<<To bare my deepest thoughts I will say that is why I prefer a man with religous conviction lived out in his life. I like the idea that a man is bowing to a loving God that is the power of the Universe and loves all people. IMO Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter had these qualities and I miss them.>>
Nancy, I must say I understand what you are saying here about having a man with real religious convictions lived out in his life. My husband is a Christian in a very nice way, and sounds a lot like your husband. I mean that we both perceive our husbands in similar ways. I do think it is easy to be fooled however, or for hypocrites to use religion as a shield so that maybe we will be distracted from their behavior. In fact, some Muslims are now using the shots of Clinton grasping his Bible when he enters his church to argue that Christianity is an inferior religion because it doesn't have much of an effect on human behavior. And there are very nice men who are ethical and who love children and all life and have no religious convictions whatsoever. So it doesn't seem like a subject where generalizations tend to be accurate.
You asked about the situation in Ireland, and I'm not sure what to say. The two groups are a little like the Israelis and the Palestinians, really, with the Catholics being the Palestinians, symbolically. There are tribal hatreds, with an unfair division of land and wealth. Everyone remembers the details of battles fought hundreds of years ago, for example. There is much distrust and pain, as well. Even today, the Catholics are discriminated against in employment opportunities.
I think it would be helpful to reduce the tribal aspects of the misunderstanding by insisting that all children go to school together. It is possible to grow up there without ever really knowing anyone on the other side, so it is hard to resolve differences or really care about the other group. And that lack of understanding makes it easier to be polarized, and end up killing each other.
I am hopeful for peace, but not really optimistic, because it is the Protestants who will have to give up everything, and the Catholics who would gain. It is hard to imagine the Protestants really sharing power, or treating the Catholics fairly. Usually agreements work better when both parties have something to gain, and that is not the case here. You could say they have peace to gain, but there is a strong radical element on both sides that is used to war and does not want to compromise. I am not sure the sentiments of the moderates on both sides will really sway them. And now that draconian security measures have been made into law, so that you are assumed to be guilty if you refuse to answer questions, the society seems to be going backwards. This will just ensure hatred of the police by the Catholics (almost all the police are Protestant). It is the worst thing that could happen, really. |
