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Three extracts from today's papers that go some way to explaining the state we're in.
1. Our subservient way of thinking...
2. It's not what you know, it's who you know...Our subservient way of thinking as a people bestows impunity on those in positions of power
‘IT IS the deaf people that create the lies.’ Irish proverbs are full of phrases about the power of silence.
Fr Donal Gallagher from the Dublin parish of St Peter’s in Phibsboro, horrifically exploited this cancerous Irish culture of saying nothing over a 20 year period...
We will never know how many children Gallagher violated and desecrated in his 20 year career of paedophilia. But we do know that those in positions of authority were deliberately deaf to those who desperately wanted someone to listen.
This “culture of confidentiality” as described in the report, even had its own language. The church justified saying one thing and meaning another, or lying, under the creative concept of “strict mental reservation”. Marie Collins, abuse survivor, described this on last week’s RTÉ Prime Time programme as the “twisting that had been done to my mind”.
This don’t ask, don’t tell policy permeated every structure of this State.
The Garda Síochána, teachers, civil servants, judiciary and politicians collaborated to create a morally corrupted definition of authority. This hierarchical power was personified by absolute obedience, unwavering loyalty and naïve deference which sacrificed the innocence of thousands of children to avoid scandal.
Why did this happen? Why?
Is there something particular to Irish society which facilitates a mindset that accepts a culture of secrecy and a behaviour that blindly embraces perverse notions of superiority? Where did this entrenched fear of offending the powerful come from?
Did a hierarchical imbalance of political, economic and social authority create centralised institutions characterised by monarchical structures occupied by princes of privilege?
Institutions devoid of accountability and naked of responsibility which pretended to live in a Republic.
We didn’t ask questions. Instead, a culture of ingrained learned powerlessness becomes normalised. This subservient way of thinking became a shroud of impunity for those in positions of power.
Resignations are politely requested and never demanded and where they occur are accompanied by generous golden handshakes, by way of apology, for asking for them in the first place...
The report, along with the Ryan report into the abuse of children in State institutions, the Morris tribunal into Garda corruption and the McCracken, Mahon and Moriarty tribunals into political corruption, have exposed the dysfunctional nature of power in Ireland. So too have the Finlay, Lindsay, Laffoy, Lourdes, Ferns, Barr, Dunne, Madden and other inquires and tribunals sponsored by the State.
The moral bankruptcy of our financial institutions and professions also now lies bare.
The self-perpetuating abuse of power became systematic when internalised over a long period of time.
This is a learned behaviour, dutifully passed down by successive generations without challenge.
The cycle of abuse infects every facet of public and private morality.
Thus, this complacent mindset passively condones breaches of trust in all aspects of our lives.
The corruption of power by those in positions of authority has perpetuated a loss of trust in the integrity and capability of Irish public life.
We did know. And we did this to ourselves, over and over again.
3. Tolerance of dishonesty...A caller to the [COLOR=black]Ryan Tubridy[/COLOR] show on RTE Radio 1 last week, in describing her financial predicament, explained that she had €30,000 "taken off" the price of her house at the height of the housing bubble because she "knew" the builders.
Tubridy responded: "You had pull with the builders". The caller replied "yes", to which Tubridy responded "oh great".
This exchange succinctly captures what is so wrong with this country, and why we are more bankrupt, both politically as well as economically, than any other developed nation. Of course, builders shouldn't be overcharging to the tune of €30,000. The Government should never have allowed them to overcharge to that degree or indeed any degree. The concept of 'pull' shouldn't permeate every section of society, and we shouldn't slap people on the back for boasting of their capacity for accessing "pull".
In Chaos Theory the so-called 'butterfly effect' describes how every action has a counter-effect, suggesting that all events in nature are interlinked.
All of us are more responsible for our collective economic predicament than we like to admit. If we have any hope at all of developing into one of the more mature societies, we all have to take responsibility for ending the so-called 'pull' culture that makes 'winners' of a few at the expense of the many and ultimately leads to economic catastrophe.
There is a recurring theme running through the broken relationships that have done so much to undermine this society.
It is that power corrupts and that, once corrupted, institutions and their defenders will say more or less anything to safeguard their interests. Truth is immaterial, survival and the protection of privilege becomes everything.
There was little difference in the spirit or tone of the bankers’ defence of their sector given to the Dáil Public Accounts Committee last week and the response of the Catholic hierarchy to the publication of the Murphy report. The attitudes of churchmen of earlier generations as revealed in the report were almost a duplicate of those adopted by the untouchable bankers.
Trust us, they said, despite what you might think, we still know what’s best for you.
Both, to chillingly similar degrees, were self-serving and both articulated an interpretation of events that denied reality, purposely or otherwise.
The Ryan and Murphy reports have forced us to accept that the relationship between the Catholic Church and the State has changed forever. We must decide how that relationship might be renewed or if it is to be renewed at all.
...
The scandals at the banks have had the same effect. Organisations that enjoyed a degree of respect because they were so powerful are almost pariahs. Just as the Catholic Church betrayed our trust, the banks did too.
...
The most challenging realisation of all though is that, for this level of dishonesty to thrive, to be a part of our everyday lives, we must tolerate it to an extraordinary degree. We tolerate political, religious, business and inter-personal dishonesty to the point that it undermines society and diminishes our self-respect to an extraordinary degree. Why do we do this?
Our sense of outrage has been so dulled by dishonest politicians, dishonest churchmen and everyday, commonplace dishonesty that we may not even notice it.
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Originally Posted by SideysGhost
