In 1932 there appeared a book by the Belgian social novelist and journalist Lode Zielens that we devoured as a young person with eager eyes. When we could come to see the black and white film of his realistic social novel “Moeder waarom leven wij?” (“Mother why do we live?”) in the 60s saw we were glued to the screen. (The 1993 version for the television channel VTM, I have never seen.)
What was described by Marnix Gijsen as
“The first great book of the new generation”
gave us a realistic picture of the social upheavals of the metropolis Antwerp through the eyes of the little guy.
The issues raised in the film were aspects we not only can find in poor working class neighbourhoods, such as the Seefhoek. Even today, people are sometimes severely shaken that they question why they live.

It is also striking that certain political parties managed to emerge in certain neighbourhoods or to be large. Seefhoek neighbourhood, where once Vincent van Gogh, Willy Vandersteen, Jef Cassiers, Matthias Schoenaerts en Rik Coppens lived, was as known for example in Flanders when it was made clear in the television program Panorama in 1988 how the emergence of Flemish nationalist political merger of De Vlaams Nationale Partij (the Flemish National Party) and the radical wing of the Vlaamse Volkspartij or Flemish People‘s Party to Vlaams Blok, [later to become Vlaams Belang (Flemish interest)] was made possible by the conditions there. The report mainly caused commotion by the language which defined migrants “bananenfreters”, “tree climbers”, etc. A piece of the report can be seen on YouTube.
Today we have returned to a politically unstable future where we in some countries, such as Britain, France, Austria and the United States of America, see similar situations as those from the 1930s and people standing up like the dangerous figure of the Führer.
In these turbulent times many people come up with more questions. Therefore this blog where I want to go looking for those essential questions and answers.
We may be or have been born and placed here on earth, but why and by whom. Who or what is behind all this and what good has our pitiful existence?
So if you have some answers, do not mind letting it know. Are you also sitting with that question
Why do we live?
let us go together looking for some answers.
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Preceding the Dutch version: Een eerste vraag: Waarom leven wij?
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Additional reading
- Kitty Werthmann her account of grewing up in Austria under Nazi regime
- Kindertransport
- Anti-Semitism ‘on the rise’ in Europe
- Ageing and Solidarity between generations
- Depression Economics and Paul Krugman
- Economic crisis danger for the rise of political extremism
- Capitalism downfall
- Blood soaking the water at democracy’s beachhead
- Where is the USA wanting to go with the freedom of their people
- 2014 Politics in the United States of America
- 2014 Politics all over the world
- The New gulf of migration and seed for far right parties
- Immigration consternation
- Migrants to the West #1
- Migrants to the West #5
- Migrants to the West #8 Welbeing
- Migration not something to fear
- Pew survey shows a split in EU favorability
- Out and In-work poverty plus Mini jobs, Maxi-poverty
- 70 years later
- When so desperate to hold onto power
- Ron Paul blames Neocons
- For more than Three thousand people fifteen years ago this world came to an end
- Nailed to our chairs, never to forget
- Americans wrongly informed about situation in Europe
- Before you blame All Muslims for the terrorist attack in Paris
- Bringers of agony, Trained in Belgium and Syria
- Being Charlie 1
- When will it stop
- Summary for the year 2015 #1 Threat and fear
- Knife-trust in democratic sore back
- Paris attacks darkning the world
- State of emergency and respect for human rights
- Is Europe going to become a dictatorial bastion
- Mocking, Agitation and Religious Persecution
- Secularism in France becoming dangerous for freedom of religion
- French showing to the whole world their fear and weakenes
- On French beach French police forces woman to undress in public
- France and the Burkini
- Does Banning Face Veils Help Us Fight Terrorism?
- Women in France running with naked bosom all right but with covered bosom penalised
- Islamophobic hate crimes rise in UK following terror attacks
- Islamophobia Must be Fought and Defeated
- Declaration of war against Islam and Christianity
- Islamism Rises from Europe’s Secularism
- Summary for the year 2015 # 2 Strewn with corpses and refugees
- Backing the wrong horse
- Foreign workers and immigrants
- Entering a new period of ‘Cold War’
- Brexit clashes and reasons to consider to bring out the right vote
- Brexit, Nexit, Vlexit and Frexit
- Financial mishmash
- Brexit, The Bible, What next?
- First sayings around the Brexit
- Brexit No. 2 Blow-up
- Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #1 Up to 21st century
- Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #2 First two decennia of 21st century
- Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #3 Right to Human dignity
- Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #12 Conclusion
- Belgium has weathered the global crisis quite well
- Standing aside or looking at election days
- Yellow wave over Belgium
- Disturbing language inbalance
- Walloon politicians have proven they will never be willing to be open to Flanders
- Being European in a Post Brexit Britain
- Looking at an American nightmare
- The twist of politics and expression
- Blinded crying blue murder having being made afraid by a bugaboo
- The clean sweeper of the whole caboodle
- Trump brand of migrant demonization #2
- Mass Media’s Deception Causing Division
- A Progressive Call to Arms
- Self inflicted misery #1 The root by man
- How importance on religion is placed
- American Christianity no longer resembles its Founder
- A strong and wise fighter who keeps believing in America
- A world with or without religion
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Further reading
- Life
- What is Life?
- What is Life? It’s Lessons
- Purpose
- A Steady Purpose
- Life’s Purpose 1
- Life’s Purpose 2
- Life’s Purpose 3
- life’s purpose (haiku – daily moments)
- My life’s purpose
- What is my life’s purpose?
- Powerful Life Changes- Life Purpose
- Discovering Your Life’s Purpose
- What is our purpose? #purpose #aloneness #birthdaypost
- Your Purpose In Life.
- Called for a Purpose
- Shift to Think Purpose 1
- Shift to Think Purpose 2
- Find your Purpose Part III
- How I’m Fulfilling My Purpose
- The Purpose and Beauty of Life’s Tests
- 5 Reasons Finding Your Life’s Purpose Will Make You Feel Whole
- This is Your Life, Do What You Love
- Does Everything Happen for a Reason?
- What they don’t tell you, Its permanent
- The Fitness Peak
- Molasses Time – Or Dying in Slow Mo
- A Second Chance?
- Life as a woven fabric
- A Speck in Earth’s Eye
- When All Else Fails: How to Get Back on Track of Your Purpose
- Being of nature
- Embracing insomnia and pain…
- Life’s Thorns
- Do You Have A Vision?
- Putting This Out Into the Universe
- Why am I in college?
- In memory of papa
- A Life Well Lived
- Shift to Think Purpose
- Your 6 Human Needs to Develop
- How far will you go to achieve your dreams?
- If You Are at the State of ‘I Don’t Know’, You’re Doing It Right
- How not to Burn out
- Connecting the dots…..
- The importance of goals
- Finding the Unique Person that is Me
- My “Superhero” Story and Why I Do What I Do
- Book Review: How To Get To The Point In Your Life: A Path of Revelations & Revivals by Tia Johnson
- Read this
- The Brave Watchman
- Not all who wander are lost
- Today… a Day of Rest
- Letting Go
- Hey…You!
- It’s Okay To Be Invisible
- Finding your inner light
- Transform
- Owning Who I am
- The Order of Life
- How is My Divine Self Revealed?
- The Christian’s Calling and Living
- Faith and works… faith that works
- Live your life with intense purpose
- God’s Purpose for Me
- The Pursuit of Happiness
- gratitude vs purpose
- Hope
- A Promise of Hope and a Future
- Affirm Life Today
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6 thoughts on “The first question: Why do we live”