Posted on 03/07/2008 2:30:58 PM PST by 2banana
As a generalization, when a country is exporting its young people, something is wrong with the country. A country should provide opportunities for its citizens. Religious or economic missionaries are an exception, as they are accepting deprivation in order to impove the lives of others.
Marxism/socialism is bad, wherever it exists, and the IRA is Marxist. On top of that, there seems to be a global confluence of dead-end terrorist organizations, whether they explicitly subscribe to Marxism or not.
In the late 90’s Ireland’s economy took off, it was known as the Celtic Tiger so all the sons and daughters of Erin returned home. Ireland had prosperity for the first time it’s recent history. Ireland tried to limit it’s immigration but got criticism because numerous countries allowed the Irish to immigrate to their shores and felt Ireland should return the favor. There was a labor shortage so immigrants from East Europe, Africa and Middle East all poured in to Ireland and there you have it, the melting pot with Islamic extremists swirling around the pot’s edges. Sadly, the Ireland of the Quite Man no longer exists (well in some remote villages, but it is on it’s way out.)
Yes, I understand. My husband is in the computer networking field, and he knows some people who went to work in Ireland.
The low birthrate is what leads to the immigration from foreign cultures. That, and a minimum wage and/or welfare structure that allows native citizens to live without taking lower wage jobs. We have it here in the U.S., much more drastically than Ireland because of the long, porous border with Mexico.
It’s not bad that the Ireland of the “Quiet Man” is out of date. I’m a big fan of antibiotics, anesthesia, and indoor plumbing. But ideally, a country should have jobs for its citizens, and should have citizens for its labor needs!
I believe the problem is the E.U. It is not only Ireland, but Poland, the Czechs and the Baltic countries as well. The countries gave up their soul for a piece of the economic pie. Now, Ireland is prosperous and these other countries I mentioned are growing more so. However, they have lost their identity and are part of this mammoth bureaucracy propped up in Brussels. The same thing is happening to the U.S. in a way but has not gotten here fully yet. At some point we will be one conglomerate with a “bozo” currency of some kind.
It is sad that a nation that suffered for so long due to its Catholicity and its supposed backwardness is now just a suburb of England with all that that entails. What was to love about Ireland was its people and their total faith in God; not its weather nor its location. How very sad.
Personally, I think that EU induced prosperity has much to do with the bad changes but in all honesty I think that the intent to be “bad” was formed before the influence of the EU got very powerful and came from watching American TV and movies and listening to American and British music. The Greeks had the most deplorable ability to pick the very worst we had to offer and embrace it! EU prosperity just provided the Greeks with the wherewithal to do what they already wanted to do.
Things do seem to be changing, though. More and more young people are going to church and getting involved in the running of the local parishes. The monasteries are filling up with novices, new ones established and old ones, abandoned for decades and more are being reopened. The birth rate isn't growing so that's a problem, especially with an influx of Mohammedans from the Middle East and Africa into the country. But so far Greece has known what to do about that and has consistently defied the EU-crats with their “human rights” edicts. In entry of Eastern European Orthodox countries into the EU and with Poland seemingly still strong in its Roman Catholicism, maybe things will work out alright. Right now, things look pretty good and my bet is that it will get even better.
Very interesting. There are definitely some parallels with Ireland.
It sounds as though there have been major changes in Greece since my parents were there. Mom said it was one of the dirtiest countries she’d visited. (Mid 90’s, I think.)
“Mom said it was one of the dirtiest countries she’d visited. (Mid 90’s, I think.)”
I used to call Athens “Mexico City East”, but trust me, no more. Nowadays, likely because of the 2004 Olympics, Athens is so clean it would compare favorably to say, Copenhagen. People are very proud of the way the city looks and seem to want to keep it that way. The real problem there is air pollution. They have made some progress against it but the physical situation of Athens together with the number of cars there makes it difficult. The countryside now, however, is almost spotless.
That's wonderful. If people are proud of their country, and proud of themselves for the way they're fixing up their country, then one can hope that eventually they'll decide the country should continue to be populated by Greeks, so they'll have some babies :-).
Greece exported Plato, Socrates and democracy, and the West exported “Bay Watch,” “Jerry Springer” and the “Price is Right” to satellite dishes around the globe.
Ireland exported people who worked hard, and a strong belief in the Catholic faith, and the West exported the U.N./E.U. bureaucracies with their attendant abortion/contraception policies.
Do you see an underlying thread here? Birth rates drop and somebody has to do the dirty work so...
“Do you see an underlying thread here?”
Yes, FS, I do. In a perverse way, I am almost glad that the West, lead by the US, has launched a crusade of sorts against Eastern Christianity. Distrust, even near hatred, of the West is growing in Eastern Christian countries which in turn may lead to a rejection of the death culture the West brings with it these days.
If Greece and Ireland aren’t part of “the West,” then I’m confused. Didn’t we have to read all those Greeky guys in “Western Civilization” class, and James Joyce, too (speaking of unspeakable exports ...)?
“Didn’t we have to read all those Greeky guys in “Western Civilization” class, and James Joyce, too (speaking of unspeakable exports ...)?”
Anglo Saxon proddies will hijack just about anyone’s history if it suits their purposes.
Impetuous.
Tread lightly, dear...
;-o)
Surely we can agree that Ireland is “the West,” can’t we? “Hurrah for the men of the West!” and all that.
I consider it the West, sure. Whether “Eastern” Orthodox do or not is not for me to say.
The “West” (ya’ll and we’all) is due to run out of steam at some point and when it does, ho boy! You are doing your part to keep the civilization going, but a great many slouches are not doing their part.
Have some nice South African wine, dear. I must settle for only beer tonight as I was too lazy to make a trip out to the local “alcohol” shop. [Unless, of course, I hit the Paddy early which could end up as being my excuse in Confession for missing Mass. I’d prefer to miss the Paddy; my Guardian Angel warned me about that.
I’m out of wine, too. Der Prinz is coming back from camp tonight with Elen - I expect it was mighty cold in Boone last night - and maybe he’ll bring some. They’ll have to stop somewhere for supper.
My guardian angel reminded me that we “Spring Forward” tonight, or I’d have been late to Mass tomorrow - a disaster when one is leading the choir :-).
An hour late as choir leader would be quite the “faux pas.” I could imagine how things would sound without their coveted “coloratura sorpano” taking care of business.
;-o)
That’s me, a “sorpano” :-). I’m certainly not a real soprano, but the closest thing the Spanish choir has. (Not a real Spanish speaker, either, but at least we have some of those!)
Anoreth is going to a Baptist church this morning with her Girl Scout troop. Must remind her to be *very* polite! I haven’t been to a Protestant service in three years, I guess - Elen’s Brownie troop went to the Methodist service once. I still knew the hymns.
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