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Nation – nationality : interesting theoretical items, but what do they mean?

To make this all more concrete, we tried to find out what is so typical “Belgium”.

The question:

“You go to another country in another continent. You can bring one suitcase / briefcase with objects and photographs. What would you take with you and show to the people about “Belgium” ?

Monuments in material and attitude

1. Copy of the Declaration of Independence : yes, this country really exists, although almost nobody expected this when it was “founded” as a compromise …

2. Atomium : almost the icon of a united Belgium; a relic of the famous world expo ’58, became a uniting factor between the different regions and maybe a symbol for the future.

3. Manneke Pis : the most popular statue in Belgium, with great emotional value; real and absurd, the statue and the story behind it.

4. Compromises : the noble art of making useful compromises kept Belgium alive … no place for strong and one-dimensional statements

5. Surrealism : to live in this country, to believe that it really exists and to tell this abroad, you need a strong portion of surrealism and absurdity, like some of our most important artists of the 20^th / 21the century –  René Magritte, Marcel Broodaerts, Wim Delvoie, Jan Fabre, …

6. New heroes, just in case ...

“Blackest Black” – an black variety, the blackest possible invented by a Belgian artsit

Music : Deus, Brel, Arno, Zita Swoon,

Comics

People who must be known abroad, even if …

1. Leopold II : the second king of the Belgian nation – for some a genius, for others a cruel dictator who started the big colonial experiment in Congo.

2. Herman Van Rompuy (with a Haiku) : this politician “of the second chance” made it towards the European top – president of the EU council … We need some “new” heroes, urgent !

3. De “kleine zelfstandige” : the little entrepreneur, distributor and central meeting point in a local economy, despite his / her own dreams – after all , it’s the Belgian state of mind that made this country as it is : entrepreneurs, artists, politicians … mostly they have this state of mind ( dreams, hard work, compromise, laughed with, a bit of paranoia and a lack of guts to convince the world )

4. Eddy Wally : a charm singer, always smiling, always busy … laughed with in Belgium, popular far abroad (China, USA, …)

5. Eddy Merx : a living legend in the bike competition, sportsman of the 20^th century in Belgium

6. Sven Neys : a living legend in “Veldrijden” , a less known bike competition in the mud, on snow and ice … World famous to those who are familiar to this sport

7. Fashion – designers  : Antwerp is famous for it’s academy that delivers great minds in the mode –industry.

Ordinary things that are most important for the Belgians :

1. A brick : lets build houses out of thousands of bricks, and complain that it is to expensive to do so.

2. Mono volume : big cars to drive around with children and their belongings: a maxi cosi, a (design) buggy, a small bike, a step, some toys, another step, some safety gear, and some more toys.

3. A Cow : a strange, bit foolish like animal that used to inhabited the place that we turn in to houses … Without the cow, Belgians wouldn’t had survived it all.

4. “Frietketel” : a genial instrument that helps to create the unhealthy but delicious Belgian french fries – another way to survive the hunger past of the Belgians

5. TV : no words for this

6. Lace : to trick some tourists in places like Bruges or Brussels

7. Diamonds : to attrack the rich and wealthy – the Antwerp diamond centre is strong connected with the Jewish community in Antwerp, that colours the streets.

8. A “German helmet” : to remember the 20the century wars and the peace afterwards

9. Belgian beer : to forget the history and what goes wrong – or just to feel heaven before you die

10. Cheese : for every beer, a different cheese

11. Chocolate : no more words, just enjoy.

To be continued ...