Talk, even genuine, patriotic talk, will not change the status quo

I have nothing but admiration for people like Fiach Mac Conghail of We the Citizens and those involved in setting up The Citizens Assembly. They are, unlike the bulk of Irish citizens, including myself, taking action to create a truly democratic country.

Unfortunately, they are too late. The old corrupt Republic of Ireland came to an ignominious end on 29th September 2008 when the Fianna Fail/Green Party government handed over all our assets and our children’s future to bail out the corrupt bankers.

Many people blame the bankers for the disaster that has occurred, this is a mistake. No banker, developer or any other organisation or individual could have acted as they did without the full cooperation of a corrupt political system.

That corrupt political system is still in place, still protecting the corrupt, still betraying the best interests of the Irish people.

Nothing will change until that corrupt system is totally destroyed and replaced by a truly democratic system.

Representatives of We the Citizens and other groups attempting to rescue our failed state featured on The Late Debate (Tuesday).

There was a great deal of debate about debate, a great deal of discussion about how our systems can be reformed.

It is all to no avail, our country is a failed entity. Nothing less than a complete clear-out of all the political, administrative and regulatory systems that have betrayed the people of Ireland will do if we are to create a proper democracy.

Organisations like We the Citizens and The Citizens Assembly will fail because of one glaring flaw, they are all talking shops. Talking shops full of genuine, enthusiastic, patriotic people but talking shops none the less.

They carry out their business within four walls; they will not be conducting angry street marches and therefore will pose no real challenge to the political/administrative status quo.

The corrupt political/administrative system will pat them on the head; praise them for their high ideals and then ignore them.

Just as I was despairing of all the talk about talk a woman in the audience, Sarah, a youth worker with Spunout.ie, cut through all the discussion with the truth (my emphasis).

I’ve been at Reset Ireland, The Ireland/Iceland project, Claiming our Future and We the Citizens where there has been lots of discussion.

But I have come to believe that we will not achieve any significant political change through polite little initiatives that operate within the current status quo. We just won’t do it, it hasn’t happened anywhere else.

In every other country where they have achieved such political change it has been because of a prior rejection of the status quo on the part of the people.

We have had no such rejection in Ireland; change will only come about by rejecting the systems that have failed us

Good woman Sarah, I couldn’t have put it better myself.

The current ruling elite will never give up their power until it is taken from them and all the talking in the world will not change that fact.