This is my country, and I am not leaving.
I’m not a great patriot, nor even a Republican.
I’m not a big GAA fan; I don’t drink Guinness; I’m not religious; I can’t sing The Lakes of Pontchartrain late into the night.
I’m not from a farming background; I haven’t read Peig Sayers; I’ve never been out in the bog.
I was too young to be working for most of the Celtic Tiger years, and my family lived on one income for most of them.
I do not know what the Tiger looked like and I did not hear it roar.
I drink coffee; I have an iPhone; I have a job in the ‘meeja’. I have a nice car. I have a nice life. But it is not a moneyed life.
I make my own coffee; my iPhone is a cast-off from a wealthier friend; my car is nearly ten years old; and my job, though I love it, is not well paid.
My best friend from college lives in London. My best friend from school lives in Australia.
Two weeks ago, when the PriceWaterhouseCooper ‘story’ broke, internationally, my friend in London emailed me.
“Another awful story coming from Ireland. They are just pathetic.”
“They”, meaning “the Irish”. She is almost ashamed, now, to tell people where she comes from. She works in the City of London, and is surrounded daily by ridicule of our pathetic financial situation, our morally bankrupt politics and the bringing low of our once high-flying economy.
She has a law degree and a masters degree in PR. She is one of the highly educated workforce that is lost to our future.
One week ago, when the IMF were, then weren’t, then were, then weren’t, then were, taking over the budgetary strategy of my country, my friend in Australia emailed me.
“I want all the news! But not about the economy, thanks. I don’t want to know why I can’t come home.”
She has a chemistry degree and a master’s degree in chemistry. She is another of the highly educated workforce that is lost to our future. She followed every bit of advice about the knowledge economy; she has experience of working in the world’s top three pharmaceutical companies thanks to her excellent education; and she is in Australia because there is nothing for her here. She wanted to go for a year, maybe two. Six months in she has realised that it will be a long time before she comes home.
I was a student representative towards the tail end of the boom. Of the other five motivated, ambitious, articulate people who sat on that committee with me, three are in Australia. One has returned to her native Poland. My last comrade standing will leave Ireland for India in January.
These people are the doers – where will we be when all of them have left?
I am from a rural village where our GAA team is doing well for the first time that I can remember. This is a great thing, but the reason?
Most of the boys I went to school with are at home, and not working. It is wonderful that they are turning to sport rather than drink to take up their time, but it’s unlikely this will last forever.
I asked one of them, who is still working (in a factory which is earmarked for closure, and letting people go every week), why his friends hadn’t left.
Where would they get the money? Good point. It costs thousands of euro to go to Australia, and there isn’t much employment for unskilled workers any closer than that. They didn’t go to college, and worked in the construction trade in its dying days.
They were breakfast roll man, and now they are at home living with their parents in the houses they grew up in. When we were in primary school, there were 18 children in my class. Out of that 18, not even half of our fathers had jobs.
We’ve been here before. Yes, there are difference; we’re billions in debt and the international community is by turns laughing at us and outraged at having to bail us out of greed and stupidity of a few bankers.
You could be forgiven for thinking that yesterday’s four year plan was strategically designed as a kick in the arse out the door for my generation.
Those who aren’t gone already will have their wages cut (again); lose any tax breaks that are left; pay more for college; and have their social welfare cut.
We didn’t benefit from the boom. Many of us didn’t vote for Fianna Fáil. But we are being punished for the greed of our parents’ generation and an elite few.
It’s time for our generation to stand up. Leadership is needed, and the generation in power have completely failed us. They will not be paying for these mistakes for the rest of their working lives; we will. Those of us who are left.
Because, like I said, I’m not leaving.
I’m not leaving, because this is my home.
I’m not leaving, because I have done nothing wrong.
I’m not leaving, because I have worked hard to get where I am.
I’m not leaving, because I have not gambled recklessly with my finances and those of my country.
I’m not leaving, because my country needs me.
I’m not leaving, because our country needs our generation.
I’m not leaving, because it’s the people who stay who shape what a country becomes.
I’m not leaving, because we are the ones who can stop this from happening again.
I’m not leaving, because I don’t want my children to have to leave.
Deirdre O’Shaughnessy is editor of the Cork Independent newspaper, Cork’s largest circulating free weekly newspaper and a regular contributor to Newstalk 106-108fm. She blogs about society, politics, and media at http://www.deshocks.wordpress.com and makes up for a very short attention span with youthful exuberance, sometimes.
Absolutely on the button, a fantastic post that sums up the sentiment of thousands of us.
Wow! Beautifully written post. I am glad you are staying; you should. Keeping in mind, this, too, shall pass. Times will be better…
What a great post! Says it all…
Great post Dee…. except that it makes me feel very old! Although I am probably more your mothers generation I, like you, didnt really hear the celtic tigers roar.. I was lucky enough that husbands business was busy enough that I could ‘retire’ from my job and be at home with my girls for the last 9 years. Maybe that is what Brian Lenihan meant by ‘we are all partying.’
My 23 year old daughter works in the travel business – but although she has a job she loves, she has no sense of security and her boyfriend is unemployed. She came home the other day and asked me if I thought they should leave! Nearly broke my heart. I hope like you, that they dont (although as a mammy I dont say that)…
Thanks for your post! And Im glad you are staying!
Barbara
Thanks for the post – it definitely sums up my sentiment. I’m not particularly enamored with my job either and my car could definitely do with an upgrade, but I don’t want to leave my home. I have a sibling living in Australia for the past 5 years, with no hope of coming home so I don’t think my mother could handle two of us out there. Besides, from what I hear, jobs aren’t as easy to come by over there as they used to be, and they’re clamping down on visas.
I’m anchoring myself to this ship too and I’ll sink with it – sure look on the bright side, at least most of our generation (the newly graduated) was poor at the start and has nothing of monetary value to lose during this recession, at least we don’t have mortgages going into negative equity or children to support like many others.
Great post… very well put
Great writing. To feel there is no other option but to leave everything you have built up and become accustom to because of the actions (or inaction) of the ‘elite’ must be a horrible situation.
Very fine and inspirational blog post which illustrates the need to focus on reasons for staying in Ireland ( I would like to see a Twitter #post on this) after the shock and severity of the recent economic tsunami of stress. For some who have no jobs or prospect of work there may be no choice but I am sick of the whinning of others who have seen a reduction in their financial status but still have relatively well paid jobs. As a self employed architect I personally, like many in the construction industry, lost my office base and now work part time from home. I rely on my wifes salary to keep going but I consider myself lucky. Just like this blog writer I believe that I am privileged to be born and reared in Ireland. Perhaps like me those of us who seek to survive here can reassess the country’s appeal without trying to buy it as it were which was so charasteristic of the Celtic tiger. I myself write a blog to try and keep my spirits up and it is reading blog entries like the above which may it all seem worthwhile.
During the boom years I remember negative media reports about all the ills of that time: spiralling housing costs, alcohol abuse, traffic congestion, environmental pressure from urban sprawl and industry and traffic, violent crime and so on.
The recession has drastically reduced many of those problems. Less congestion, cheap housing, lower emissions, an end to urban sprawl, lower alcohol use, even most crime rates have fallen in the last year. These positives pale by comparison with the big economic negatives but I also wonder if it shows a great disinclination to report good news. Nothing is all bad, but the positives seem to be largely ignored. Even emigration will have some positive effects as young men (the demographic group most likely to be involved in violent crime) go abroad.
So it’s not all bad! Sure it has been mismanaged, but a slump in some form was inevitable after the bubble. Going through this should make the country more competitive and prepare us for the next period of expansion.
[...] latest piece on why I don’t intend to leave Ireland, is over at The Antiroom. It’s getting a lot of reaction, and I’ve just done an interview with Associated Press [...]
Noble thoughts and well put but you’ll be paying off the debts of others for around the next 30 years if they put through the current plan.
Very true Andrew – but I hope we can prevent it happening again, and make sure the systems that caused it are not allowed to remain in place.
Fabulous post. Well said.
Well I have already left, there is more to the world than a rainy island off Europe.
You get one crack at this life, no point saying at the end “what if….?”
Great post (though it makes me feel old too
given I started work pre Celtic Tiger). It’s horrible that we are back to this – people with no hope of a job, the feeling of having to emigrate to have any chance. We need to change things so if and when things get better we don’t throw it all away again. The same people have been in power too long; Ireland has been no country for young men for too long.
Great post Deirdre! I took the boat back in ’85 and I’m darned if I go again because a second bunch of irresponsible gobsh*tes have done it again! Same bunch actually when you think of it – at least they haven’t told us to tighten our belts but I’m sure it’s coming….
I hope that you don’t have to go, however I am sure that if you do you will certainly make the most of it. It was a good growth experience for me at the time, I was well ready to stretch my wings and a huge city is certainly the place to do that.
I did get homesick and am glad that I was able to come back after some years. I so feel sad that families are having to endure those goodbyes again and I wonder if we will see the news reports at Chrismas next year showing the holiday returns – it was always big news in the 80s.
I think that the level of anger is greater this time around, we are better informed thanks to the internet (no thanks to rte), we have the opportunity to express our anger on twitter and facebook, it’s important that people can vent their frustration, anger and feelings of betrayal.
As to what we can do….. I guess that will unfold…..
Deirdre – will we see you using your editorship of the Cork Independent to promote discussion of political reform to address the corruption and incompetence of the Fianna Failure administration that got us into this mess?
Mike – yes! I mentioned it in this week’s editorial (which you can see on http://www.corkindependent.com or on http://deshocks.wordpress.com) and I am in talks to serialise a book on the subject in the paper.
I’m very happy to hear that
Fabulous post Dee. Actually brought tears to my eyes. I’m one of the oldies too. I left college in the 1980s when we were in the throes of the last recession and most of my classmates left. Ironically I actually went to work in London for 5 years in 1998 just as the (false) boom was beginning. These were amongst the best years of my life and I would encourage everyone to look at the positives that emigration can offer too. However, I completely acknowledge that there is a huge difference between leaving by choice and being forced out. I have two little boys and my fear is not that they will leave – they should if they want to – but that things are now so bad that their education and healthcare will suffer to such an extent that we will have to go anyway. I’d quite like to in many ways – there’s a whole world out there – but they would hate to leave their cousins and their friends. So we’re not leaving either!
Eleanor, I was a child in the 80s and early 90s in a rural area that had been devestated by emigration. The fields around our home were dotted with empty houses, slowly rotting and collapsing back into the ground.
But as a kid I had no understanding of the economic plight of the country and assumed that this was of life was totally normal. In one way it was great to be growing up like this! I had tonnes of space and places to explore, so much so that when the tide began to turn and people started moving back into the area I felt annoyed!
So, having grown up in one recession, I think your kids will be fine, that growing up in the recession isn’t necessarily harmful so long as their parents can protect them from actual poverty. Also I think a good education doesn’t need to be very expensive. I taught in a Japanese high school for a year that had vastly greater resources than my own secondary school, but I don’t think they really learned any more in the Japanese one.
Hi Eleanor,
You’re completely right about going abroad to spread wings – I have no problem with this and it’s always something I’d have wanted to do! But the feeling of being forced out is so overwhelming that, to be honest, I’m digging in my heels to an extent. If people go by choice, great, but it’s heartbreaking to see people leave their families and friends behind (not to mention for the ones left) with no alternative.
Deirdre
A fabulous post – extremely well put. I’m English and have lived in Ireland for the last two years and I adore this country. The people, the land, the magic. Thank you for this post.
I moved to London last October to do a one-year MSc. I thought of it as a year abroad, but sometime around spring/summer I realised that I will probably have to stay here for the moment. My brother and sister are in England as well – my brother in London, my sister in Sheffield. My parents have been lucky so far in economic terms – they bought the house in the 80s, their mortgage is nearly paid off, and though they’ve had pay cuts they are alright. However, their three kids now live in the UK.
I appreciate your blog post, and admire its honesty, but please don’t think too ill of those of us who have left. If I go back to Ireland now, I can’t even guarantee that I would get a part-time job in a shop. Many of my friends are on the dole, still living at home, desperate to find any work at all even if they are overqualified for it. Hopefully I will be able to return some day, but for now I will have to make do with flying visits every few months. However, as I watch my Irish friends gradually moving over here or heading to Australia, with the hope of returning home in the future, I wonder how many of them actually will – and how many of them will put down roots in their new homes, as they meet new partners and launch new careers?
Hi Ailbhe,
I totally understand the plight of people who are going – but I feel desperately sad that it has to be that way. As someone else pointed out, living abroad can be wonderful, and I wouldn’t say no to the Washington Post, but being forced out as a deliberate policy is just so wrong. If I lose my job in the morning I, too, may have no choice – but I am open to doing whatever work I have to do, to let me stay, like you mention above. Good luck with your MSc, and hopefully you will be able to come home sooner rather than later.
Ailbhe: You’re young. This is your opportunity to see the world. With a bit of luck, by the time you’ve seen all you want to see, Ireland will have pulled itself out of the mire and there’ll be something to go home for. It has happened before, it will happen again. I’m counting on it!
Excellent piece.
So you’re leaving eh?
Just like the Alamo.
As someone who’s thinking about leaving, this certainly gave me food for thought.
well done dee /We must all remember any economy based on a false market cannot succeed.I got married in the 80,s paid 60ptax to pound.mortgage rates went to23% .LIving in the country it was a very difficult decision to sell one car which meant only one of us could work.I drove a roundtrip of 70 miles a day.Some roads were impassable due to potholes.My generation has to suffer once again some of us having been lucky enough to work all our lives and now find small pensions cut and taxed .My child did not suffer because of the last recession she was loved fed involved in local childrens activities,had picnics in our beautiful woods ,visited her cousins on the farm,granny and granda near the sea-side.and developed a very healthy relationship with our local librarian.Most of my friends have been as surprised and shockedby the n aked greed,consumerism, and stupidity shown by a huge cohort of the Irish population.I feel very sorry for people of my age who cannot emgirate ,have lost life savings,and have limited earning ability we are too old to start again .You are not.What has to be done is to re train all the young men who worked in construction but train them in what?
Lyrical and lovely and positive post! What we need right now. I jumped on a plane to London at age 18 during the last recession in a kind of giddy freefall fit of ‘see what’ll happen’ and ended up staying away for seven years, much of it, in a haze. This time ’round I’m not budging for many of the reasons you highlight above and for ones closer to my heart: my elderly parents (ever slipping), my lovely guy, a chance to play a part in the single most important juncture of the State’s existence and because perhaps it would be too easy to go, like last time, work in some crud UK office and forever wonder what’s going on back home. Thanks for cheering me up on a freezing cold Friday afternoon!
I agree!
Stick with it June! You’re in the best place on earth, if you can ignore those in positions of power, in all spheres. We have an incredible homeland, and great people. And remember that a crud office in Ireland will always be better than a crud office anywhere else. At least the people there will have a great sense of humour. Good luck to you.!
Very well put. When people assert that the brightest and the best always emigrate when things are difficult, I have to beg to differ. I was in the minority of people from my 1989 graduating class who chose to stay in Ireland but I feel that the contribution of the “people who stayed” is completely dismissed. Some went away to study or for a few years but came back and helped to modernise business and society in Ireland when times were very rough. Others went away and chose to come back when the economy started to seriously improve during the 1990s but this improvement would not have been possible had there not been a base of young people committed to Ireland’s future during the recession. And so it will be again when we eventually get out of this mess. Best of luck to you Deirdre, I hope you are one of the “stayers”!
Bravo!
I’m 61, have sojourned on 4 continents & lived in 5 widely scattered states of the USA.
Like Deidre, I’m digging my heels in, planning on staying right where I’m at … for better or worse, in bad times as well as good … in, with and for my own native country.
Blessings and best wishes from an ally across the sea.
From someone a couple of years older, Bob and living in Canada, I too would love to go home. I’d go tomorrow if I could. Good on you for your support!
Wonderful, heartening piece. Love it.
As I read this theres a part of me that all of a sudden dosnt want to leave, and thats strange because all iv wanted for as long as i can remember (~15 years) is how i wanted to go see the world, yes even during the good times. obviously i realise that this is largly an emotional piece and dosnt deal with the economic situation i or anyone else may be faced with when ithey get mytheir degree (actually i should probably put down if i get my degree) if they arnt facing it allready.
I suppose its not so much a longing to stay as much as its a sense of dismay at what happened, a feeling of loss. I guess thats what your piece has made me realise, thank you.
Hi Cian,
yes, you’re right – much of it is pure stubbornness at the fact that we are almost expected to accept leaving as a normal thing. I would love to explore other cultures & lifestyles but I feel so strongly that it should be a choice rather than a necessity, that right now I will hang in here. Obviously my personal circumstances make a difference and I completely understand those people who have to go elsewhere, but I hope we can find a way to make our generation indispensable so we don’t all have to leave.
Deirdre
[...] Deirdre O’Shaughnessy, editor of the Cork Independent wrote this on The Antiroom blog. Inspired by her words author Charlie Connelly, whose latest book Our [...]
If there’s anything positive coming out of the appalling mess that our bankers and politicians have landed us in it is the emergence of grit, confidence, and courageous determination in younger people who, like you, are resolved to sit tight and see Ireland through its tough times. Older folk like me have weathered many ups and downs through the years and know your anguish. Maybe we feared that the Celtic tiger had softened our young people, giving them an unrealistic expectation that it would continue indefinitely (as if all ups weren’t followed by downs!) and wondering recently whether they were too spoiled to stick with it and take up the challenge to lead Ireland into the future. I am a lot more confident today of this happening than I would have been when the Celtic tiger was rampant. Thank you for your inspiring and moving article.
Nice post. To be honest I’m fed up of people blaming the Government, bankers etc for the state of things, we were all guilty of spending too much. Irish need to forget the moaning and protesting, and get up and actually do something. Take care of number one, make a change, stop being lazy. Unfortunately as you say, the “doers” we relied on in school may be gone
To quote Lord Acton, “The issue which has swept down the centuries and which will have to be fought sooner or later
is the people versus the banks.”
James G. Stuart’s advice saved Malaysia from the banksters’ filthy clutches when the Asian Tigers collapsed. Here’s his plan for the Emerald Isle:
The 5 Point Plan To Save Ireland
http://iamthewitness.com/news/2010.11.26-%28Point-plan.htm
HOW TO SAVE IRELAND FROM €U, IMF, & BOND HOLDERS
In 1997 Dr. Mahathir Mohamad bucked the market and in so doing saved Malaysia from the fate that befell the other Asian Tigers who blindly followed one another into the Trap set for them by the IMF and those inside their various Cabinets working for Micheal Camdessus, the Chairman of the World Bank. He achieved this by following a plan devised by James Gibb-Stuart and implemented by Nor Bin Yacoup – who went on to become Malaysia’s Minister of Finance. The scheme was based on a 5 point plan – for self preservation:-
(1): Firstly a measure of foreign exchange control is necessary, to prevent the nation’s reserves, its financial lifeblood, being sucked out by speculators.
(2): Secondly, that the progressive and accelerating liberalisation of financial markets should be reversed, as this advance towards a global economy robs developing peoples of the benefits of their own national resources.
(3): Thirdly and for the same reason, there should be no inclination to privatize/piratise national assets as a device for paying off government debt. Such assets belong to the people, and should not be put up for auction, particularly where market forces can consign them to foreign ownership. British experience of privatisation proves that selling assets to reduce the national debt is only a temporary expedient. They can only be sold off once, and when they are gone, the cycle of debt and borrowing continues. In the matter of existing loans that have gone sour, it is impossible to generalise. But each situation must be dealt with on its merits and, wherever possible, to try and prevent the creation of acrimony and any trade reprisals that might result.
(4): Fourthly, every endeavour should be made to avoid further borrowings, particularly in the form of US dollars. The recent round of currency devaluations has shown this to be a treacherous device whereby international entrepreneurs can buy up ‘distressed assets’ in the local economy at bargain basement prices.
At this stage a clear appreciation is needed of what constitutes money, wealth and resources. Even without the lure of foreign financial inflows, we must ask, to what extent is the nation impoverished? The sun still shines. The crops still ripen. The eager workman’s hands and skills and energies are in no way diminished – provided he can have faith in his Government to protect his earnings and ensure an adequate reward for himself and his family – for more read Lincoln’s 1865 Declaration handed to you at Langkawi.
(5) Even in conditions of economic crisis, the primary priority is not to pay the bankers or reassure the stock markets, but rather to see that the people are properly fed and housed.
A child dying of malnutrition in the midst of plenty is a crime against humanity and a blight on the bounty of Mother Nature. It comes, therefore, as no surprise to learn that in places like the Sudan and elsewhere in Africa that the IMF stands for Infant Mortality Fund.
That is why IMF ‘bail-outs’ which hinge upon further foreign borrowing, liberalisation of markets and cutbacks in social expenditure, should be rejected absolutely.
Fortunately, support for this viewpoint is finally coming through from Western sources, where the more independent-minded economists are now contending that the IMF and its harsh methodology should be drastically revised or abolished.
When we met Dato Abdul Aziz Bin Shamsudin in London, we spoke about debt-inflicted Eastern nations turning back upon themselves, looking inward at their own basic strengths and resources – Malaysia can and should resort to the same measures.
THESE FIVE STEPS – Which include: Stopping the hemorrhage of national reserves by means of exchange controls; reversing the liberalisation of financial markets; rejecting the privatisation of public assets; avoiding foreign loans or further borrowing; and steadfastly maintaining social programmes, with government created debt-free money when and wherever necessary — all of which fly in the face of IMF outrage — will cause any charismatic leader to be smeared and ridiculed at home and abroad – as the saying goes: “Be ye chased as ice and pure as snow, you will not escape calumny”.
Furthermore, like any Prime Minister or President he and his followers must look to their personal and governmental security, avoiding the risk of physical or political assassination and losing no opportunity to tell the public what they are doing and why they are doing it; laying it continually on the line that the current financial crisis is not hiscrisis, or theircrisis, but a crisis of Western economics and its failed monetary system which will ultimately devour the whole of civilisation if it is not resisted and amended.
Thomas Jefferson, realized too late that the Founding Fathers had also been misled, writing the following in 1815 to Treasury Secretary Gallatin: “The treasury, lacking confidence in the country, delivered itself bound hand and foot to bold and bankrupt adventurers and bankers pretending to have money, whom it could have crushed at any moment.”
However, at this juncture, it is still not too late for Malaysia (or Ireland) to apply a workable home grown solution.
Yours Sincerely.
JGS. October 5th 1997.
Also, people should watch “Money as Debt” or “The Secrets of the Wizard of Oz.” The first may be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8
One of the best books to understand the methods of the moneychangers is Gertrude Coogan’s “Money Creators.” (www.archive.org/details/MoneyCreators)
Lincoln printed his own money. So did JFK.
Sorry for running on here. The Money Myth Exploded is one of the first things I read and it may be useful as it’s clear, concise, and makes a compelling case in the form of a parable.
It’s available at http://www.michaeljournal.org/myth.htm
applause and tears
Fantastic piece, delighted to see it.
I concur, and while there will be a lot of eye-rolling if I ask my 12-year-old to read the whole thing, I will puncture his school-is-closed-through-snow-huzzah morning off by getting him to read your final nine points.
I have to disagree with one of the comments, I don’t believe that we are all guilty of spending too much and I also disagree with the inference that we have all been lazy. The celtic tiger didn’t really put in an appearance where I live, I am surrounded by small farmers whose lives have not changed very much in the last few decades other than having a light in the barn now instead of a lantern.
I am building a house without a mortgage, a choice we made to avoid being complicit in the celtic tiger money game. No, we are not wealthy, we live on a very small budget and have saved money everyweek, we use lots of reclaimed building materials and are not building a macmansion. We are not the only people up our way who are doing this, building small eco-homes with our own hands and help from our friends.
If we had asked for a mortgage we would probably have received one much bigger than we wanted, however we had a few reasons to not ask. Firstly -we had no intention of becoming part of the problem or having to deal with the larger than necessary debt when the hard times came – and here they are. Secondly we believe that people can do for themselves much more than we are led to believe – people have built their own homes since day one, it’s probably still more common than you know in rural Ireland.
It was so obvious that things would not continue the way they were, could not continue. It’s very annoying to hear politicians and economists claim that no-one could have seen this coming – everyone that I know up here in Leitrim could see it coming so I really cannot accept that economists and politicians couldn’t.
I know that not everyone can or indeed should, build their own homes, this is just an example of people who have not spent “too much”, who are not being lazy, who do not expect that someone else will solve our problems. Many people have started to grow food in their gardens all over Ireland and have been prudent with their resources for years now. Not everyone has partied through the so-called celtic tiger years.
Yes, I have a right to protest and I will protest. I had to leave the last time around and I am not doing that again. Our politicians and bankers are very much to blame for the current situation. I do agree that it would do no harm for everyone to look at how they have or haven’t contributed to this situation and change anything that they wish to change, so that we really can move on this time.
Moaning and protesting are very different. I think that moaning is a great waste of time and energy, I think that protesting is very important – however it needs to be followed up by real action. Doing things like reassessing how we decide who should run our country – no longer voting for the same old eejit just because they got our uncle a bed in the hospital for example.
Anyway, that’s enough ranting, the sun is shining and it’s still snowy and pretty outside, time to go outside and do some work.
As Deirdre alluded to, emigration isn’t the business it was. I know people whose emigration to Australia was a glorified holiday – busking for dinners & sleeping on couches, foors & hostels kinda holiday.
Employment restrictions in the western English speaking world have changed dramatically even since the 80s. The Tory heir has indicated they won’t be a nursing home for Ireland’s economic refugees and Canada aren’t taking in any aul randomer with an average leaving cert & minimal skills or even some average degree.
I have a strong feeling that the policy of emigration won’t work and that we’ll have to roll up our sleeves, get stuck in and reclaim the state from a political establishment more concerned with mercs, perks n pensions than hospitals, schools and job security (among other things).
The best reason not to leave is that we have a historic opportunity to change the way this society is governed. Already the cynics are saying Fianna Fail will be back in office in a few years after we all turn pour our hatred over Labour/FG for the cuts they’ll be delivering. I think this kinda misses the point.
If we can do away with the democracy that tolerates the man of the house answering a door to door canvass arms folded arrogantly asking in a cocksure tone “well sure, what’ll YOU do for me if I vote for you”…. and just talk about the issues more rather than treat politics as an abstract then there’s hope. Maybe.
If you tolerate this then your children will be next. And then your children’s children.
[...] More links as I see them, and the original article on The Antiroom is here. [...]
[...] November, as the IMF deal was brokered and huge numbers of my generation decided they were leaving, I wrote about this. I wrote about the fact that they were educated, they were highly qualified, and they were leaving. [...]