The paralysis of Neutrality

When the subject of militarism or war is brought up in Ireland you'll get a variety of opinions on various matters pertaining to just about everything besides the modern Irish Military. And even if you direct the conversation towards the topic you will find the majority of the people you meet will have not given it considerable thought, and if they do they will usually fall into rough groupings of liberals grumbling about Irish Neutrality to try to steer the conversation away fromt he topic and that'd be the end of it. Either that or you'll end up in the other secular camp that shout vehemently about the nature of chaplaincies in the Irish armed forces. In either case the result is the same.

For some bizarre reason the modern Irishman is hostile to any state run body of National pride and masculine projection made manifest in physical form.

I could go on with touching upon the hypocrisies of Irish Republicans on the matter but that would give the impression this problem is limited to them in some way.

In truth the modern Irish mind is so dedicated to Neutrality, long instituted since the founding of the Republic, that it forgets both the disservice it has done us in the past and lamenting the memory of why it was instituted in the first place.

When the Republic was young, the Irish army was not vast, we had virtually no navy or fighting aircraft, we were in every essence a fledgling state and proclaiming neutrality was a wise move to protect ourselves until we had the means with which to defend ourselves. Europe was a very dangerous place at the time. The problem with this policy happened early on, when the second world war rolled around our Neutrality cost us the favour of the Allied forces, with whom we were actively, if not admittedly, aiding in the war. Americans refuelled their plans here and their troops did exercises and did bunk here, but because we never actively taken part in the war effort when we were under the best protection to do so (what with England being a good buffer state between us and Hitler), we were penalised by our erstwhile allies with poor trade deals. And got bombed by the occassional Luftwaffe sortie for our troubles regardless. Now, nearly a century onwards pray tell why are we still neutral?

I ask that question earnestly, why are we still neutral? Look across Europe, to Switzerland and Austria, both neutral countries, both with fine military traditions and proud displays of patriotism (in comparison to the Irishman's own at any rate) It is all well and fine for them to remain neutral, being better equipped to fuel their own needs and sharing mostly land borders they need not worry for want of battleships. Neutrality does these countries well because they are fully prepared to go to war should that neutrality fail them. Has it been doing us well? we are on the corner of Europe, who is our enemy? England? They could care less for conquest these days, the Scots or the welsh? Their own grievances with the English they could care less about us, it is no secret the French are jealous of our corporate taxes making us more competitive economically, but they will never go to war with us for such a petty prize, who then? The Americans? Icelanders? Neutrality is doing us nothing but hampering us economically.

Upon talking with friends at University about the Ireland's economic nature and how we are perfectly poised on a trade route between the North Americas and Europe, and lamenting how no one seems to have the will to push us forward to be more prominent in markets we already excel in and to feed a burgeoning trading industry among our coastal cities. Lord knows the poorer regions of Ireland would be grateful for it and the entire nation would benefit from it. But even if in our discussions I find that my compatriots are in agreement with me in this issue, they will ask, 'But will that mean we will have to give up our neutrality?' and I am dumbstruck.

I have argued before that if Ireland did cease upon a greater economic destiny Europe would take note and our rise would upset the market balances in Western Europe and many a man would direct their Ire to Ireland. And yes, this would mean we would have to sacrifice our neutrality. For to become a player on the world stage, however small, we will have to show we are prepared for the consequences of winning over the pot at the poker table. But because of this bizarre and unnecessary neutral mentality we are paralysed with fear of success, for success brings antagonism. Who dares, wins, and it is the Pious, masculine nation who values its honour and integrity in all things, even its approach to material success, that will be smiled upon by God. For if we never play the game because of fear, then we will never win.

The Uselessness of Enda Kenny's Posturing

The Bishops of Ireland need to be rounded up, given the boot and Rome needs to appoint new bishops within the next ten years or this entire country will become a spiritual nightmare. Let me just get that out of the way before any of you think I am going to defend the Bishops guilty of this seemingly unending travesty.

Now with that said, can someone please go and shut Enda Kenny up before he embarrasses himself?

I am of course talking about his recent speech solidly aiming at 'the Vatican' and 'deploring' the lack of, or too much Vatican interference in Irish Affairs regarding the child abuse scandals (someone get a tick list this is the first embarassment) So which is it? Is the Vatican to blame for telling the Bishops to ignore and hide the scandals, thereby interloping in Irish affairs in this 'Republic of Laws' Enda Kenny seems proud about? Why how very peculier, is the Vatican also to blame for not doing enough to stop the abuses? One is claiming the Vatican, (read: The Pope, because honestly thats what everyone really is referring to when they say The Vatican) is deliberately misleading and ordering Bishops to cover up the abuses, note, these are the same Bishops who flaunt their disobedience to Rome to begin with, one even going so far as to claim proudly he dismissed documents from Rome, unread, into the wastebasket next to his desk. While the other claim is lamblasting the Church for not doing ENOUGH to keep an oversight on these very same Bishops which would require the Vatican to... Interfere in this Republic of Laws in order to do so. Enda, please speak sense.

I will currently ignore cries from media and other sources that Enda Kenny's criticisms weren't hostile Enough. Because frankly it is not An Taoiseach's fault that they want the Church to suffer more.

It is obvious this is political posturing and any number of rationalisations can be claimed to be the cause of An Taoiseach getting uppity like this. Deflection from the current economic crisis, trying to secure future votes by 'standing tough' in the face of 'The Roman Bully', (that'll definitely sway the votes of some atheists but I don't honestly think it'll guarantee a second term) probably use it as an excuse to ignore his party's promise to be pro life and side with their Labour bedfellows to legalize abortion in Ireland. I would not put it past them and I dare any man among you to challenge my cynicism in this regard.

I also find it mildly amusing that these criticisms are being lauded by the Association of Catholic Priests and their ilk here in Ireland,many of whom share much in common with the Bishops whose fault it is we are in such a state.

The next embarrassment is the proposed legislation to break the Confessional Seal. Now this scandal is covered extensively in any number of catholic Blogs, and the possibility it will actually pass is debatable but there is one solid, sincere and very logical reason why it should not pass and put into Law: It would be the most ineffectual law in Irish History. How many Catholics are there in Ireland? What percentage of them go to Mass every week in today's secular world? What percentage of that percentage actually goes to confession at least twice a year? Now that we've limited that number down to an embarrassingly small amount I ask you this. How many of those who do confess, would confess to knowledge of child abuse? Now to even further dwindle that number, how many of this paltry sum would actually even remotely consider confessing such crimes once this law comes into effect and the confessional is not safe for the confession of any crimes? None. At all. The State can arrest as many priests as they want but no results in the safety of Children will ever improve and will only result in anticlerical actions not seen in a Catholic Country since perhaps the cristero war in Mexico. Further wasting state resources and oh of course, would only target the Catholic Church, why, it would be UNTHINKABLE that lawyers would also be required to come forward under this law, POLITICIANS MAY BE IMPLICATED. And that would just be sacrilege.

But the biggest, possibly most damning embarrassment of this recent hostility towards Rome is thus: In the Cloyne report the failure of civil authorities on the child abuse scandal is also damned. In fact, the failure of secular institutions and their own abuses, here in Ireland and elsewhere is actually almost as bad if not worse then the abuses under Catholic oversight. I understand why the Church is picked on from an objective standpoint, it is a religious and moral authority where such failures and failure to expunge the corruption is beyond inexcusable and hence, its dirty laundry is hung from a higher line as it where. But even so the speech and, An Taoiseach Enda Kenny;

In this Republic of Laws where such attrocities have taken place, dear An Taoiseach, pray tell, where was the State when the people needed them?

Stop Labour subverting Fine Gael's pro-life commitments. Take a minute to send an online postcard

Dear Friend

Strong elements in Government, particularly in the Labour Party, are

pressing hard to have abortion legalised. They are doing everything

to create the impression that Ireland is obliged to legislate for

abortion following the recent European court ruling in A, B and C v.

Ireland. The judgment, however, in no way forces Ireland to legalise

abortion. In fact, it respects the entitlement of the Irish people to

determine legal policy on protecting the lives of unborn children.

Before the General Election, Fine Gael gave written commitments to

oppose abortion legislation and destructive research on living human

embryos. Labour, however, is pressuring them to renege on these

promises. To ensure Fine Gael holds steadfast to its commitments,

your FG Oireachtas representatives need to hear from you.

You can do this quickly and easily. Your online message will also

automatically go to An Taoiseach and the Minister for Health. Efforts

like this are vitally important from time to time and can make all the

difference. Please encourage all your family and friends to also

participate in this initiative.

Send your online postcard here

Thank you for your continued support.

Ruth Cullen

Pro Life Campaign

I cannot post a postcard as I reside north of the border and have no

representitive in the Oireachtas, therefore I urge any honest Irish

Man and woman, whether you voted or not in the past election to

engage in this campaign, we must stop this subversive movement

by the labour party to pressure Ireland into a Pro-Abortion state

based on a NON-BINDING COURT CASE IN THE EUROPEAN

COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS. This same court declared it was a

violation of human rights to deny prisoners in the UK the vote, but

the United Kingdom Parliament was well within its rights to

disregard the ruling AND HAS NOT SUFFERED AS A RESULT OF

THEIR ACTIONS. Neither will we, this will not affect our relations

to Europe and will not effect us economically. You have NO EXCUSE

for ignoring this vile subversion on the part of labour to utilise this

non binding decision to push their anti-Life agenda, I urge each and

everyone of you, if you do value the continuation of Irish life on this

island, to do all in your power to oppose this. Send your online

postcard via the link provided in the letter to urge Fine Gael to be

mindful of their pro-life promises.

Once again I curse the day FG decided to take labour into power

instead of a co-coalition of indos, and now my cynicism and anger is

once again justified.

My thanks go out to Fr. Gabriel Burke and his blog for also sharing

this letter.

If any of you know of a way for me, a resident in the north of Ireland

to support the Pro-Life movement in the south (or even to help this particular campaign along) Mindful I AM a citizen of the Irish Republic,

my family just live north.

A Shattered Union Cometh

Europe is on the verge of collapse, whether violently or just in a disinterested and bitter, but altogether peaceful, breakup of the eurozone and several european institutions, remains to be seen.

Everyone has different opinions on why the European project is failing at heart, even those for whom, the breakup of the EU is unthinkable. Yet this is what happens, poor fiscal policies in member nations and a one continent wide currency that treats its constituent economies unfairly, coupled with unsustainable government entitlement systems as well as the Joe ignorent public, lulled into reliance on the state transfiguring into the much feared unthinking 'mob' pulled straight from the tales of the great ancient republics of Greece and Rome once the state fails to meet unreasonable demands in the face of crippling past failures of the state. The Greek crisis and its second bailout is, in the eyes of nearly every onlooker, delaying the inevitable. Greece will fall and fall hard, and the European Union, utterly unwilling to admit any of its policies or decisions were in err, has not let the Hellenic Republic go to save itself. If it had, it would have been called selfish and cruel, but the European farce would have at least been preserved for longer. As it stands, Greece will fall, as will other struggling states, including, likely, the Irish Republic (give or take our own fiscal and governmental shenanigans with a different party in nearly two decades finally being in power)

The immoral decadence and refusal of self responsibility of the western Liberal dream will be the death knell of Western Europe as a whole as our eastern European cousins will look on as we commit self destruction. They themselves will likely work with Russia, as the west becomes more akin to a horde of roving barbarians then a civilization to be envied in the coming century.

No one can say with certainly when exactly the fall will happen, or what will occur when it does. But I feel it will have these notable characteristics; There will be a great sense of urgency and crisis in Brussels and the overall European Government which the average man and woman will only vaguely take notice of, crisis policies will be enacted calling for harsher taxes and more centralisation, peacekeeping forces will be deployed to various parts of Europe to prevent anarchy and to bolster failing institutions, likely resulting in inflaming the local populace even further by the unexpected, and in many eyes, unjustified deployments, far right and far left political elements will start gaining voice in the public arena across the continent, at least one or two European governments, most likely centre right governments, or centre left ones with a strong patriotic voter base, will voice dissent publicly and rumours of secession will become increasingly common, and pretty soon in either a velvet revolution of otherwise peaceful but bitter acknowledgement the EU will collapse, or frustrated nation states will start removing themselves from the Union by force, and this will all happen within the space of a year or two and nobody will have any clue what has just occurred or why everything is on fire. Behold the fruits of Revolution!

In either case, God help us all for what will occur after the break up will be beyond prediction.

Our Lady, Queen of Ireland, pray for us.