People just don't care Anthony, apathy is the biggest issue facing any movement for social change at present. Whether the cause of this is powerlessness, hopelessness or whatever else it's hard to know but one thing for sure is the status quo at this stage is firmly entrenched as a result
I wonder how much the implausibility of the opposition feeds into that Sean. Often societies crave stability and only then justice. If the dissidents in any society enhance the potential for instability without demonstrating persuasively that change for the better will follow, then apathy is a likely outcome.
Sorry it's taken so long to respond to this Anthony, been flat out. That's a shrewd observation you've made there. You've touched on something I believe needs to be the corner-stone of the way forward - we have to give the people a credible alternative they can feel comfortable in supporting. The status quo is naturally well entrenched at this stage of our history but an appetite for change of course exists, we can tell that even from a cursory conversation at our own dinner tables and in our own workplaces. The will to bring it about is what's absent at present but the reality that there's a corresponding, perhaps causal, absence of an engine for change capable of harnessing these prevalent desires for social movement is something republicans perhaps don't consider enough, anywhere near enough in fact, when analysing and strategising and planning. In order for change to come about, absent violent revolution, (which as you've pointed out on many occasions brings its own set of pits and falls due to the corrupting influence of power over a vanguard) you need the people to support your politics, your analysis, your actions. So we have to give them something they can support and tie in behind. Our job is to build a credible and coherent political analysis based on practical republican realities, either that or we wither and die while Adams and co continue to get away with one absent such a credible opposition. This is at the heart of what the 1916 Societies are currently engaged in. Although we've been about for a considerable period of time much of that's been spent stabilising our own movement. But with Societies springing up now from Dublin to Derry and the project being rolled out all across the country the time is fast coming and minds are actively seeking how we can move things on a step and begin mounting the type of formidable opposition to the establishment people are crying out for all across the 32. The structure is in place, now it's time to put flesh on the bones. I'm hopeful all republicans can fall in behind this vehicle and all help and from every quarter is more than welcome in the period ahead. I'm at work here but I'd like to return to this again especially the comment about the negative impact our actions can have on the public's desire for change, that is certainly one of the shrewdest points I've heard in a long time and something that needs objectively debated and considered by all parties in our splintered movement
Former IRA volunteer and ex-prisoner, spent 18 years in Long Kesh, 4 years on the blanket and no-wash/no work protests which led to the hunger strikes of the 80s. Completed PhD at Queens upon release from prison. Left the Republican Movement at the endorsement of the Good Friday Agreement, and went on to become a journalist. Co-founder of The Blanket, an online magazine that critically analyzed the Irish peace process. Lead researcher for the Belfast Project, an oral history of the Troubles.
And civil liberties need protecting. Their erosion is not even taking place by stealth yet still many of us seem not to notice.
ReplyDeletePeople just don't care Anthony, apathy is the biggest issue facing any movement for social change at present. Whether the cause of this is powerlessness, hopelessness or whatever else it's hard to know but one thing for sure is the status quo at this stage is firmly entrenched as a result
ReplyDeleteI wonder how much the implausibility of the opposition feeds into that Sean. Often societies crave stability and only then justice. If the dissidents in any society enhance the potential for instability without demonstrating persuasively that change for the better will follow, then apathy is a likely outcome.
ReplyDeleteSorry it's taken so long to respond to this Anthony, been flat out. That's a shrewd observation you've made there. You've touched on something I believe needs to be the corner-stone of the way forward - we have to give the people a credible alternative they can feel comfortable in supporting. The status quo is naturally well entrenched at this stage of our history but an appetite for change of course exists, we can tell that even from a cursory conversation at our own dinner tables and in our own workplaces. The will to bring it about is what's absent at present but the reality that there's a corresponding, perhaps causal, absence of an engine for change capable of harnessing these prevalent desires for social movement is something republicans perhaps don't consider enough, anywhere near enough in fact, when analysing and strategising and planning. In order for change to come about, absent violent revolution, (which as you've pointed out on many occasions brings its own set of pits and falls due to the corrupting influence of power over a vanguard) you need the people to support your politics, your analysis, your actions. So we have to give them something they can support and tie in behind. Our job is to build a credible and coherent political analysis based on practical republican realities, either that or we wither and die while Adams and co continue to get away with one absent such a credible opposition. This is at the heart of what the 1916 Societies are currently engaged in. Although we've been about for a considerable period of time much of that's been spent stabilising our own movement. But with Societies springing up now from Dublin to Derry and the project being rolled out all across the country the time is fast coming and minds are actively seeking how we can move things on a step and begin mounting the type of formidable opposition to the establishment people are crying out for all across the 32. The structure is in place, now it's time to put flesh on the bones. I'm hopeful all republicans can fall in behind this vehicle and all help and from every quarter is more than welcome in the period ahead. I'm at work here but I'd like to return to this again especially the comment about the negative impact our actions can have on the public's desire for change, that is certainly one of the shrewdest points I've heard in a long time and something that needs objectively debated and considered by all parties in our splintered movement
ReplyDelete