Banana Republic(ans), septic Isles
THE WAY THINGS ARE
‘The politician man says do the best you can. And I will do my very best to help. Yes, please do sir, help yourself.’ So sang Irish artist Christie Hennessy from Living the Life I Owe. And these days who and what politicians owe is obvious.
Bob Geldof, Irish inspirer of Live Aid sang ‘Banana republic, septic isle’ which continued, ‘Everywhere I go yeah, everywhere I see, black and blue uniforms, police and priests.’
Cyprus and Ireland, church and state bedmates. Both nations have inadequate armed forces and depend on others for defence. Neutral Ireland owes the UK, Cyprus owes the UN.
In spite of billions of Irish surplus, children are homeless and deprived. Cyprus faces that now, snail pace responses from both governments. Still, these isles have free media to charge their governments with inadequacy. Free media is one whose journalists are non-aligned to anything or anyone but honest, non-manufactured news in an increasing struggle to present truth against invented, paid for or unverifiable mistruths by anyone with a purpose to distort reality.
The New York Times columnist Maureen O’Dowd has fearlessly spoken out against Donald Trump who blatantly said ‘when’ he wins, he’s ‘gonna get’ those who went against him. The war cry MAGA rings out loudly in the USA and Republicans, knowing how dangerous he is, are letting him ride his tide of truth-bending popularity for party power instead of the credible Nikki Haley.
If Trump wins for the Republicans, MAGA Make America Great Again should become MAALSA. Make America a Laughing Stock Again. The prefix ‘mal’ presents negativity. Trump, like others of his ilk, suffers from the Nero/Caligula complex, seeing a smug god in their mirror. If elected, Trump can serve even if convicted. He wouldn’t be the first. How ludicrous is that?
Instead of playing for the greater good, some politicians in all countries play to the gallery of staying in party control regardless of the greater good. In this multi-state election year free countries are right to fear antagonistic technological interference threatening genuine democratic process.
It’s evident that anti-Israel instigated terror attacks against the USA and allies are designed to distract focus and divide public opinion over foreign policy. US President Joe Biden chose a thought-out response, would Trump? The USA’s ‘leader of the free world’ title is challenged as are the boasts of the European Union, and the UK that their democratic principles are unassailable.
Their hypocrisy last year displayed the selectivity of who deserved freedom and arms support. The West condemns Iran for weaponising its allies while the US backed by its allies, arms Israel to kill not only perpetrators of a massacre but allows false defence rationalisation of the fully cognitive death and maiming of so many Palestinian children.
The unperturbed irony of that excess appears lost on them. Israel, gifted a state to ensure Jewish freedom, refuses the same humanity to its small, suffering neighbour and the ‘free world’ remains mute to injustice? A threat of wider war looms after years of relative peace lulled Allied defences to slumber. British army commanders say the UK needs to increase its forces, more cash for defence, numbers-talk of past conscription.
Irish army and police serving in Cyprus gained respect, their international UN role unimpeachable. Necessary fresh military alignment on both islands is overridden by embedded political fear of committed change. Cyprus, whose answer to apprehension of Turkey could be removed by joining Nato, hesitates, chained understandably to the memory of past British and US betrayals of Greeks and Cypriots.
When Cyprus turned toward Russia, it wasn’t Western perceived Cypriot betrayals at fault. Cyprus was Cuba II, a communist sympathiser, regardless of free elections in which not everyone gave their vote towards Russian influence. Those who did, exercised democratic right.
Greece celebrates OXI Day, a no! to Mussolini’s short cut to upper Europe in WWII and paid dearly for it. Cyprus has been a convenient listening post for the West covering many conflicts. Like Ireland, it has a love/hate relationship with its former British occupiers. All three can now cooperate on a sensible level.
The world needs to come to its senses and stop tribal killing of our own species.