I am on Sherkin living the good life with Fiona, doing a bit of building and a bit of readin’ and writin’, but there are two things particularly annoying me: the gales that keep on coming, and the thought of those refugees out at night in the bitter weather. Furthermore, is it really the best Europe can manage, to be sending those young men back home, bitter, frustrated, unemployed and disillusioned as far as Europe is concerned, to get into trouble there? As for the gales, they are at least a constant reminder of the threat of climate change hanging over us.
A further dimension to the trouble is the possibility of the EU foundering altogether. I see that David McWilliams, one of the brighter Irish economic commentators, writes that he believes ‘the EU is a legacy project that has lost any real meaning or focus.’ He moreover believes that in the event of Britain leaving the EU, Ireland will be forced to recognise that ‘Our national interest is a special relationship with the UK; end of story.’(1)
It is a fact that the EU always seems to be doing too little, too late. However, I rather thought legacies were precious things, while it seems that for our bright young man, anything from the past is dubious, even its treasures. This particular legacy came to us of course from the near-death experience of Europe in the first half of the 20th century. Guess who wrote this, just before I was born in 1946:- ‘ It (the remedy for the ills of those times) is to recreate the European fabric, or as much of it as we can, and to provide it with a structure under which it can dwell in peace, safety and freedom. We must build a kind of United States of Europe.‘ The answer is Winston Churchill, (2)
He continued: ‘I am now going to say something that will astonish you. The first step in the re-creation of the European family must be a partnership between France and Germany. In this way only can France recover the moral and cultural leadership of Europe. There can be no revival of Europe without a spiritually great France and a spiritually great Germany. The structure of the United States of Europe will be such as to make the material strength of a single State less important. Small nations will count as much as large ones and gain their honour by a contribution to the common cause.’ ‘Great Britain, the British Commonwealth of Nations, mighty America - and, I trust, Soviet Russia, for then indeed all would be well - must be the friends and sponsors of the new Europe and must champion its right to live. ‘
What one mostly heard about from Irish politicians, when we got around to joining the EEC in 1973, was the billions coming our way in structural funds. No attempt to sell the big picture to the likes of young David McWilliams! Now he seems to think that it was only our right to get all that help building a modern infrastructure and so on. Maybe he is not even happy that today we are making a very small contribution to the Eur3billion going to Turkey to help them cope with the Syrian refugees, and the 700million going to Greece for the same purpose? But maybe indeed this does not add up to ‘real meaning or focus’!
Still his complaint is a trifle odd, in that for all his self-proclaimed radicalism, McWilliams seems to be entirely of the political orthodoxy which proclaims that enlightened self-interest is the only realistic and sound basis for human action, perhaps with a vague pseudo-scientific narrative about evolution and the survival of the fittest behind it. That human beings have been working away at the project of discovering ‘real meaning and focus’ for their lives from the beginning does not apparently occur to him, let alone the notion that there might be something to be learned from their efforts. Religion of course is only to be indulged in in private, if one must.
Well, the results are coming thick and fast, with malaise, anxiety and fragmentation on all sides. There’s much talk of cutting bridges and putting up fences. Strange how the conservatives in both Britain and America are so bitterly divided, having evidently forgotten what it is that they are supposed to be conserving. Of course here in Ireland they have been at odds on the matter since the founding of the Republic. Meanwhile we join Spain in dodging on under auto-pilot. Let’s hope the politicians can at least agree who to put on the wheel before they run on the rocks!
Pity the conservatives gave up learning Latin, I say! Not alone might it have taught them something about the derivation of language, but of our Western civilisation, and helped them to think and speak logically and objectively. Come to think of it, it might help the 'progressive' lot too; with their strange and indeed dangerous notion that you can build anything good without reference to the past!
Curiously enough, one has to admit that the one country that does appear to have made some kind of real contribution to peace in Syria lately is Russia, though at a terrible price. She is a danger and yet another cause of anxiety to Europe. Yet it is hard to believe that the Russians will want to get too heavily involved there by themselves. I cannot see any answer but for Europe to take a leaf or two out of Ancient Rome’s book. Supposing Europe, including the Russians, were to train and arm all those frustrated young men in the context of a sort of foreign legion, and direct them in bringing peace and the rule of law to their countries; and most importantly, follow it up by a kind of Marshall Plan for them?
It has long seemed to me that the sun-drenched deserts have an important role to play, producing solar energy for the greening of Europe. If it could not be delivered direct through superconductors, it could be used to make hydrogen and power our vehicles and houses through fuel cells. If only we could find the will and the bold leadership, a huge amount of danger and anxiety could be lifted in one fell swoop; but where indeed are such old-fashioned qualities to be found?
Still his complaint is a trifle odd, in that for all his self-proclaimed radicalism, McWilliams seems to be entirely of the political orthodoxy which proclaims that enlightened self-interest is the only realistic and sound basis for human action, perhaps with a vague pseudo-scientific narrative about evolution and the survival of the fittest behind it. That human beings have been working away at the project of discovering ‘real meaning and focus’ for their lives from the beginning does not apparently occur to him, let alone the notion that there might be something to be learned from their efforts. Religion of course is only to be indulged in in private, if one must.
Well, the results are coming thick and fast, with malaise, anxiety and fragmentation on all sides. There’s much talk of cutting bridges and putting up fences. Strange how the conservatives in both Britain and America are so bitterly divided, having evidently forgotten what it is that they are supposed to be conserving. Of course here in Ireland they have been at odds on the matter since the founding of the Republic. Meanwhile we join Spain in dodging on under auto-pilot. Let’s hope the politicians can at least agree who to put on the wheel before they run on the rocks!
Pity the conservatives gave up learning Latin, I say! Not alone might it have taught them something about the derivation of language, but of our Western civilisation, and helped them to think and speak logically and objectively. Come to think of it, it might help the 'progressive' lot too; with their strange and indeed dangerous notion that you can build anything good without reference to the past!
Curiously enough, one has to admit that the one country that does appear to have made some kind of real contribution to peace in Syria lately is Russia, though at a terrible price. She is a danger and yet another cause of anxiety to Europe. Yet it is hard to believe that the Russians will want to get too heavily involved there by themselves. I cannot see any answer but for Europe to take a leaf or two out of Ancient Rome’s book. Supposing Europe, including the Russians, were to train and arm all those frustrated young men in the context of a sort of foreign legion, and direct them in bringing peace and the rule of law to their countries; and most importantly, follow it up by a kind of Marshall Plan for them?
It has long seemed to me that the sun-drenched deserts have an important role to play, producing solar energy for the greening of Europe. If it could not be delivered direct through superconductors, it could be used to make hydrogen and power our vehicles and houses through fuel cells. If only we could find the will and the bold leadership, a huge amount of danger and anxiety could be lifted in one fell swoop; but where indeed are such old-fashioned qualities to be found?
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| There's an old moon over Horseshoe Bay this morning! |
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