My Musings on a Bus
On the bus this morning I couldn’t help noticing that most of the passengers were foreign nationals and it led me to reaffirm for myself my views on nationalistic politics. This may seem extreme but I never liked the idea of nationalities…. In Mass on Sundays we acknowledge that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ as sons and daughters of the One God. How is it then that while this is the expected on Sundays it is unheard of to deny ones national pride? I’m not ashamed to say that I see myself as human, then Christian, then catholic, then European and, finally, Irish. Not only do I leave my nationality at the end of my self portrait’s features but I believe that a perfect world would be one free of borders. Free of immigration laws or selfish economies.
This may seem obvious to you but I’ve only recently realised the truth behind economic progress. Money does not just appear from nowhere. The truth is that for one country to grow wealthier another must fall into a downward economic spiral. How is this fair? We would be fools not to celebrate our own nation’s success but how often do we stop to think of those at the other end? Every human on this planet is a living, breathing animal with thoughts and feelings. What is most important though is that every human being has fears, aspirations and regrets. Ones nationality should not be used as an excuse to only think of one group of people. Why should I fear for the Irish and hope for them above the Americans, the Czechs or the Thai peoples?
It is my view that the more power such institutions as the UN has the better. The European Union is a start but it is being held back by nations refusing to sacrifice any of their national identity. This may be nothing more than idealistic musings but I would love to see each continent unite under unions such as those in Europe and the United States. This, if successful, would mean less war as the common elements are stressed rather than those few things that separate us. If we really think about it nothing separates the common people in one nation from another. Bad politics happens when the personal vendettas of squabbling diplomats highlights differences which are in fact non-existent.
Jesus preached inclusiveness. He told us to treat others as we would like to be treated. He never told anyone to treat other Jews as you would like to be treated or treat other Galileans as you would like to be treated. He spoke of us as sons and daughters of the One God. This then does not lead to a post script which allows us to ignore half the world. We know that it’s wrong to pick favorites in our own families yet we do this every day when we jump for joy at the news that our country has gained further wealth or that our country is winning in the !war. When we worry for the safety of a soldier because he/she’s so young/has a family/ has a life to live we forget that the soldiers he/she is up against is so young/has a family/has a life to live .
At this stage I’m just talking in circles but I just thought I’d note what I was thinking on the bus. Buses…great inventions
Thursday, June 21st, 2007 and is filed under Love Thy Neighbour.
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