Put up and shut up

Add in the incessant verbal and textual incontinence around various global political topics and the outcomes grow even more gloomy. We are a lowly populated island nation on the edge of the north Atlantic. We have marginal, if even that, influence on global events, political or military, which, nevertheless, give rise to much handwringing and no little amount of useless blather from our political leaders. We are ill-fitted to assume a role as moral guardians for the world and even more ill-equipped towards assuming any leadership role in improving the lives of those most impacted by the actions of despots and dictators. Even if we assume our political leaders are acting purely in an altruistic manner, reflecting the thinking of Irish people in general, there is still an onus on those leaders to safeguard the best interests of Ireland. At the risk of losing a few points in the erratic and undependable popularity stakes, sometimes politicians must, or at least should, be aware that pontificating on all manner of topics can be self-defeating in the long run. Assuming that much of the guff being uttered is unlikely to have any positive impact whatsoever, there is surely something to be said for shutting up more often than not. Many of those people most vociferous in their condemnation of international atrocities, are immune to certain unpalatable economic facts. Neither are they usually the ones who will lose most from taking the high moral ground. Politics is often grubby. It is often not about the best option but the least worst. If utterances from high-minded people result in people losing their jobs, that’s a risk one should presumably take, provided, of course, it’s not your own job that’s on the line. Should we allow ourselves to be bullied into silence by those who can negatively impact our wellbeing? Of course not, but that can be the ugly reality of our well-meaning utterances.

Populism

It is not as if we do not have enough priorities – economic, social and environmental – without ever leaving our shores. Our population should continue to grow in the coming decades. Have our political leaders the same level of angst about ensuring our housing, energy, water, health and education infrastructure is adequate to meet those challenges as we have around issues over which we have no control whatsoever. Do they think that, come election time, they will be judged on their WhatsApp, X, TikTok and other social media pronouncements or on their record of delivery on commitments that were made before, during and after the last election? Is it easier to lecture about the Middle East than to engage in actions which will have positive and meaningful impacts on the lives of Irish people. Constant barrages of populist social media messaging provide a feeling of action. They constitute a mirage that dissipates without any tangible outcomes. We need a concentration on issues that affect our lives and livelihoods and over which we have some degree of control. We need efficient delivery of infrastructure. If a Metro is required, we should have a full cost-benefit analysis to prove it. That’s not too much to ask. The same criteria apply to a Shannon-Dublin waterpipe, energy infrastructure and other critical assets. We don’t need populist spending of €9m on phone bags in schools. Instead, enforce phone use school rules at no cost to the taxpayer. A simple example of financial incontinence. Multiply it many times over and the reality of throwing money at a problem instead of applying common sense solutions becomes clear.