Let me specify it once again,even though I have told this earlier.I am not a Catholic (not even a Catholic Marxist),I am not a Protestant,I am just a mere human being (who is a Marxist) from India,Asia.I do not think I belong to any religion like that at all,so you can consider my judgement neutral.
So,let us see this from the angle of secularism first.The misery practised by almost all Roman Catholics until the sixteenth century is unbearable and intolerable.I agree.Until Martin Luther came up with his thesis and hung it in front of the Wittenberg Church in 1517,the misery might not have just stopped.The way they hung Menocchio for just coming up with a new way of decoding the Bible is a huge crime.You have to let people interpret God the way they wish to.And even if a million other people today do not agree with my philosophy,there is another million who do - and even if there is no other individual who think alike me in any way(just for the sake of the analogy), I am free to think what I want to think and I ought to have full right to speak it aloud.These thoughts ultimately contribute to a collective ideology called democracy.We will not go about Economics at the moment to keep us focused on what we are dealing with.This topic will be discussed in the next topic,that is the post to be brought up next day.
The second thing that we will try to look at if Politics and Religion can be separated in such an utopian manner.Many scholars believe that it is not possible and if you look at it logically,then it truly will never be possible.What do we do,then?All that can be done is give people belonging to different religions as well as different sectors within the religion a sense of equality.It must be seen that none feels alienated.Forced integration is a very,very negative social factor causing even riots and violence in certain cases.This is exactly what was not done in Ireland.What actually happened was the Protestants had a much better economic condition and as a result,a better social position.The Catholics are poorer,more prone to belong to the 'lower' and 'downtrodden' section of the society.What is even more annoying for them is that Ireland was a largely Catholic country.England tactfully (Ah yes,tactful - as they always are!) ensued the Protestant population and incited them to form a base in Ireland,to have a stronger hold and say over United Kingdom.They have shown a lot more 'tactful' approach towards Scotland as well,but what they did towards the Irish and especially the Irish Roman Catholics somehow looks like a very wrong and negative incident to the eye.I remember looking at a poster in our Political Science book which read - "No Dogs.No Blacks.No Irish."How odd,how insane and how insensitively idiotic is that?
The third thing is that what the case is with Northern Ireland and what actually is their demand.The Northern part of Ireland ultimately started an armed revolt against 'the Unionists'.They wanted to join with The Republic of Ireland (which was formed long back in 1937 and ultimately named The Republic of Ireland in 1948) but they actually accepted a peace treaty,or rather were compelled to do so.
There were a lot of reasons behind the revolt,though.The Irish were prohibited from wearing their traditional dress,speak in Gaelic language or spread their own culture independently so that the British could carry on their own monopoly decisions practically over the socio-political conditions of the United Kingdom.This is where a certain sector of the religion - that is,the Catholics who wanted their separate identity to retain,which was obviously logical.The Protestants were conservative and remained submissive to the command of England.The war took lives,but when it comes to violence on the linguistic and cultural sentiments,people are bound to get emotionally devoted to sustain their own culture.And what 'the Unionists' were trying to do was not justified,either.That you will be forced to sing the national anthem in a different language just because a certain powerful sector is dictating to do so cannot be justified.
Coming to the second fact that we have talked about,the economy,the Catholics are poorer economically than the Protestants and that is quite possibly where the concept of 'Catholic Marxism' finds a place in the political scenario of Europe.Now,that is strange to me because I don't know how something as independent and as secular as Marxism can be opted for by a certain sector of a religion.
Looking at the distribution of the economy in the current years,the number of poor is continuously increasing in Northern Ireland. (Reference : http://www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/child-working-age-poverty-update-jan-2014.pdf)The economical conditions are marginally better in the Republic of Ireland.(Reference : http://www.thejournal.ie/report-700000-living-in-poverty-in-ireland-412250-Apr2012/)
What really is a stake here is that a part of the Irish are socially stable and happy to practise their own culture whereas a part still faces injustice.However,I do not think you can forcibly change the culture of an entire group.As for the Republic of Ireland,it fills us with a certain warmth that the pure Irish culture is never going to vanish.
Disclaimer : The Photographs collected are from Wikipedia.
So,let us see this from the angle of secularism first.The misery practised by almost all Roman Catholics until the sixteenth century is unbearable and intolerable.I agree.Until Martin Luther came up with his thesis and hung it in front of the Wittenberg Church in 1517,the misery might not have just stopped.The way they hung Menocchio for just coming up with a new way of decoding the Bible is a huge crime.You have to let people interpret God the way they wish to.And even if a million other people today do not agree with my philosophy,there is another million who do - and even if there is no other individual who think alike me in any way(just for the sake of the analogy), I am free to think what I want to think and I ought to have full right to speak it aloud.These thoughts ultimately contribute to a collective ideology called democracy.We will not go about Economics at the moment to keep us focused on what we are dealing with.This topic will be discussed in the next topic,that is the post to be brought up next day.
The second thing that we will try to look at if Politics and Religion can be separated in such an utopian manner.Many scholars believe that it is not possible and if you look at it logically,then it truly will never be possible.What do we do,then?All that can be done is give people belonging to different religions as well as different sectors within the religion a sense of equality.It must be seen that none feels alienated.Forced integration is a very,very negative social factor causing even riots and violence in certain cases.This is exactly what was not done in Ireland.What actually happened was the Protestants had a much better economic condition and as a result,a better social position.The Catholics are poorer,more prone to belong to the 'lower' and 'downtrodden' section of the society.What is even more annoying for them is that Ireland was a largely Catholic country.England tactfully (Ah yes,tactful - as they always are!) ensued the Protestant population and incited them to form a base in Ireland,to have a stronger hold and say over United Kingdom.They have shown a lot more 'tactful' approach towards Scotland as well,but what they did towards the Irish and especially the Irish Roman Catholics somehow looks like a very wrong and negative incident to the eye.I remember looking at a poster in our Political Science book which read - "No Dogs.No Blacks.No Irish."How odd,how insane and how insensitively idiotic is that?
The third thing is that what the case is with Northern Ireland and what actually is their demand.The Northern part of Ireland ultimately started an armed revolt against 'the Unionists'.They wanted to join with The Republic of Ireland (which was formed long back in 1937 and ultimately named The Republic of Ireland in 1948) but they actually accepted a peace treaty,or rather were compelled to do so.
The Two Irelands : Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland
The Flag of The Republic of Ireland
There were a lot of reasons behind the revolt,though.The Irish were prohibited from wearing their traditional dress,speak in Gaelic language or spread their own culture independently so that the British could carry on their own monopoly decisions practically over the socio-political conditions of the United Kingdom.This is where a certain sector of the religion - that is,the Catholics who wanted their separate identity to retain,which was obviously logical.The Protestants were conservative and remained submissive to the command of England.The war took lives,but when it comes to violence on the linguistic and cultural sentiments,people are bound to get emotionally devoted to sustain their own culture.And what 'the Unionists' were trying to do was not justified,either.That you will be forced to sing the national anthem in a different language just because a certain powerful sector is dictating to do so cannot be justified.
Coming to the second fact that we have talked about,the economy,the Catholics are poorer economically than the Protestants and that is quite possibly where the concept of 'Catholic Marxism' finds a place in the political scenario of Europe.Now,that is strange to me because I don't know how something as independent and as secular as Marxism can be opted for by a certain sector of a religion.
Looking at the distribution of the economy in the current years,the number of poor is continuously increasing in Northern Ireland. (Reference : http://www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/child-working-age-poverty-update-jan-2014.pdf)The economical conditions are marginally better in the Republic of Ireland.(Reference : http://www.thejournal.ie/report-700000-living-in-poverty-in-ireland-412250-Apr2012/)
What really is a stake here is that a part of the Irish are socially stable and happy to practise their own culture whereas a part still faces injustice.However,I do not think you can forcibly change the culture of an entire group.As for the Republic of Ireland,it fills us with a certain warmth that the pure Irish culture is never going to vanish.
Disclaimer : The Photographs collected are from Wikipedia.
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