I don’t usually celebrate military events, but I’ll raise a pint of the black stuff to this one. By the end of January 2015 Ireland will have signed an historic defence co-operation accord with the UK. Ireland will train UK soldiers in peacekeeping and they will supply our minute army with extra hardware. I feel it’s a very good thing to see us collaborating with our British neighbours in this way. This event will not receive the attention it deserves, but history teaches us it’s monumental significance. England and Ireland were rarely good at talking with each other, but often quite brilliant at talking at each other. The non-conversation went something like this ….

“It is Famine which must consume (the Irish); our swords and other endeavours work not that speedy effect which is expected for their overthrow.”
Arthur Chichester, 1601

“Burn everything English except their coal.”
Jonathan Swift, 1720

“Ireland is like a half-starved rat that crosses the path of an elephant. What must the elephant do? Squelch it — by heavens — squelch it.”
Thomas Carlyle, 1840s

“An Englishman does everything on principle: he fights you on patriotic principles; he robs you on business principles; he enslaves you on imperial principles.”
George Bernard Shaw, 1898

And so on. Thankfully we’re in a much better place today.

There should be a new category to more accurately describe Ireland’s status when it comes to martial foreign policy. We’re obviously not neutral despite our official status. We never really have been. However we’re certainly closer to the impossible status of neutrality than a large majority of countries. The choice of self-declared neutrality as a preferred route to self-preservation has real meaning. We’re trusted and skilled peacekeepers because not joining NATO opened doors that allowed us to develop the required skills.

You can’t stop countries declaring themselves to be that which they are not. However an as ‘near neutral as possible’ international body could be set up to create a ‘League of Partisanship’ and classify the ‘bottom’ 10% of countries as ‘Less Partisan’ (LPs). This would be a badge of honour for those countries in many respects — and it would be related to a country’s tendancy to make decisions based on justice rather than self-preservation.

Almost all declarations of neutrality are declarations of self-preservation. As indeed are most alliances. Countries protect themselves in different ways. Being in that select 10% of countries who make their foreign policy decisions based primarily on justice (tempered by resources of course) would have more meaning than the absurdity of a self-declared quasi-impossible status.

In a world where calculated misinformation and cowardly silence are commonplace, it would be wonderful to see countries aspire to be less partisan i.e. citizens of the world driven by authenticity and valour. Less partisan countries could become the voices of reason, the voices of true valour, the builders of bridges to a better tomorrow.

“A bridge has no allegiance to either side.”
Les Coleman

I believe we should encourage the creation of societies that value integrity and courage. From that foundation we may just manage to persist as a species without the horrors of nuclear conflict. From a shared platform of meaningful dialogue rather than destructive theatre, we might even survive the ravages of the environmental damage we are creating.

Self declared neutrality is an aspiration based almost purely on self-interest.

“If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
Desmond Tutu

We can harness our intinct to be partisan in a very productive way by motivating ourselves to be strong proponents of the persistence of mankind. Countries jostle with each other to move up and down education league tables. Yet no country has succeeded (yet) in producing a population that understood how remarkably improbable it’s existance really is. This is one key reason why we are incredibly neutral about our survival as a species.

We evolved to be partisan, because neutrality in the animal world was not a good policy for survival. Things have moved on a little since we were cave dwellers. A little. We have very little time left to recognise our vulnerability. Addressing it successfully requires understanding our psychological need to be on a winning team. We need to grow that team rapidly.

‘Humans against the second law of thermodynamics’ would not be widely understood. It doesn’t trip off the tongue. Nay.

I’d settle for a more concise, counter-intuitive rallying call.
One might call it an aggressive form of tree hugging.

‘Humans against the Universe’

It’s a terrible pity we seem so slow to rise from our dangerous slumber, but one has to dream before one can awaken.

“You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one”
John Lennon, 1971

“Every age, after all, must have its own Aisling and dream of a better, kinder, happier, shared world.”
Michael D. Higgins, 2011

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Photography:
‘Palm Noir’ © Stephen Cummins Photography
‘Calatrava Was Here’ © Stephen Cummins Photography

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