If I were to say to you, “I am your ruler”, what would be your response? Would you say “yes sir, of course”, and bend your knee in homage? Would you raise your voice in protest and maybe say “No man rules me, carry on your way?” No one likes to be considered “ruled” by anyone. We reject the mere suggestion that anyone would hold any sway whatsoever over our personal choice to act in any way we see fit. I would argue that this is even more so for the man who claims “Irish” as his title. The Irish are notorious for their cautious and suspiciousness of all forms of authority. Any person, group or organization are met with the strictest of scrutiny and if they are found to be, in any way, reducing the individuals freedom to choose, they receive swift and severe rebuke which may take the form of an angry retort, an uprising, or a simple box to the gob. So it is with no small intention that I pen this next piece as an indication to you, the Irish people, and a suggestion merely to encourage you to think a little about something that has been troubling me for a long time.
You see, Ireland is ruled. Since mankind arrived on the island, Ireland has been ruled. You may consider being ruled anathema, but collectively, north and south, rich or poor, Ireland’s people have been governed by someone or something. Of course it appears to be a natural facet of human society that there are always people who seek to have some form of authority over others. They increase their personal power to influence the thought, word and action of the other. They evolve in time from individuals into groups by uniting with others of like mind and desire for governance. These alliances increase their power and centralize authority into certain organizational structures. We call these structures government and we call the people politicians. The Vikings, the High Kings, the Normans, the English all had their go at ruling the Irish and today we have Fine Gael with good old Enda Kenny in the south and the Assembly with good old Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness in the north. And, as the centuries rolled by, the methods used to govern have transformed from “by the sword” to “by the gun” to “by the influence of information.”
Information has proven to be a very powerful tool, used by those who wish to rule, to get those they rule to accept them as rulers. It is very simple; say the right thing, smile at the right time, shake the right person’s hand and do it so the right people see you and you can make people very willing to vote for you to govern in their place. This is how a political system works and as government structures grow we watch as power is gradually settled into the hands of small, seemingly different, structures called parties. In the United States of America there are the Republicans and Democrats. In Great Britain there are the Conservative and Labour parties. In the south of Ireland we have Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil and in the north of Ireland, for nationalists, there are Sinn Féin and the SDLP. The parties typically take turns at being in power and if people become dissatisfied they tend to vote the other in. This cycle goes on for decades and even centuries.
The problem with this system, I believe, is that the more people give others the authority to rule on their behalf, the less responsibility the people take to rule themselves. They lose their own human identity in the midst of the collective. They become a function in society rather than an individual human being with goodness and self worth, they become dehumanized. The politicians begin to work, not for the good of the individual but rather for the will of the majority, which will vote them into power and help them maintain power. When this happens power sits with one or two parties or people and remains with them for decades. In Northern Ireland especially, the people have witnessed the same politicians in power since the 1970’s and those politicians remain in power, more or less, until they die.
The issues they work with change little. The old Catholic versus Protestant conflict is raised regularly and typically close to election times to stir the passions of the people to continue voting for the same parties and same faces. The debate continues on and on and meanwhile our economy never improves, our education system never gets better, thousands of young people continue to leave the shores for lack of opportunities, more and more businesses shut down, abortion gets closer to being introduced as a right and still the same politicians smile at the camera and shake hands and give inane statements or interviews all designed for one purpose, to keep them in power.
But just imagine with me for a second that government disappeared. Imagine there was no council, no welfare system, no television to advertise, no newspaper to sell you an opinion. What would happen? Would the world fall apart? Would we all shrivel up and die? Would there be wailing and weeping and grinding of teeth in the street?
No
There wouldn’t!
What would happen, I believe, is that once again, in Ireland we would utilize our greatest and long dormant strength – our sense of community. Remember the days when doors did not require locks, when a neighbour could come in, without a knock, to sit by the hearth and sip a cup of tea? Remember the days when people who walked or cycled would stop in the road to chat for hours and know each other better? Remember the days when, if you needed a bit of work done around the house, the neighbors would gather together to help, knowing that when the time came you would do the same? Remember the days when everyone knew each other and no one cared for who was in government because people made their own choices and had the freedom to make their own way?
We, the Irish, are a people who do not need others to look after us. We can get by if we were just left alone to harness the potential of our community strength. The more government is involved in doing everything for us, the less we avail of the opportunity to help ourselves and help each other. People become less community focused, less focused on “what can I do for my neighbor?” and more focused on “what can the government give me?” Unfortunately however, as government increases and community decreases, people become sadder, lonelier, more depressed and suicide rates increase.
I write today not to push you but just to give you an idea. If you would not accept my rule, why would you accept being ruled by anyone? I am not advocating getting rid of government altogether. I understand organization and rules to keep the bad people from our door. However, I am advocating smaller influence of government in our lives and more rights for individuals to be who they want to be on their own. Little community organizations can keep those in need, hungry or sick. We would not have to worry about having policies that run contrary to our personal values being forced upon us by politicians who are voted in only because of family voting tradition and who bow to popular opinion which does not always mean “good”.
Of course we know that those in power would never allow this because it would mean they relinquish their own power. Still, unless we stand up and choose to say “no,” those who seek not our good but the maintenance of their personal position of power, will always rule us.
Saoirse!
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