8/13/2019 Editorial: Ancient Greek extremes

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TRINITY NEWS

Est 1953

towardssomerevival of thecollegiate spirit,

which modern conditions tend to discourage

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HEAD TO HEAD: IRISH EMIGRATION

Growing up and settling down in thesame place seems very limited today

MICHAEL WARD

EANNA

ODWYER

ANCIENT GREEK

EXTREMES HAVE NO

PLACE IN ATHENSI AM disgusted by the comments of MinisterNoonan that young people emigrate out of alifestyle preference. I am sure that some youngpeople do leave our shores out of choice but theyare few and far between and, in any case, weshould be providing the opportunities to keepour young people here.

Emigration was the scourge of this nation forcountless centuries. The 19th century saw mil-lions of Irish people leave our shores for a bet-ter life in Britain or in America. One of the hugefailings of the British i mperial regime in Ireland

was that it stifled opportunities for young peo-ple. It gave the Irish (especially Irish Catholic)little choice but emigration or poverty.

Our moves towards economic sovereignty,culminating in our joining of the EU in 1973, fi-nally put a stop to t his exodus of Irish youth. Wewere no longer losing generation after genera-tion to live their lives and expend their talentsworking for the yankee dollar. Instead we sawdecades of Irish people staying in Ireland, avail-ing of the opportunities available for them here.The result was a prosperous and proud nationthat held its own in the world.

This is no longer the case. We are sadly re-turning to the sorry days of yore when, fortoo many, emigration or poverty have becomethe only choices. The idea that emigration is alifestyle choice can be quickly rubbished by aquick glance at emigration figures over the pastfew years.

There is a clear correlation between the risein youth unemployment and the numbers of

young people emigrating. Emigration is an uglyspectre rearing its head once again and its dis-missal by prominent ministers is simply not on.It is one of the pressing crises of our time andthe government must deal with it.

A country is nothing without its people. Our

young people are our nations future. We spend8.6bn, about 17% of our national budget, on ed-ucation each year, investing in our countrys fu-ture, but this all goes to waste when our youngpeople go abroad. We need our doctors, ourengineers and our teachers; we need our ambi-tious and qualified young people to stay here.

What is the point in investing over 100,000to give our young people the training to be top-class professionals if they have to use their ex-pertise elsewhere because we are simply notproviding the necessary opportunities to keep

them here?When even the likes of Eamon Dunphy are

telling us that our country is a dump, we needto realise that we have a serious problem. Weneed our government to recognise and do theirutmost to prevent the brain drain that will oth-erwise ensue. We do not want to return to theIreland of yore where every family lost a son ordaughter to foreign climes. We need to get Ire-land back to work again.

The government needs to work to create theeconomic environment whereby opportunitiesare available for our graduates. Other shoresshould not be more attractive than our own. Iwant the government to live up to Enda Kennyspromise of making Ireland the best small coun-try in which to do business by 2016; I want tosee the government implement the promisedinternship programmes; and I want to see thegovernment work to attract the foreign directinvestment that is so badly needed to get ourcountry back working again.

If they live up to their promises things couldchange. However, tackling emigration must beprioritised and it must be accepted that emi-gration is anything but a lifestyle choice. Itis a terrible thing thrust upon Irish families bygross economic mismanagement.

IT HAS often been remarked that Irelandsgreatest historical export was its children. Emi-gration has been a factor of Irish life since the1800s. After a reversal of this trend during theCeltic Tiger years, emigration seems to have re-turned as an issue with the onset of recession.However, it is worth examining the changes thathave occurred in society in the past few decadesthat suggest that emigration may no longer bethe curse it once was.

A number of weeks ago, Michael Noonanwas criticised for suggesting that some peoplesee emigration as a lifestyle choice. He was dis-cussing the fact that his own children had will-ingly chosen to live abroad. The ensuing out-rage failed to appreciate that he may have had apoint. Our modern society has a global outlookthat incentivises the search for broader hori-zons. The Celtic Tiger banished any remnantsof Ireland as an isolated country, somehowseparate from the rest of the world. Further-more, advances in technology and travel meanthat emigration is no longer the penal sentenceit may once have been. In this atmospheremany people do choose to emigrate as a lifestylechoice; indeed, emigration is often positivelyencouraged.

Ours is a culture of discovery. The media isfilled with images of far-flung places and pro-

grams dedicated to exploring diverse cultures.Travel supplements accompany most majornewspapers. Multiculturalism opens our eyesto new traditions and ways of living. Thus it isnot surprising that people are invested with de-sires to experience a life abroad. The opening upof education with the increased access to third-level has incentivised lifelong learning theidea that life is a constant voyage of discovery.

Emigration is arguably encouraged by ourleaders. As an EU student, I am eligible for theErasmus program; a government-supported,EU-funded opportunity to live abroad and im-merse in a new culture. Evidence suggests thatembarking on an Erasmus year can increase job

prospects.We are no longer a protectionist nation

which seeks to isolate itself from the world.In the 21st century the world outside plays ahuge part in Irish life. Our globalised economyoperates across borders. Emigration thereforehas become a vital component of the interna-tional economy; people across the world workin multinational environments and share of-fices with people of all nationalities.

The idea of growing up and settling downwithin the confines of the community you were

born in seems very limited today. Through-out modern Irish history emigration has beenviewed as a permanent act of separation. Thetragic image of the Irish boarding the famineship for America or England, never to return,has pervaded Irish attitudes to emigrationdown through the years. It was reinforced bythe traditions of American wakes for thoseabout to emigrate, based on the (often correct)presumption that they would never been seen

by their families again. However, modern de-velopments condemns such presumptions tothe past. No longer does it take two weeks fora letter to arrive from the US; instead email,Skype, Facebook and other utilities allow rapidand often visual contact. Cheap air travel meansthat a trip abroad no longer costs a lifetime of

savings and that the return trip is never impos-sible. These developments have revolutionisedour attitudes to e migration (though perhaps forolder members of the Irish community, it maytake some time to displace those long held tra-ditional views).

Localism has been hugely influential in ourculture. That we live on an island has perhapsmade us feel even more separate from the restof the world than might usually be the case.However, our changed world demonstrates t hatemigration is nothing to fear. Many people dochoose it as a lifestyle choice, and to deny that isto deny the positive benefits that living abroadcan offer.

16EDITORIAL

TRINITY NEWS

There is a correlation between a risein unemployment and emigration

IN THE Greek poleis, democracy was an extremity. Itwas a political entity ruled by its citizens democracyin its purest form.

Unlike other ancient communities ruled by amonarch or an oligarchy, the basic principle of the

poleis was mass participation. It was supposedly thearchetypal expression of Aristotles saying man isby nature a political animal even if the criteria forcitizenship were limited.

Modern-day Greek politics is the antithesis of thepoleis: electorally inclusive, representative, andsuitable for governing an electorate in its millions.Except, that is, in one respect it is no stranger toextremes. While it may not take democracy to itsdefinitional edge, its politics is no less debated,disputed and passionate.

The violent protests in Greece are testament to this.The rage displayed in the countrys cities againstausterity measures has both inspired a nd shockedonlookers across the world. For those suffering theeffects of the recession for the benefit of the richand inept financiers it is a physical expression ofwidespread anger. Riot police, tear gas, petrol bombs,

looting our Mediterranean neighbours refuse to takefurther cuts without a fight.Their methods are certainly extreme to Irish

observers but we are all Greek. Cuts, the catalyst toviolence in Greece, are no less painful in Ireland evenif the reaction at home lacks the volatility in thecontinent. Pension cuts, public sector job losses, payreductions and bank re-capitalisation are all painfulmeasures felt by ordinary Irish people. The onlydifference is that, while the Athenian riot police are onhigh alert, the Irish sentiment is one of resigned anger.

Ireland has been praised for its success inimplementing bailout measures with so little fuss. Itsrelative peace has been put down to political culture.Professor Michael Marsh, from the Department ofPolitical Science, explained why were are so muchmore quiescent: I suppose people just have the feelingthat we are in a mess. I think people recognise that we

are in a mess. Whats a protest going to do? Its going tomove the deckchairs around.Or, perhaps, it is because the Irish are more ready to

assume responsibility for the countrys financialposition. Out-of-control borrowing, spending beyondour means did we simply bring this recession onourselves, and now have to pay the price? This is aview expressed (whether purposefully or not) inTaoiseach Enda Kennys comments to the EU: Anessence of greed took over where people borrowedaway over and above. Brussels must surely have beendelighted by Kennys public admission ofresponsibility, particularly at a time when the Greekgovernment is proving a tough nut to crack.

It is still too early to determine whether Ireland isdeserving of its title as a bailout success particularlywhen abject poverty at home is so evident but at leastthis country is bearing its austerity measures with anelement of dignity.

Protests signs in Greece which read: We are not theIrish and We refuse to sell out like Ireland a remisguided, but correct they are not like the Irish.

They have not accepted the inevitability of bailoutconditions, unjust and undeserved as they are toordinary people. Its protestors should perhaps takenote from Ireland, and realise that a promising futurelies in compromise, not extremes.