A time not to despair, but to hope, in face of profound changes

Anger, frustration, bewilderment, and even fear are understandable emotions in the face of our national crisis. As we wait for the budgetary axe to fall next month, it is a sign of these frightening times that the majority of respondents to a national radio poll thought it 'a good thing' that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had arrived in Dublin to 'oversee' our efforts to work our way through our fiscal problems. Surely the result of that poll is a sign, if one were needed, of the total failure of our political and financial leaders and institutions to foresee the crisis and, secondly, to deal with it in any responsible and honest way. It is a sign of the people's feeling of desperate helplessness that outsiders – and most especially the IMF (in financial terms the brutal court of last resort) - might deal with this crisis more efficiently than any of our own institutions. Whether those feelings about the presence of the IMF will be sustained after publication of a swingeing Budget next month is another matter. Probably not may be a good guess, especially when its representatives tell the Government what it must do, and then what we, the ordinary citizens, have to do to confront the magnitude of what lies ahead. 'We are where we are' has been the glib catchphrase of many of those in the ranks of the well-upholstered elite who want to get all the details of embarrassing national failures behind them. “It's not our faultâ€, “it started with the Lehman collapseâ€, “sure the world's banking system is also in crisisâ€, “we never thought it would come to this†– the formulae of excuses/ explanations will stretch to infinity. This article could easily become a polemic on the reasons for our failures but we have probably heard enough of that. However, for the present, we must face up to the brutal reality that profound changes in our way of life are coming. This is a call to arms, to use a military analogy. It is a time for all good men and women to step forward with resolution into the firing line. It will not be easy, it will be harsh and uncomfortable to varying degrees and our ability to take on the task of recovery is not helped by the looming sense of national shame that we are stepping into the ranks of the beggars of Europe. Over many centuries, we have shown ourselves to be a resilient and resourceful people. We have endured invasion, oppression, the Famine, world wars (although fortunately not on our soil), terrible struggles to establish anything resembling a workable economy, at times terrible poverty and disease, a civil war, another near civil war for 30 years from 1968, and huge waves of (often involuntary) emigration. Our missionaries and scholars from this tiny country have gone to the ends of the earth, bringing practical help, and the benefits of education and healthcare to people less fortunate than ourselves. Despite our own privations, we have managed to convey our own great sense of compassion and caring to the people of other nations. This is not a time for despair. It is a time for recognition of our common humanity, our duty to one another, to tap the depths of our sense of community. We have to turn away from factionalism, from personal greed, from thoughts that someone else owes us a livelihood. Simply, we have to look after one another. Irrespective of the causes of the present crisis and who might be to blame for it, each citizen has a duty to the nation. We have to face into the future with confidence and pride in our nationhood. We have survived so far – and we can continue to survive. Can we dare to hope that we will get decent political leadership in the days ahead? That remains to be seen. If we are to have a general election early next year, can we hope to choose those candidates who will be courageous enough to carry through true reform of our national institutions? Let us start with the Dail itself. Is it too much to ask, for instance, that we slash the numbers of TDs from 166, representing 4.4 million population, and create single-seat constituencies? Let us not forget that Britain has a mere 650 MPs for a population of 61 million. We might get rid of clientelism and battalions of highly paid 'special advisors' in one swift blow. And what outstanding need is served by the continuation of that other talking shop, the Seanad? Is it too much to hope.....?