As with other European Union countries, the Dutch government has been reveling in the power COVID bestowed on it. In response, the Netherlands has seen huge and violent protests against those draconian strictures. I’m betting that some of those protesters were among the people who voted for Gideon van Meijeren, a young man newly elected to the Dutch Parliament. This young man, during his first appearance on the floor, managed in just two minutes to completely humiliate Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Watching the video will make your day.

For a long time, the Netherlands has had some of the most restrictive COVID measures in Europe. In November, the Netherlands was one of the countries that announced that the unvaccinated were banned from most public places. The restrictions escalated when the Netherlands, a country in which 85% of the adult population was vaccinated, had an upsurge in COVID cases. These restrictions included putting a curfew on all bars, restaurants, and most stores from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. Immediately after the new year, the government also made it clear that, within a few months, vaccination certificates will be considered void without a booster.

In response to the government edicts, the Netherlands has been roiled by protests. There were massive protests in November, December, and (already) in January. The January protest made world headlines when the police allowed (or ordered?) their dogs to launch brutal attacks against the protesters.

Image: Gideon van Meijeren. Rumble screen grab.

In the midst of this upheaval, a young man named Gideon van Meijeren was recently elected to the Dutch Parliament. It’s very likely that his candidacy reflects Dutch citizens’ increasing disgust with the government’s endless extensions of its newly acquired COVID power over the people.

A video is circulating showing van Meijeren, during his first official appearance in Parliament, asking Prime Minister Rutte a question. It’s a brilliant video because van Meijeren sticks to his guns as the Prime Minister sneers at him and at all those who are no longer on board with the world establishments’ COVID narrative. You will witness one of the great moments of someone truly speaking truth to power. Also, for an added smile, be sure to keep your eyes on the young woman sitting behind van Meijeren:

(Hat tip: Conservative Treehouse.)

I’m not sure when van Meijeren took his stand but perhaps it’s no coincidence that, on January 14, the government abruptly announced that it was walking back its restrictions on shops, gyms, and hairdressers—although it is forcing bars, restaurants, cafes, and “cultural establishments to remain closed until January 25 at the earliest. Why restaurants are more dangerous than shops and hairdressers will forever be a mystery.

Incidentally, young van Meijeren’s willingness to be a maverick is something that (thankfully) more young people are embracing. The New York Post profiled five college students who have had it with the woke culture on their campuses and are speaking up. Likewise, on Friday, Tucker Carlson spoke with a young Republican activist who thumbed his nose at the January 6 committee in wonderful fashion.

If we are to emerge from this attempt by the world’s totalitarians (an amalgam of billionaires, millionaires, and leftists) to weaponize COVID and wokeness to end the democratic republics that have held sway for more than 200 years, and to reinstate the totalitarianism that has been the world’s norm for most of humankind, the only way to do it is to push back: Refuse to be silenced, ridicule these self-styled “elite,” speak the truth whenever and wherever you can, and just say “no,” as Martin Luther King and Gandhi both did (and that’s true regardless of how one feels about their politics). We’re in a war of ideas and our ideas win only if we speak them loudly and proudly.