Who will bring me face to face with Edom? (Psalm 107)
We are told that the bulk of the Russian population still supports President Putin. Most of us have little difficulty in perceiving that they are either the dupes, or at least merely the victims, of a massive edifice of lies. When it comes to confronting the injustices perpetrated in the name of those lies, things get more complicated, but the consensus is that it has to be done with missiles, drones, tanks, jets etc. 'Who will lead me to conquer the fortress?'
The people who founded our modern Republic of Ireland had somewhat different ideas. They were not impressed by the slaughter of young men in France, in the name of what? They were suspicious of that cause, allegedly the freedom of small nations, but which looked to them more like a simple clash of empires. Still, they went on to establish a small nation on Catholic principles, which the modern Irish establishment however has been doing its best to row back on since I came to live here in 1973. They evidently have other fish to fry! One of the last of these principles to survive, in theory at least, is the cherished tradition of Irish neutrality.
The British shot the leaders of the Uprising, and hung onto six counties, but let's say that an element of decency, and the pressure of the Americans, caused them to tolerate this independence and the neutrality that went with it, even through the Second World War. It is however about to be tested again. The question arises, does Ireland not care if Europe is overcome by tyranny? Or supposing China invades Taiwan, is it anything to us? Supposing the world succumbs to a third world war, an existential conflict pitting the democracies against China, Russia and a few hangers-on, like Iran and North Korea, will we be able to sit it out securely on our little island, keeping ourselves aloof?
We could have our work cut out, even keeping our own infrastructure secure, and other nations certainly would have a big interest in what's going on on the sea-bed around here, not to mention Shannon airport. If it comes down to actual self-defence, co-operation with our neighbours would be vital. Is it possible to sustain a distinction between that and joining NATO? In the big scheme of things, might there be a better contribution we could make, rather than a handful of jets etc? If so, what is it?
The truth is, it's not just the Russians and the Chinese that are stuck with big lies; and it is lies that cause the warfare, for they invariably conflict and are very stubborn. It is for instance just about unthinkable that Putin should abandon his lies and admit he made a colossal mistake in invading Ukraine. He lives or dies in his lies, but then again he will probably only be confirmed in it if the West mounts a crusade to bring him down. Wars occur when instead of confronting the lies within, which is so very difficult, we find an enemy to project falsehood onto and we band together to fight them. This unites our tattered societies, gives us a cause and a reason for living.
Where this confrontation with Russia and China will end, we do not know. I do not for a moment want their version of human society to prevail, but I think Ireland has potentially a far greater contribution for the cause of freedom if it remains neutral. I hear it said that there never was any civilisation that was not based on some kind of an empire,- and they take many guises these days.
It will indeed be interesting to see how modern Ireland fares, if we lose those billions that come from Big Pharma. Nonetheless, we should simply opt out of the attempt to reduce human life to competitions for power. We may be poorer, but not in the long run. We must dust ourselves down from our recent bad trip, and stand for the one and only empire that counts, based not on the sword but the Cross of Jesus.
This involves helping everyone to escape from their lies and the power systems that they support,- but the place to start is with our own lies. It happens that just now, the Irish establishment is in a panic about President Trump's threat to our share of the Big Pharma cake. 'Things will never be the same again' was according to RTE 'the Taoiseach's unnerving message',- not of course because of any questions about Big Pharma's motivation, past record, criminal convictions or approach to health,- oh no!
To even ask such questions is widely regarded as an unpatriotic nono in Ireland today. We who refused the covid vaccines, and have been questioning them since they were foisted on the whole 'free world', find ourselves in a kind of alternative reality, subject to the same kind of social repression, in a more subtle form, as those in Russia who question Putin's narrative. But what was the self-destructive madness that swept the 'free world' with covid?
Where does the politically correct covid conformity come from, begin and end? If we don't want it to end very badly, let us all start by listening to each other,- not to mention to ourselves,- but it's an uphill task. It seems one is not even supposed to mention death anymore, let alone investigate excess mortality. Have you noticed, the correct crowd now refer to 'passing' instead of dying? Let us not shy away from confronting our own lies, along with our own mortality, and getting 'face to face with Edom'!
Allelujia, it's making a lovely Spring here in Ireland! I must get out into the garden, and am intending to concentrate on the Anna M, after Easter.
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| Ailsa Craig, as we returned from a wee visit to Scotland |
