AH SURE AZURE

Category: parades

  • Protest as an Effective Means of Change?

    Protest as an Effective Means of Change?

    Resisting something makes you focus on it. It draws you in to it and makes you focus on something you don’t like. Like not using AI. Like becoming incensed when Windows takes over your operating system. It’s a kinetic relationship and you become closer to and more focused on what you don’t like or what you object to.

    Like painting a banner and standing in the street. You become part of the thing you object to. The thing you’re objecting to becomes more objectionable because you can’t change it. Yet you continue to stand, to object, to become a pillar of resistance that won’t relent until someone else does something.

    And that is the key. Waiting for someone else to do something is never a recipe for success. There has to be action. I have observed Democrat objectors all across the USA standing with banners, with slogans they thought up that they believe are saying something. ‘No Kings’ – what does that mean?

    It takes a couple of thought processes to realise it means that Donald Trump thinks he’s a king, but we’re saying he’s not. But the fact is, noone thinks Donald Trump is a king.Unless the protesters do. In some strange way, they are conferring kingship on him which I’m sure is not their aim at all.

    As for action, we wait for Democrats to publish a policy manifesto that will inspire people. We wait for a leader to come forward who will unite people. But all we get is resistance. It’s a bit adolescent to be still standing up to your elders. And Donald Trump is the first to sniff this out. It’s called weakness. and he pounces on it like a cat all over a mouse.

    The ideal of peaceful resistance, starting with Ghandi, and continued with the Civil Rights movement in the USA, is a wonderful thing. But it’s not the same as the defeated party in an election garnering consolation by massive demonstrations, saying little except they don’t like the government. Be a party in opposition. Pull up your big boy pants and knock on the door of your congressman – create real action instead of familiarizing yourself with what you don’t like. Put your focus on where you want to be instead of bemoaning the status quo.

  • The Real President

    The Real President

    Hillary Clinton wowed us in Dublin when she received her Honorary Doctorate from Trinity. Her unique style of  speaking, honed by years of experience, was a masterclass in communication. But it was her character, the fun and intelligence that won us over.The reaction of Irish people is that she would have won the presidential race if she had presented this fun, outgoing side to the voters.

    When Jack Lynch was Taoiseach (Prime Minister) in Ireland, his home city of Cork was dubbed the Real Capital. It has stuck, not least because of Cork people’s reputedly high opinion of themselves and their city. I can say this as a Cork woman myself. I am familiar with the intricacies of oneupmanship on a minute and grand scale.

    Less than a month after the 9/11 bombing in New York, my first cousin was scheduled to get married in that city, where she has lived for many years. She duly went ahead with her plans, on the 2nd October, Columbus weekend.  The following Monday, the Columbus day parade rolled up Fifth Avenue.

    I had passed the fire stations covered with pictures of the  dead and lost relatives. The emotion was palpable in the air. So to savour the excitement of bands playing and cheerleaders marching in a display that only the Americans can pull off, was a welcome relief. It symbolised the pioneering spirit of Christopher Colombus, where a city dusted itself down and got on with celebrations in the wake of the worst onslaught in living memory.  Mayor Rudi Giuliani took control and his calming influence was key to the city’s recovery.

    The parade took well over an hour to pass. I had a good spot behind a barrier and I took photos that are long since deleted of soldiers in plumed hats, nineteenth century minutemen and modern Navy gear. Finally at the back of the parade, there was a commotion. A group of people emerged, walking and stopping to shake hands with onlookers. In the middle, was none other than Hilary Clinton, the Senator recently moved to New York in advance of her presidential bid.

    She was dressed in yellow, and was a ball of energy. And yes, she did have charisma, she did exude a vibrant personality. I was not surprised when she came across so well in Dublin, having experienced her presence up close so many years before. Who would have thought that she would end up the defeated candidate and that Rudi Giuliani would end up a key defence lawyer in Trump’s administration.

    I vote we name her the Real President in this year when we commemorate a century of votes for women in Ireland. An Honorary Doctorate is really not  enough.

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