Irelands Pivotal Role In International Politics

national | miscellaneous | news report

Sunday June 01, 2003 18:53

by Declan F. Hogge

albatrosspie at hotmail dot com

086 8647529

Why We Are A Nation Of Pliable Drunks

Go anywhere in the world and tell the locals that you are Irish.If the locals are aware of our little island "republic" they will more than likely respond to you like this:They will smile and make a swigging gesture with their hand whilst saying "You enjoy imbibing alcoholic beverages in great quantities,don't you?,you cheeky monkey",or it's equivalent phrase in the local dialect.Secondly,their tone will change slightly and they will apologise for mistaking you for a British or American person.They will commend you for being among the very few white Anglophone nationalities that have told the British Empire,if not the American Empire to pog your collective hoin.You will see a glimmer of respect and admiration in their eyes which will soon turn to a glare of horror and revulsion as you get more inebriated and begin taking liberties and borrowing money.You are Ireland in microcosm.

Ireland is not just a nation,(Some would argue that it is not even a nation,but they would be very cynical people indeed),
it is a state of mind.It is an ethos.To put it another way,it is a Brand Image.And not just any old brand image.
It is a brand image which 34 million U.S. citizens proudly stamp on their foreheads.And not just any old 34 million U.S.
citizens either,we're talking 34 million voting age adults who retain a common cultural identity and will for the most
part vote the same way,and considering that the last 'election' was won by a handful of votes,34 million is not such a small number.
So, if we can try for a moment to look beyond our own over-romanticised shores for just a few moments,we can begin to see our place in international politics.We are a living breathing election campaign,that is funded and operated
by those who believe that the way the world works is hunky-dory.Just fine.Grand.

If we can remain detatched for just a few moments more we can see that for these people,(let's call them 'The Status Quo'),it would be a very silly idea indeed to allow Ireland to function as the truly autonomous democracy that it claims to be.Imagine if you will this hypothetical scenario:
Supposing a grass-roots political movement arose in Ireland that managed,in spite of all the odds,to attain a majority in the Dail.Suppose this was a political party that had the best interests of the majority of the people at heart.
Suppose further that they set about passing legislation to ensure that an efficient health system was available to all members of the public for free,and that housing was made affordable by breaking up the cartels that exist in the
building and local politics trades.That corruption was punishable by hefty prison terms and realistic fines,and so on and so forth.

Some would call this Socialism,others Communism,but a cynical person like myself would call it Democracy.
That is Democracy according to it's dictionary definition,as opposed to it's currently applied interpretation.
This simply would not do for the following reasons:

1. As a nation of white English speakers we would be setting a dangerous precedent for the
minority of rich white countries that control the worlds wealth,resources,arms and media.

2. See number one.

So,if one wanted to make sure that there was no chance of this ever happening,how would one go about it?
Would one be well advised to inform the constituents of Ireland of their pivotal and hence powerful role on the world
stage? I think not.
Would one be well advised to keep them as much in the dark as possible,insecure,disempowered,
divided,profitable and sedated? I think so.In fact I know so.

But how could this be done? Surely a nation of proud, educated,defiant warrior poets would never fall for such a blatant ruse to keep them in their place.They would never queue up to spend the lions share of their disposable
income on a detrimental chemical substance handed to them by their colonial masters.Or would they?

In a country where people vent their frustration not by attacking it's cause,but by soothing it's symptom with an exacerbating poison posing as a panacea, the road is clear for whatever 'The Status Quo',choose to drive up it.
And all the rebel songs in the world will never change that.A drunk army is no army at all.

At the present time the Irish in Ireland could literally save the world if we only had the balls to face it sober.If Democracy is possible in
Venezuela,it's possible here.

Imagine the chain reaction.Suddenly the Irish population of the U.S. forbids U.S. military
intervention and begins to pay attention to the Irish media minus it's old bias towards safeguarding the interests of
'The Status Quo' and begin asking questions of their own government as a unified and disaffected chunk of the
electorate.I think we would soon see some changes in U.S. foreign policy.
Okay,I think I've made my point.Let's re-cap.

1. The Irish Brand Image is an immense political tool,not to be underestimated.

2. A nation of pliable drunks is no threat to 'The Status Quo',in fact we are actively
supporting 'The Status Quo',both financially and by example to the Irish in the U.S.,who drink as a means of cultural expression,to re-inforce their sense of Irishness.

Wouldn't it be nice to go anywhere in the world and have the locals look on you not as a drunk,but as one of the
people who helped to save the world from 'The Status Quo'.And all you have to do is stay out of the Pub.
Oh and get involved in informing the Irish public that they are in fact colluding in international genocide by 'just having a good time'.Enjoy.