Do We Really Want a Pluralist N.Ireland?
Do We Really Want a Pluralist N.Ireland?
Do you want to live in a pluralist society?
Can you tolerate living in a society where there are different types of people holding different sets of opinions or beliefs to yourself?
Put like that, the answer for the vast majority of people in any modern western society would be a theoretical “yes” .
Take it a bit further then, are you then prepared to countenance actually living, working and playing beside those of a different national/ethnic/ cultural/religious background?
Again I’d guess the answer would be “yes”, but maybe for some, this time, a qualified one?
But are you prepared to let those of a different national/ethnic/cultural/religious background to yourself to express their nationality/ethnicity/culture and religious practices, even though they run counter to your own beliefs? Now we’re approaching the crunch.
If we agree to living in an open and pluralist society, then we are also implicitly giving the assent to others to deliver images, statements and displays that ultimately may well upset and offend our own sensitivities and principles. But an open society which preaches pluralism and freedom of speech is unconditional; we don’t pick and choose what can be delivered according to our own standards.
So, in Northern Ireland do we live or do want to live in an open society, one where complete freedom of speech and (lawful) action is at least tolerated?
Of course not and let’s be honest, this is not solely the fault of one or two zealots on either side.
Speaking personally, having lived and worked amongst and beside people of a different culture nationality or religion to my own for nearly a decade, has been the kind of education that I’d never have received if I’d stayed back in Belfast. Bearing in mind that modern western European society is becoming more homogeneous and sterile, I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been able to swap ideas and thoughts with people that were moving on completely different cultural, political and intellectual plains to myself.
But each of those cultures and political beliefs that I've encountered hasn't attacked, denigraded or sneered at my own cultural background, my national identity and my own version of history. They haven't seen my country or the ethno/religious group from which I originate as their enemy. Do I really want to interact with people expressing those kind of viewpoints, even if it helps in some small little way to build the foundation for a truly open society in Northern Ireland?
Put even more bluntly, in the interest of "pluralism",for example, would I want my children to have access to a version of history that treats the Provos and the RUC/UDR/British army as moral equals, that paints people like Bobby Sands as visionaries or tells them that their ancestors were the enemies of the Irish people, interlopers brought in by a “foreign” power to help suppress the “native” people of the island where they now find themselves growing up?
My honest answer to all those questions is "no". But by giving that answer, I also then can't complain, if those in N.Ireland of a diametrically opposed point of view to myself, demand the same right not to give their assent to, or participate in a truly pluralist and open society. The end-result, of both of us employing this right, will inevitably be a complete neutralisation and sterilisation of our "shared public spaces" and a withdrawal of the right to openly express those aspects of our culture, beliefs and identity which may offend those of a different persuasion. It's certainly one solution to managing the increasing divide between the two communities, whether it's capable of building a strong foundation for a lasting peace is another question.
But until there is a widespread consent for a pluralist society in Northern Ireland, what are the other realistic alternatives?
Do you want to live in a pluralist society?
Can you tolerate living in a society where there are different types of people holding different sets of opinions or beliefs to yourself?
Put like that, the answer for the vast majority of people in any modern western society would be a theoretical “yes” .
Take it a bit further then, are you then prepared to countenance actually living, working and playing beside those of a different national/ethnic/ cultural/religious background?
Again I’d guess the answer would be “yes”, but maybe for some, this time, a qualified one?
But are you prepared to let those of a different national/ethnic/cultural/religious background to yourself to express their nationality/ethnicity/culture and religious practices, even though they run counter to your own beliefs? Now we’re approaching the crunch.
If we agree to living in an open and pluralist society, then we are also implicitly giving the assent to others to deliver images, statements and displays that ultimately may well upset and offend our own sensitivities and principles. But an open society which preaches pluralism and freedom of speech is unconditional; we don’t pick and choose what can be delivered according to our own standards.
So, in Northern Ireland do we live or do want to live in an open society, one where complete freedom of speech and (lawful) action is at least tolerated?
Of course not and let’s be honest, this is not solely the fault of one or two zealots on either side.
Speaking personally, having lived and worked amongst and beside people of a different culture nationality or religion to my own for nearly a decade, has been the kind of education that I’d never have received if I’d stayed back in Belfast. Bearing in mind that modern western European society is becoming more homogeneous and sterile, I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been able to swap ideas and thoughts with people that were moving on completely different cultural, political and intellectual plains to myself.
But each of those cultures and political beliefs that I've encountered hasn't attacked, denigraded or sneered at my own cultural background, my national identity and my own version of history. They haven't seen my country or the ethno/religious group from which I originate as their enemy. Do I really want to interact with people expressing those kind of viewpoints, even if it helps in some small little way to build the foundation for a truly open society in Northern Ireland?
Put even more bluntly, in the interest of "pluralism",for example, would I want my children to have access to a version of history that treats the Provos and the RUC/UDR/British army as moral equals, that paints people like Bobby Sands as visionaries or tells them that their ancestors were the enemies of the Irish people, interlopers brought in by a “foreign” power to help suppress the “native” people of the island where they now find themselves growing up?
My honest answer to all those questions is "no". But by giving that answer, I also then can't complain, if those in N.Ireland of a diametrically opposed point of view to myself, demand the same right not to give their assent to, or participate in a truly pluralist and open society. The end-result, of both of us employing this right, will inevitably be a complete neutralisation and sterilisation of our "shared public spaces" and a withdrawal of the right to openly express those aspects of our culture, beliefs and identity which may offend those of a different persuasion. It's certainly one solution to managing the increasing divide between the two communities, whether it's capable of building a strong foundation for a lasting peace is another question.
But until there is a widespread consent for a pluralist society in Northern Ireland, what are the other realistic alternatives?
