About The Author

This blog is a space for reflection — not for easy certainties or noisy slogans. It is a quiet, persistent effort to understand and remain honest in a world where truth is often drowned in the noise.

I agree with no one’s opinions; I have some of my own.”
— Ivan Turgenev

That sentiment resonates deeply with me. I am a Dutch national by birth and European by choice — an octogenarian who has spent a lifetime observing the world’s contradictions, across politics, history, culture, and personal experience.

Raised in the quiet lanes of Soestduinen in the Netherlands, I have lived across countries and cultures. My professional background in informatics and corporate finance, especially in cross-border mergers and acquisitions, offered a front-row seat to the forces that shape global economic structures.

“A house without books is like a body without a soul.”
— Cicero

For me, books, chess, classical music, and painting are not pastimes — they are lifelines. Across eight decades, these cultural anchors have given shape and depth to experience. Without them, life would be only the surface of things.

Now, in the winter of my life, this blog has become my canvas. It is where I articulate thoughts on themes that demand both attention and pragmatism — particularly in an age marked by polarization and tribalism. I do not write to persuade, but to offer a quiet counterweight to the noise of our times.

I observe how difficult it has become to rise above emotional debates, and how contrarian views are too often rejected outright. I hold — not unreasonably — that truth and reason should precede emotion in public discourse.

My writing traces back to 2003, born from deep concern over international events — especially the Iraq War and what I came to call the American Paradox: a nation rooted in the principles of liberty, equality, and freedom, yet also in the history of slavery and imperial ambition. I questioned multilateralism and international law applied selectively — according to interest rather than principle. Over time, these reflections have expanded into broader meditations on truth, freedom, and the human condition.

My concerns also extend to Europe — particularly the European Union’s reluctance to uphold press freedom, ensure judicial independence, or confront the limits of expansion without serious constitutional reform. A consolidation of values — not just enlargement — is, to my mind, an act of self-defence.

I believe life is not black or white, but painted in the full spectrum of the human experience. This blog seeks to honour that complexity.

— William J.J. Houtzager (WJJH)
Netherlands

About this blog:
WJJH.blog emphasizes the need for rational discourse in a polarized world. It explores the cultural treasures that make life worth living and voices concern about the future of our global society. Through it all, it advocates for universal values as the compass guiding us through this century’s defining challenges.