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Post by kj on Aug 16, 2020 19:54:54 GMT
As someone living abroad whose main contact with home is the media I am more and more irritated by a phenomenon that's been there for almost as long as I recall: the Irish need for approval from abroad. The liberal media frequently has self-congratulatory headlines or articles trumpeting Ireland as a 'global leader' in this, that and the other thing, as if we constantly need to prove ourselves on the world stage. I wonder has this always been there, or is it only a phenomenon dating back to the early to mid 90s when we fully "modernised". Or am I just imagining it all?  |
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Post by Maolsheachlann on Aug 16, 2020 21:25:32 GMT
The phenomenon is mentioned in the Canon Sheehan novel The Blindness of Dr. Gray, published 1909. I don't have the quotation to hand.
Does it, perhaps, explain why De Valera went to the US to get American support for Irish independence at such a critical moment in history, a decision often described as strange?
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Post by kj on Aug 17, 2020 7:04:03 GMT
Well to be fair, Maolsheachlann, I can nearly understand that particular search for approval given the circumstances! The need for money, American support in the face of British opposition etc.
I'm thinking more the need to flag ourselves as 'global leaders' in LGBT, immigration, technological blah blah etc.
There certainly seems to be elements of a national inferiority complex that needs sating by global advertising.
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Post by cato on Aug 17, 2020 11:34:54 GMT
The phenomenon is mentioned in the Canon Sheehan novel The Blindness of Dr. Gray, published 1909. I don't have the quotation to hand. Does it, perhaps, explain why De Valera went to the US to get American support for Irish independence at such a critical moment in history, a decision often described as strange? Dev was American born , there was a large source of Irish American cash and political support and the USA was the only power to emerge from the Great war without beggaring itself. All positive reasons to seek US support for an Irish Republic. Unfortunately Ireland had also sought arms from Germany and the UK was an important US ally which tended to render a plea for recognition void. I think the Bolsheviks alone recognised the underground Irish state. That wasn't the sort of foreign recognition we wanted! The desire for foreign affirmation is more pychological I think than the desire to have good diplomatic relations. I am often struck speaking to foreigners how relatively insignificant Ireland is. Most know little about us. In the global scheme of things we are not the centre of the universe. That can be a really tough thing for many Irish people to accept. There is also among many of us Irish a streak of possibly post colonial mentality that we really are at some level backward , stupid , violent and unfit to govern ourselves and that we need a wise foreign hand to educate us and make us like them. This is all nonsense but our fears even when denied sometimes can make us do and say crazy things. A nation that was laid prostrate by military conquest and plantation , that was stripped of its traditional leadership, culture , language and that had its faith prohibited is bound to have issues around its self worth. The Imperial ideology insisted the mere Irish were savage and barely human. Some of that is bound to have sunk in at a deep profound level. Unfortunately our geography also conspires against us in a way stuck between 2 large Anglo powers that are much bigger than us. Traditionally we compared ourselves not against small European peers but two colossally rich sophisticated super powers as if this was in any way a sensible comparison. I think instinctively we still do this. The desire to be the best little country in the world and to impress the neighbours is linked to a desire to be respectable and to "prove" We are as good as our neighbours. It is a sad pathology. No one really cares about how progressive or diverse we are. We should stop looking over our shoulders, grow up and be ourselves. The world is not breathlessly waiting to be lectured by the newly secularised super rich diverse Irish. In a way we are still peddling the old missionary message of the Irish medieval monks but in a updated post Godly format. |
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Post by kj on Aug 17, 2020 11:48:54 GMT
Very well said, Cato. Couldn't agree more.
A nation that was laid prostrate by military conquest and plantation , that was stripped of its traditional leadership, culture , language and that had its faith prohibited is bound to have issues around its self worth. The Imperial ideology insisted the mere Irish were savage and barely human. Some of that is bound to have sunk in at a deep profound level.
Indeed.
However, being in a somewhat snarky mood this morning due to sleep deprivation, I would also point out that there are several key facts about Ireland that should stop any bragging:
1) We don't control the entirety of our land mass.
2) We are seemingly thrilled at having dumped our religion, which regardless of whether one believes or not, is a foundational aspect of any serious country.
3) 80% of our popular culture is imported from American and the UK, due to the most damning fact, which is....
4) In spite of the various token efforts, we have abandoned our language and given up any serious attempt to revive it. Surely a heinous crime by any standards.
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Post by kj on Aug 18, 2020 12:54:04 GMT
An interesting article, actually critical of certain elements of Irish self-congratulation, while still buying into the "We are a Superpower" line. Ireland is a country full of people who are adored and envied globally, and we are proud of our ability to be adored. Is Ireland using its diplomatic superpower for good or evil? |
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