Looking at the Greek riots you’d wonder why there are no decent riots here in Ireland. We had the so called ‘storming of the Dáil’ earlier in the week but it was much ado about nothing. Apparently we’re a lot better off than Greece, sure aren’t we giving them a big loan. The fact that we don’t have the money ourselves and have had to borrow the money to lend it to them is only a minor detail.
It looks to me like post Celtic tiger Ireland is a place where the will to protest and object no longer exists. Do we just expect very little now after the Celtic tiger and all the scandals? Are we too apathetic to try changing anything? Do our dreams stop at wanting our children to get maximum points, navigate the system, and get a secure well paying job? Is that the extent of our aspirations for our children? What happened to the idea of wanting to make the world a better place? What happened to all those lovely girls in the Rose of Tralee competition who always wanted to help those less fortunate than themselves? That’s not cool any more apparently. For all our new found ‘confidence’ one thing we have failed to get over is our obsession with being as good as the Yanks as we gorge ourselves on their television output and take on their lingo.
Was that ‘confidence’ just based on prosperity, because deep down we don’t seem to have taken on our independence at all. We got shut of the Brits, then we beat the hell out of each other and after it all we cashed in our new found independence for a new dependence; dependence on the Church to tell us what to do, to provide an education system, to provide health services and care services. Our so-called leaders were happy with this arrangement. Perhaps our national identity was so damaged by over 800 years of oppression that it was unrealistic to expect us to be able to grow up that fast. We all thought we had it made when the Celtic tiger arrived but we now know we ran before we walked or even crawled. The new authority figures we found to replace our former oppressors, one by one they have fallen as has the Celtic tiger because loyalty and commitment not born from free choice is worthless and fickle.
We’ve always had a problem with authority, we hate laws, see the enforcers as traitors, and we embrace power and control when we get it but as all the various scandals have shown us we have great difficulty in exercising it responsibly. Our experience of authority and power has been predominantly oppressive and negative.
We can always blame someone else for our ills and we’re very good at it. Our own responsibility and freedom frightens us all because all safety nets come under scrutiny and more often than not get taken away. So laziness is pervasive and settling for the status quo is the great unwritten commandment. We can cash in our freedom in exchange for being told what to do. Better that than having to work it all out and start from scratch.
Putting up and shutting up is easier, it’s easier to settle for the mediocre, because mediocre lets us all off the hook, we can all do mediocre, and mediocre threatens nobody so begrudgery can sleep in peaceful slumber. The thinking goes that mediocrity, like Guinness, is good for us, ideal conditions for a dictator to appear and take charge. Trouble is you won’t find a passionate Irish dictator with all that apathy and mediocrity around. The search will have to start beyond our shores.
Prospective dictators are welcome to contact the column on the following email address, CVs welcome. You can contact the column at [email protected]
