Tag: politics

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

August 15, 2026

Something happened last week that is almost too good to be true.

More than 1.6 million people gathered peacefully and joyfully in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to participate in an event that would have been unthinkable in that location a few years ago. Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann (Music Festival of Ireland) is the world’s largest celebration of traditional Irish music and culture, and the annual event is usually held in successive host cities in the Republic of Ireland. So to choose Belfast, a locale outside of the Republic, the largest city in Northern Ireland, a city with a long history of sectarian violence, was risky because of the potential for disruptions, or worse.

In 1968 I was in high school where I took a class called Modern European History. We had to write a 10 page paper on a European country of our choosing, and I chose Ireland in part because of my Irish heritage and also because Northern Ireland was in the news a lot during the 1960’s due to what the locals called the Troubles, the violence and terrorism inflicted by Catholic nationalists and Protestant unionists upon each other. The unionists want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, and the nationalists want it to be part of one Irish island nation.

In my paper, entitled “On the Possibility of the Reunification of Ireland,” I reviewed the unhealed wounds from centuries of British colonial oppression, and then optimistically predicted that Northern Ireland would one day rejoin the rest of the island in a reunited Irish republic.

Looks like I may yet live to see that teenage prediction come true.

In 1986 I visited Ireland for the first time, driving clockwise around the island starting and ending in Dublin. The Republic of Ireland was, and is, peaceful and safe, but when I got to Belfast the vibe was tense. Armed British soldiers manned checkpoints and patrolled hostile streets, and I saw barbed wire, watchtowers, and armored personnel carriers.

In 1998, thanks in part to American mediation by President Bill Clinton and Senator George Mitchell, the Good Friday Agreement was signed by leaders of Northern Ireland, Britain, and Ireland, an agreement that ended the Troubles and brought a modicum of peace, but not trust, to the two feuding communities.

When I returned to Belfast in 2019, the British military presence was not visible, but nationalist and unionist neighborhoods were walled off from each other, and each flaunted political wall murals proclaiming their determination to prevail in their long, simmering civil war. Even so, it was a huge improvement from what I witnessed in 1986.

And then, last week happened.

From August 2nd to 9th people from all over Ireland, Catholics and Protestants and secular folks, streamed into Belfast to attend the Fleadh (festival, pronounced Flah). They brought their musical instruments, their traditional dancing shoes and costumes, their voices and their songs, and their Irish language classes, and they joined in the craic (fun, pronounced crack) on stages, in the streets, and in the pubs.

But this year the leadership of the Fleadh did something different. Well before the event the predominately Catholic organizers reached out to the Protestant unionist community and invited them to participate in the jamboree. So, with some trepidation, uncertain of how they would be received by the mostly Catholic traditional music audiences, Protestant unionist drummers, pipe bands, and dancers performed before people who in years past they would have considered their enemies.

The result? A unionist marching band, The Shankill Road Defenders, praised the Fleadh organizers for their “extraordinary welcome” at the festival and said they were “pleasantly surprised” by the warm welcome given to them by audiences of their political adversaries.

Local Belfast citizens were filled with pride at the success of the inclusive event that embraced both Protestant and Catholic communities. The New York Times quoted a Belfast man as saying during the event “It’s phenomenal, it’s buzzing – it’s absolutely jumping. I think this is a big moment for Belfast. I actually think it’s bigger than anybody realizes.” And the Times quoted a female Belfast artist who said “When we grew up here, everything was in black and white. And now, Belfast is in color.”

Belfast and Northern Ireland have come a long way toward peace and reconciliation. Was the 2026 Fleadh in Belfast a watershed event, a turning point in cross cultural community relations? Or was it just a fun series of concerts and dancing? Too early to say. But the Fleadh will return to Belfast in 2027, and with it will come the hopes and dreams of an island people.

As the Irish say, “Ni neart go cur le cheile.” There is no strength without unity.

Onward Christian Soldier

December 30, 2024

In a nation that worships money and guns, Jimmy Carter was that rarest of breeds – a real Christian.

When I learned yesterday that our 39th president had just died at the age of 100, I had mixed feelings. He’s the only president I’ve ever seen in person, when he was in a limo near the Oakland airport in 1979. I voted for him in 1976, but in 1980 I cast a protest vote for a third party candidate since Carter had no chance of defeating Ronald Reagan.

As president, Carter did several things that alienated me. At the time I felt that he was weak and incompetent in dealing with the Iran hostage crisis, although with the passage of time I must admit that he did succeed in bringing the hostages home safely while avoiding war with Iran. I also didn’t like his naive acceptance of massive numbers of refugees, including about 135,000 Cubans in the Mariel boatlift, many of whom committed criminal acts of violence after they arrived here. Like many religious people, he could be sanctimonious, and like almost all politicians, he had a big ego.

But in a complicated, dangerous, imperfect world, Carter was a visionary. His hard work and idealism paid off with the Camp David peace agreement between Egypt and Israel that has endured to this day. His wisdom and generosity in returning sovereignty of the Panama Canal to that country was an act of justice that created goodwill throughout Latin America. His championing of human rights worldwide led to the release of tens of thousands of political prisoners in Indonesia, Argentina, and elsewhere, many of whom had been tortured.

President Carter promoted environmental conservation all over the world, and he helped prevent deforestation in Nepal, Costa Rica, and other countries. And he protected over 100 million acres of wilderness in Alaska. He was way ahead of his time as an advocate for clean and renewable energy, and to set an example he put solar panels on the roof of the White House. His successor, Ronald Reagan, chose to make the country reliant on fossil fuels, and took down those solar panels.

It was after his presidency that Jimmy Carter was arguably even more admirable. Unlike several past presidents he didn’t try to get rich on the speaking circuit. Instead he lived a life of humble service to humanity as a private citizen. He volunteered as a construction worker for Habitat For Humanity, helping to build homes well into his 90’s. He was active and influential in nearly eliminating tropical diseases such as river blindness and Guinea worm in poor countries. He promoted democracy around the world by leading election monitoring and mediation efforts. He “waged peace,” as he put it, all over the planet.

I don’t share Carter’s religious views, but as our country prepares for a new president who is the antithesis of Carter’s morality, I think it’s important to remember and honor a true Christian man of decency, honesty, and integrity.