melammed le-enosh binah:
chone-nu me-Itkha de‘ah binah ve-haskel.
Barukh Attah Adonai chonen had-da‘at!
[You bestow wisdom on man and teach insight to the human being:
Bestow on us from Yourself wisdom, insight and discernment.
Blessed are You, Lord, Who bestows wisdom!]
lām yā’ hā’
Chapter Five
The Hamartiology of Modernity
The Rear-View Mirror of Traditionalism
The gates of hell are open night and day;
Smooth the descent, and easy is the way:
But to return, and view the cheerful skies,
In this the task and mighty labor lies.
— Virgil, The Aeneid
Book VI (Dryden translation)
A Traditionalist cultural-historical interpretation of Western Modernity, as initiated by the book The Sunset of Tradition, has two specific benefits for those young Western people who are seeking viable alternatives to the bankrupt Cultural Nihilist worldview of the baby boom generation.
First, Traditionalist hermeneutics are characterized by a structurally holistic methodology: it puts the lived human reality of Modernity and the characteristic pathology of Modernity into perspective by studying them at several levels simultaneously. Thus, the typically Modernist phenomenon of ‘hyper-democracy’ is clarified as the result of multiple, simultaneous cultural-historical developments: the bio-evolutionary development of urban-industrial (over)populations, the sociological development of the ‘regression of the castes’, the political development of totalitarian collectivism and the psycho-historical development of collective narcissism. The holistic approach of Traditionalism offers an alternative to the mono-causal approach of the Historical Materialist worldview that underpins Cultural Nihilist ideologies such as social-Darwinist neo-liberalism and Cultural Marxism.
Second, Traditionalist hermeneutics is characterized by an automatic distillation of meta-historical meaning: by placing the objective material reality and the subjective human experience of Modernity in a coherent historical context, they gain relative meaning. Superficially unrelated Modern existential crises (industrial ecocide, cannibalistic hyper-capitalism, social atomization, existentialist philosophy, deconstructive art) regain th
eir essential meaning through a simple description in terms of historical synchronicity and their collective opposition to preceding historical realities. Traditionalism summarizes this description as the ‘Crisis of the Modern World’ and it interprets Cultural Nihilism as an inevitable phase of this crisis. Thus, Cultural Nihilism is stripped of its mythological status as ‘progress’. Instead, it is recognized in its essential meta-historical role as a psycho-historical ‘weapon of mass destruction’, utilized against all forms of authentic identity and operating through denial, abolition and inversion.
Apart from its own coherent hermeneutics, Traditionalism offers a coherent system of archetypal symbolism: it preserves theoretical knowledge of Traditional symbolic systems so that one day they can be practically re-activated. Forms of re-activation (metamorphosis, palingenesia, resurrection) are possible at all levels and in all dimensions: individually and collectively, esoterically and exoterically, physically and psychologically. At the lowest individual level, such reactivation can take the form of strictly personalized ‘rebirth’ (conversion, redemption, transfiguration); at the highest collective level, it can take the form of a re-commencement of history (a Renaissance, a Thousand Year Imperium, a Golden Dawn).
A self-surpassing resurrection of Western civilization from the ashes of Cultural Nihilist Modernity is only possible by a re-experiencing of archetypal Western symbolism: the re-conquest of Western identity is only possible by re-living those symbols that characterize authentic Western identity. Chapter 4 already mentioned some of the core symbols of the collective ‘Higher Vocation’ of the Western peoples: Bringer of Evangelion, Creator of Nomos and Master of Techne. But these core symbols are merely abstract reflections of the macro-cosmic ideals of Western identity: they lack micro-cosmic reality if Western men deny them in themselves. Realization of this collective Higher Vocation (of the Western peoples as a collective) as well as realization of separate Ethnic Vocations (of each separate Western people as a specific ‘incarnation’ of that Higher Vocation) demands a minimal degree of individual exposure to transcendental experience: a minimal degree of ‘soulfulness’, ‘inspiration’ and ‘rapture’. In accordance with the dualistic Western spiritual identity of pagan nature worship and Christian self-transcendence, pre-Modern Western man was doubly exposed to such experience. First, by this predominantly agricultural existence, he was intimately linked in spirit to his boreal biotope, characterized by mythically archaic half-nature half-culture landscapes and by a tyrannical seasonal cycle that demanded constant forward thinking. Second, deeply internalized ethics and highly sublimated awareness of salvation made him experience himself as an intrinsic part of the Christian Church: he incorporated ecclesiastical doctrine because he himself personified the Church. Western man only lost his access to these transcendental experiences after his final transition into de-naturalized urbanity (the Industrial Revolution) and de-institutionalized religiosity (the Protestant Reformation).
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