The latest blog on OffTheRecord starts off with:
Sorry Mr Haass, there are no quick fixes to Northern Ireland’s problems
and ends with:
Is it a depressing thought that we have to turn to America to sort out our problems? Will we suddenly wake up, just in time to celebrate the winter solstice, in a Northern Ireland re-born? I would argue not, if only because the proposals themselves are vaguer than a typical Northern Irish weather forecast.
But I think there’s a problem with the definitions here. Yes, it is to our everlasting shame that we require outsiders to come in and fix our problems but that’s because of the three main factions in Northern Ireland, only two of them have any sort of voice. If you’re a moderate or extreme nationalist, you have two parties in government. If you’re a moderate or extreme unionist, there are three parties in government. But if you’re not interested in pandering to the homophobic, mediaeval attitudes of the incumbent theocracy, then who do you turn to? You’re certainly not represented in the Executive and yet surveys show you to be the massive majority. So why are the inmates running the lunatic asylum?
Northern Ireland has problems, yes. A capitulation to extremists won’t make anything better. Behind the facades of the First Ministers, nothing has changed. The same petty rivalries are played out day after day on Good Morning Ulster and the Nolan Show. Tune in any day to find some archaic theocrat reminiscing about the days when you could just burn heretics.
And yet who is Dr Haass spending his time with? Would it be with the disenfranchised and mostly silent (and sickened) majority or is it with these minorities who command the power of street violence? Of course it’s the latter. It’s been 15 years and we’ve made precious little progress. Maybe the caretakers we have appointed should be changed?
If we take his mission of dealing with parades, flags, the past and the kitchen sink as a massive issue, then we will end this process no better off. We’ll just have to wait for another decade for another US envoy to turn up and make everyone feel better for a while. We will have plenty more opportunities for our fame-hungry politicians to prostrate themselves before the great white saviours. The cargo cult of the USA just highlights the failings of our own society. Our politicians are fascinated by the glamour of it all and they will miss the point again and again but make no mistake – behind closed doors do you think that the US upper echelons welcome the visits of Martin and Peter? Or would it be more realistic to think that they roll their eyes and put on their Ps and Qs because, ultimately, someone has to be nice to the troglodytes who still think it’s okay to kill each other based on which street you live in and the colour of your school blazer. It is a testimony to the diplomacy of US Envoys and their Presidents that they are so gracious with their time.
Yes, Northern Ireland has problems that mammoth in nature. These pachyderms of culture are forcing us to blunder down streets that no-one with any sense should tread. Yet we have to remember how to deal with challenges that seem elephantine in nature.
