(The Nationalist, 23 August 2002)
We are selfish, foul-mouthed, littering, alcoholic, illiterate, corrupt, irresponsible – and delighted with ourselves.
Selfish: The national motto is Mé féin. I, Myself and Me are our unholy trinity. Take one example: some farmers have been fiddling the bovine TB eradication scheme for forty years – and they blame badgers! Add the introduction, through smuggling, of foot and mouth disease, slurry and silage effluent pumped into sources of drinking water or fishing grounds, then BSE and angel dust, while 56% of income comes from government grants, though paying only 1.1% of income tax.
It’s not only farmers: some professional groups are no sluggards when fighting for more of the national cake. In the change from the punt to the euro, doctors and dentists hiked their fees.
Foul-mouthed: just listen as you walk down a street or at almost any gathering – and the women are as bad as the men.
Littering: we scatter litter on the streets with casual contempt for those who live there, or for the harm done to a sense of community.
Alcoholic: we have one drinking outlet for every 290 people, and our consumption of alcohol rose by 40% in the nineties.
Illiterate: 24% of Irish adults are functionally illiterate and innumerate, for example, unable to read and understand the label on a medicine bottle or do simple arithmetic.
Corrupt: corruption in Irish institutions reflects that in Irish individuals. The compo culture is a system of cheating sustained by perjury. People lie readily and sanction it as being practical. A 2002 report of the Rowntree Trust stated, ‘Corruption is a central theme of Irish life and politics. Ireland is now regarded as one of the more corrupt European states’. Ireland, it said, is believed to have lost substantial foreign investment because of its international reputation.
Our national moral symbol is the cute hoor: As long as you can get away with it….
Irresponsible: If we have someone to blame, we don’t mind. If we can find an excuse, we don’t seek a remedy. Parents have abdicated parenting, leaving it to schools and “society”. They don’t train their children in the basics of civility or morals. When their children get into trouble, parents blame bad companions, or anyone but themselves.
Is there a sense of shame among us about this? Not a bit of it. We deny it, as if these were others’ problems, not ours. We are hardened in a shell of smugness and self-satisfaction; we think we’re great. We refuse to look ourselves in the face, to recognize the truth, call it by name, and acknowledge it. We don’t take responsibility for ourselves.
When will we grow up, stop behaving like adolescents, and become responsible adults? And when will we shake off the complacency that denies reality?