Guest Post – In Defence of Democracy

Today’s post is published on behalf of Gregory Coen, Secretary of the NI21 Lagan Valley Constituency Association. Having read the posts on this blog he asked if I would be willing to host an article for him and I was more than happy to agree. If you have any comments on this post he can be contacted on Facebook or on Twitter @gregorycoen. Hope you enjoy.

 

In Defence of Democracy

 

Democracy (dictionary definition) – government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.

 

I’m going to start with the current political setup of Northern Ireland and with a statement that may come as a shock to no-one but the politicians themselves.

 

It ain’t working!

 

Forgive me if that was a blunt statement but I figured someone ought to tell you straight up. While we’re talking I would like to draw your attention to the definition of democracy at the top of this post, specifically the part about “power (is) vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents,” cos frankly you’re doing a pretty piss poor job of the whole idea.

 

I’m not going to say that democracy is perfect, because no system can ever truly be so, but it’s about the best you can do for establishing a civilised culture for people in general and the idea is pretty simple. People vote for you, you go to a nice building on top of a hill, you talk with other representatives about how to provide a better future for ALL of the people, agree a plan that is acceptable to all and then crack on with doing it. It’s not exactly rocket science is it?

 

It is therefore incredibly frustrating to everyone that what we actually have is an Executive caught in a repeating loop. Continually folding back over itself, playing the same tune over and over and over again! Policy in the Assembly has stagnated and ground to a halt. The two biggest parties, each an extreme of the other, when not tearing into each other, are working behind the scenes to undermine each other. It just isn’t healthy and to quote one political figure “this place is dysfunctional.”

 

We shouldn’t be surprised really, for what we have done as an electorate is let this farce continue. Albert Einstein once defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This is what we, the electorate, have done. We’ve gone insane! The people who support the extremes will continue to do so, maintaining the status quo (in Northern Ireland we like to call this the ‘us vs. them’ system of government), while the moderates become apathetic and stop voting altogether.

 

I, for one, am tired of it. I’m tired of the same old story of flags, parades, victims, flags, parades, victims, because there is frankly more to life than this. I’m tired year after year, fighting for the lesser of who cares! I’m tired of setting the bar so low I can’t even see it any more. I’m not denying the above as issues, but government, I’m pretty sure (going out on a limb here), should at least some of the time do some, you know, governing.

 

Some of you may know that I’m about to become a father. As an expectant parent I lie awake at night thinking about their future. What sort of country will they grow up in? What will their education be like? Their health system? Their economy and job prospects? When that pee hit the stick, a whole raft of things you never have had to consider before suddenly rise up and smack you in the face!

 

Joking aside, these are questions I doubt our current politicians are equipped to handle. How can they when at one time some of them were trying to kill the people sitting opposite them? How can they when, blinded by religious evangelicalism, they call fellow citizens an abomination, and preach about abortion as a sin, even when the life of both mother and child is in danger? How can they when all they do is posture, protest and obfuscate? I’ll tell you how. They do it because they can. They do it because we let them.

 

What we need is people who inspire us. People with the common sense to consider the bigger picture regardless of their own beliefs. Consider the country as a whole, not their narrow view of it. I want the person representing me to listen to all viewpoints and from that suggest a policy. To be open-minded. Have a bit of self respect for themselves and others. To admit when they are wrong. To raise the level of public debate in this country on honest-to-God issues. To be intelligent enough to speak in complete sentences! Why is that so hard?!

 

I wrote a post on Facebook a few days ago that proved very popular by stating two things. I stated that this is OUR country. I stated that I would very much like to have it back.  This is why I joined NI21. To get my country back, not for me, not even for my children, but for all. I don’t care if you are Unionist or Nationalist. I don’t care if your are Protestant or Catholic, religious, atheist, black, white, gay or straight. What I care about is moving forward as a country, striving for a future, aspiring to better.

 

You can call me naive, an idealist, a dreamer but, as John Lennon would say, I’m not the only one. The current standing of Northern Ireland as part of the UK is, like it or not, a necessary consequence of our history but at the same time it should not stop us, its people, from trying to help it progress to a better future. For those apathetic people I talked about earlier, now is the time. Don’t deny yourself a place in the conversation. To refuse to vote is to give up that right, to diminish democracy and hand it to the extremists. NI21 is a party, from my own experience on the inside and for once in my lifetime, something that is truly for the people of Northern Ireland, by the people of Northern Ireland. Surely that is something that deserves a chance?

 

 

 

 

 

Religion in Politics – Separation of Church and State

This, I can tell, is going to be a contentious post, so before I start I’m going to issue a number of disclaimers. This is not an attack on religion, Christianity, faith or otherwise. It is an examination of the issues that arise by invoking religion in politics and the effect that can have. Secondly, I am an atheist. This does not preclude me from discussing this topic for, like many children, I went to Sunday school. My atheism stems from the lack of reconciliation between science and God(s). My ‘faith’ is in something that can be examined, reviewed and proved by evidence, not something that requires unquestioned belief. Finally, it is important to understand that I have an open mind, as this is part and parcel of the Scientific Method. The path to discovering the answer, to transform theory into into truth, requires the acceptance that you may very well be wrong.

 

With that out of the way let’s get started shall we?

 

Religion has always dominated the Northern Ireland political scene. It’s divisiveness is all too clear  given the often quoted ‘us’ vs. ‘them’ mentality of the current parties involved. Protestant = Unionist against  Catholic = Nationalist. While there are exceptions to this rule it is relatively safe to say this is the ‘normal’ in Northern Ireland. There are of course similar situations in other political arenas but in these cases religion is not the primary basis for joining one party or another. In other words you usually go with the party that most represents what your viewpoint is regardless. This theological separation is really more of a Northern Ireland quirk than anything else. It’s another way for the parties involved to draw lines in the sand, for it is far more inflammatory to call someone out on the basis of religion than it is on their political point of view.

 

Religion only becomes a problem when it is relied upon for policy. This is the true crux of the issue facing Northern Ireland, especially in relation to the current largest party the DUP. Now, I’m going to take a slight tangent here but bear with me, the background is important for the sake of context. It is likely you have heard of the Caleb Foundation in some form or another albeit indirectly. Caleb is a religious lobby group, founded by evangelical Christians, that has significant ties to the political establishment in Stormont. They have on various occasions been called Peter Robinson’s ‘Militant Tendency’ or in some cases, as a private in-joke, the ‘Caliban.’

 

While not a political entity in and of itself Caleb is to the DUP what the Tea Party movement is to the GOP (the Republican party) in America, that is to say to the far right of the position of the party in question. It believes in a literal interpretation of the Bible and as far as churches involved are concerned the Caleb council of reference (CR) includes the Congregation denomination alongside Independent Methodist, Baptists, Congregational Reformed, Elim, Church of the Nazarene and Evangelical Presbyterian. Of the 22 seats on the CR the Free Presbyterian Church holds 7 positions. This is more than enough to cement its ties to Northern Ireland politics.

 

Now, like I said this is not an attack. Most of what I have said above is freely available online and in the news. What follows is a few direct quotes from the Foundation and its chairman Wallace Thompson. The Caleb statement of faith includes the following: “The Bible is the inspired, infallible and inerrant word of God. It is final in its authority. None may add thereto or take away therefrom except at their own peril,” with a vengeful God who will visit “eternal conscious punishment of the unregenerate in hell” (‘unregenerate’ includes everyone except for born-again Christians). It is safe to say Caleb is more of the extreme than other groups with Mr Thompson conceding, many of the views it espouses are losing ground in the wider society, and even among evangelical Christians themselves.

 

Everyone with me so far?

 

Among its Facebook friends Caleb lists, among others, MLA Edwin Poots, MLA Nelson McCausland, Jonathan Bell, MEP Diane Dodds, MP Gregory Campbell and two other DUP MLAs Paul Givan and Stephen Moutray, (who is also mayor of Craigavon), as well as Jim Allister, the TUV leader, and Sammy Morrison, his Press officer. Mervyn Storey, the DUP education spokesman, is a Free Presbyterian representative on the organisation’s ruling council of reference, David Simpson, the DUP MP, is a leading young Earth creationist who is close to Caleb and has employed David McConaghie, a former CR chairman, in his office. Mr Thompson himself is a former adviser to Nigel Dodds and his daughter Sharon is married to Mr Dodds’ son. (Note this information was obtained directly from this Belfast Telegraph article).

 

In policy, Caleb is supportive of the gay blood ban still enforced in Northern Ireland by Edwin Poots. What Mr. Poots has failed to take into account (amongst many, many other things) is that when blood supplies run short in Northern Ireland it is imported into the country from other parts of the UK which have already relaxed the ban on homosexuals donating blood. I’m no haematologist but I’m pretty sure blood is blood regardless of sexual orientation and it’s not as if it comes out of a gay person a different colour for easy reference.

 

It was primarily responsible, and continues to lobby for, Creationism being taught alongside Evolution in places that include museums, classrooms and the visitors centre at the Giant’s Causeway (thanks to Mr. McCausland for that corker). If Creationism is your thing, all credit to you. If you ignore the dinosaurs and fossils (which are apparently only 6,000 years old and remnants of Noah’s flood) and the massive pile of evidence to the contrary as part of your faith, fine. I truly draw the line though at this being taught as Science! What about all the other Creation myths? If you’re gonna teach Genesis in schools you have to include the other creation stories of Judaism, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Taoist, maybe even Mayan and beyond for balance. More to the point you have to teach it as part of Religious Education! You do a tremendous disservice to both Science and Religion by trying to force them upon each other.

 

These are but a few examples but here is what I want to address. If as Leviticus 18:22 states homosexuality as an ‘abomination’ (“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; such thing is an abomination.”) then surely you have to include all the other parts Biblical law as well? If your interpretation is literal you can’t pick and choose. Therefore you would have to include Exodus 35:2 (”On six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be sacred to you as the sabbath of compete rest to the Lord. Anyone who does work on that day shall be put to death.”). Am I therefore legally required to kill Belfast market workers or should I call the PSNI in?

 

As an expectant parent, if I have a daughter and I wish to sell her into slavery as sanctioned by Exodus 21:7 (“When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go free as male slaves do.”) what would be a good price? While you think about that here are a few others. Does a whole town really have to be together to stone a farmer for planting different crops side by side? Can families burn their mothers in a small family gathering for wearing garments made from two different threads? (Leviticus 19:19). I could go on but in the end none of these matter for they would surely never be allowed in society today. Oh, hang on, the whole homosexuality as an abomination thing is still alive and kicking.

 

My final point is this. Separation of church and state is a good thing. Religion is powerful. I am of the genuine belief that for people the world over, it is also a benefit. It promotes charity and good will. Provides comfort and solace. At the same time it should, however, be something private (Matthew 6:6: “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”)

 

For too long Northern Ireland has been subject to the whims of the religious viewpoints of it’s politicians. If we leave religion at the door, and base policy upon peer review, public opinion and evidence, a true consensus can be reached. Progress can be achieved. The problem however is that currently such change seems a long way off.

 

That’s your lot today folks. A lot of stuff covered. I welcome any comments you have. If you feel I have been unfair in any respect I apologise but I pretty much call it as I see it. I would recommend a read of the Belfast Telegraph article linked above and maybe even a visit to the Caleb Foundation website here for more information.

Decisions are made by those who show up

If you’ll permit me I’m going to get just a little bit serious for a moment. Yesterday NI21 announced some 50 candidates for the upcoming 22nd May council elections. This represents a massive commitment by individuals hoping to move Northern Ireland beyond the current debacle of our Unionist vs. Nationalist politics. It is also an attempted return to common sense. Where religion does not constitute policy and where consideration is given prior to immediate opposition and deadlock.

 

There will be those who will laugh in the face of this attempt. After all is this not just another party entering the fray? My answer to this is no, this is something different. For too long we have pandered to the stranglehold tactics employed by our current political parties. The DUP is but one short step away from becoming a Christian fundamentalist group, dependent on the Bible for political guidance and a rallying cry of, somewhat ironically, “For God and Ulster!”

 

Sinn Féin on the other hand looks nothing but stately in it’s approach. Look at the unreasonable Unionists! Unreasonable with their “fleg” protests and their resignation threats over OTRs. Unreasonable over Haass. By doing nothing but sitting quietly and accepting invitations they have watched as Unionist division plays itself out for the world to see.

 

I could go on about how Alliance is inert in it’s attempt to appease all, how the UUP and SDLP have slipped into irrelevance but that is simply not the point. The electorate is tired of all of this. Apathy is the default mode.

 

It doesn’t have to be like this.

 

What those 50 people can represent is the silent majority. The people who have, until now, had no-one to vote for besides what they have voted for before, if they voted at all. They are able to do this because they themselves are that silent majority. From all walks of life, religion and ethnicity that make up Northern Ireland, they are, simply put, a stunning cross section of the provincial community.

 

What makes them different to everyone else in that silent majority is that they are tired of recognising our government is not working for us. The councils have stagnated to the extent that they no longer work for, or see themselves as accountable to the people. Why should they? In our apathy, by allowing them to continue unchallenged from one election to the next, we give them the mandate to continue as they have before.

 

What we, as an electorate, have failed to realise is that decisions are made by those who show up. By not voting you give up your right to complain and protest against those in office. You give up the ability to hold them to account for their actions. Think about that for a minute. By removing your voice from the conversation you are allowing the quieter extremes to control the debate.

 

Democracy is not perfect. I’m not even going to pretend it is, but as far as a means of government it is the best model we have. It comes into question every time we vote. Don’t demean it by staying silent. That is what these people represent. They stand for something. They stand for democracy at its finest. Where it is for its people by its people. Surely by their courage, or some might say foolishness, that is reason enough to vote. Decisions are made by those who show up.

Introduction

Hello and welcome to the Practical Idealism blog! Allow me to introduce myself. As you may expect ‘Madison’ is not my real name but it will serve for the purposes of anonymity. I’m 31 years old, live in Northern Ireland and have an interest in politics, which is primarily what this blog will be focused on.

I would describe my outlook on most topics as liberal. As long as you are inclusive and generally not being what Caitlin Moran would term an ‘ass-hat’ we will generally have no quarrel. I’m would also say I’m somewhat of what economists would call ‘a greater fool.’ For those of you unfamiliar with the term you can look it up (I’m not a dictionary after all), but put simply I’m an eternal optimist!

My view of politics is simple if some what idealistic. It should work for the good of all and should be as open, transparent and as accessible as possible. Unfortunately that is currently not what is happening in Northern Ireland at the moment. In a ‘power-sharing’ (and I use that phrase loosely) Assembly of extremes stalemate and stagnation has taken hold. In turn this has promoted apathy throughout the electorate tired of the same old arguments being played over and over. Change is required and in this blog I plan to discuss some of the possible solutions.

I hope you will join in and take part in the discussion.