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Danger: Political rhetoric
Opinion: Expectant of everything and reliant on everyone, except ourselves!
Political discourse, when not monotonous, is always worth welcoming. However, discussion on the Irish economy has unfortunately become repetitive, and thus, boring. Every day, the same discussion is heard; as people of both mass and miniscule intelligence are becoming experts in economics, and in criticising the ‘guvvermen’ (spelled as it’s pronounced on the Luas). Discussion is caught in a duopoly of people telling us how bad things are, and rhetorically asking “how do we get out of this mess?” It seems that people are waiting for a political messiah to arrive, one that will fix our economy and make us a proud nation once again.
Ladies and gentleman, we are waiting for this messianic character in false hope. It’s about time that we stopped relying so heavily on the state and expecting it to be the generous entity it once was. Those days are over, and a good thing too. If we can’t be optimists, let’s at least be realists.
Economists that were formerly looked down upon are now glorified figures, who are asked for their opinions on everything, from an increase in VAT to how Jacob’s get the figs in the fig rolls. David McWilliams is now portrayed as more of a pinup than he is an economist, a mischievous but admirable character. Economists do deserve to be listened to, as do journalists and politicians. But what’s the point if they don’t have any proposals of their own? Constant whinging and opposition, without substance or intellect, will do nothing but add to the cauldron of anger and self-pity. I should also mention that watching Pat Kenny’s ‘the Frontline’, or listening to Joe’s Duffy’s ‘Live line’, offer you no helpful assistance; unless, you’re a sadomasochist who enjoys masturbating over how terrible things are.
It’s a pity that a listening ear is now being given to the political left, who should never be accused of being quick to catch on to anything. Begrudging the rich, violent protest, constant opposition and talk of the need for an unreachable type of equality. This is everything that one can expect of the left. Socialists never hesitate to tell us how capitalism has apparently failed Ireland, and how it has brought us back to the days of slavery. Two points can be made to defeat this pathetic argument. Firstly, we have never had proper capitalism in this country, only corporate cronyism. Secondly, it was the breakup of feudalism that led to the introduction of capitalism; so how could that make us slaves to the free markets? If anything, the presence of capitalism shows how free we are in the Western world, and that we are no longer slaves. Societies that have departed from capitalism are the ones whose people are most impoverished and least free; the pariah state of North Korea comes to mind as an example.
It’s interesting that the arrival of the IMF made us all become nationalists. Sovereignty became the said word, even among those who didn’t understand its meaning. The detestable Sinn Féin told us that this wasn’t what Connolly and others died for. It’s hard to take Sinn Féin seriously, given its shameful history, and considering the fact that one of their ‘policies’ for when they’re never in government is lowering the voting age to sixteen, sigh. Opposing the Queen’s 2011 visit was predictable at best for Sinn Féin. Given that Anglo-Irish relations are better now than ever, the British head of state coming here shows progress that should be applauded. SF must not care about either progressive history or compromise in their party’s outlook, by opposing the Queen’s visit. Among others, SF has also spoken about the need for the people of Ireland to reclaim the republic. Nice that Sinn Féin finally recognizes Ireland as a republic. It would be interesting if someone actually explained how to reclaim the republic. I’m bemused as to how this is even taken seriously. People seem to cling on to idiotic sensationalism in fear of facing reality.
The need for political reform has been another topic of conversation. Again, I ask how we can reform Irish politics. Should the Irish Senate be abolished? Should we lower the amount of TDs in parliament? Should our voting system change from PR-STV to first past the post? All of the above is never or rarely discussed by ordinary pundits, journalists and politicians today. Since Obama’s 2008 political campaign, all we’ve heard in Western politics is one word, change. Change is all very well and good to talk about, however, Obama never made it clear as to what this change would be from or to. It seems that his campaign was run without mention of any policies whatsoever; his election victory is proof enough that the electorate are too easily seduced by eloquent but incoherent rhetoric.
The Irish media needs journalists and columnists who are not afraid to be unpopular and say things as they truly are. Instead all it features are the likes of Justine McCarthy, Vincent Browne and Fintan O’Toole, who are all the worst of the liberal left. Their writing is predictable, populist, monotonous and most of all, vague. For how much longer must we have to talk about how terrible things are? The story of Ireland is truly a morose one, its people seem obsessed with hearing bad news. They are expectant of everything and reliant on everybody except themselves.
By: Cormac Declan O’Malley
