On
first writing to The Blanket I made clear
I am a dissident, dissenting from Traditional
Republicanism, Nationalism, and Unionism, seeing
these as failed entities that have past their
sell-by date and should be thrown out and replaced
with the new, improved, up-to-date stock of Federal
Unionism-Early Sinn Fein. On reading current articles
in The Blanket, contributed by Republicans,
it is now becoming clear that Early Sinn Fein's
original message is finding an affinity with thinking
Republicans where traditional Republicanism is
being seen as a futility.
Traditional
Republicanism has been abandoned by Late Sinn
Fein which now props up a Right Wing Union Jack
Unionist 6 county state by buying into the 1801
Act of Union at Stormont. Like Early Sinn Fein,
traditional Republicanism is opposed to the 1801
Act of Union and wants rid of it; but unlike Early
Sinn Fein, traditional Republicanism doesn't know
how to achieve that goal. Violence has been the
traditional means towards the end, but that means
proved futile in '98, in 1916 and in the recent
spate of violence in the 6 counties. So the question
is: Whither Traditional Republicanism?
The
1801 Act has been rendered secure in the 6 counties
and, being secure, partition is copper- fastened
and sectarianism institutionalised. Ian Paisley
can now become expansive and make a benevolent
visit to Dublin and shake hands with the unprincipled
partitionist Bertie Ahern who has the full approval
of a unprincipled Catholic partitionist foreign
Dail Eireann. All of this is greeted with euphoria
by an unthinking media.
In
the knowledge of all of that, Federal Unionism-Early
Sinn Fein holds to the principle that the Act
of Union was a military imposition in 1801 and
undemocratic, and remains an undemocratic military
imposition on a sizeable section of the population
in the 6 counties at the present time. To resolve
this Early Sinn Fein advocates the replacement
of the imposed Act of Union 1801 by a new acceptable
and democratic Act of Union —The National
Government of Ireland Act. Ideas for such an Act
have already been published in The Blanket.
Federal Unionism-Early Sinn Fein is as one with
Traditional Republicanism in its opposition to
the 1801 Act as an end, but Early Sinn Fein advocates
reason, not brute force as a means.
Federal
Unionism-Early Sinn Fein also wishes to see the
day when sectarianism will be non-existent in
Ireland. Being realistic, sectarianism has its
roots in the fracture of Christianity in ages
past and is bound up with denominational religion
in Ireland. Federal Unionism-Early Sinn Fein believes
that one's religion is a private matter between
the individual and God and religion shouldn't
be worn on the sleeve, or mouthed about in public,
or paraded in public for votes. Federal Unionism-Early
Sinn Fein profoundly believes that no single brand
of denominational Christianity holds a monopoly
of Christian truth but that since the fracture
of Christianity at the Reformation, the Christian
truth is held in a partial fragment by each one
of the Christian denominations. Federal Unionism-Early
Sinn Fein profoundly believes that no single Christian
denomination offers an exclusive route to personal
salvation but that each one of the Christian denominations
offers a route to personal salvation, the various
denominations being six of one and half a dozen
of the other. In that belief, Federal Unionism-Early
Sinn Fein is aware that Ian Paisley preaches from
the pulpit that his brand of denominational Christianity
is the whole Christian truth and nothing but the
Christian truth. Preaching thus, Ian maintains
that his brand of denominational Christianity
is a super-brand, and like Persil it washes whiter.
Is Ian then the role model of the super Christian
and is he the superstar of Christianity? If Ian
had behaved like a Christian and spoke like a
Christian 40 years ago and had backed Captain
O'Neill in the introduction of modest reforms
in the 6 counties and had shaken the hand of Sean
Lemass in friendship as he does now with Bertie
Ahern, in the judgement of Early Sinn Fein there
would never have been an I.R.A., and there would
never have been violence and 3000 people who are
now dead would still be alive. Federal Unionism-Early
Sinn Fein maintains that Ian Paisley is a man
with much on his conscience and has much to answer
for. Because of that, Early Sinn Fein calls on
the reverend gentleman to admit his guilt, confess
his sins and in company with his unchristian political
partner at Stormont, Martin, who has an unchristian
record of terrorism, wear sackcloth and ashes
as repentant sinners who are joined at the hip
in an unhealthy, unholy and ungodly union at Stormont.
On the other hand Federal Unionism-Early Sinn
Fein is prepared to assist in the healing of the
multiple fracture in Christianity by advocating
in the National Government of Ireland Act that
Christian Ecumenism be made the official state
religion of a New Ireland.
The
reverend gentleman preaches that the Pope is the
anti-Christ and believes that all Catholics are
clones of the Pope and would have us believe that
Mary McAleese should be called 'Dolly the Pope'
because of her Catholicism. He preaches that his
brand of religion, and it alone, offers personal
salvation and that he personally is saved but
maybe if the full truth were known the only thing
saved in Ian's life are the files on his computer.
Those with an ounce of Christian sense in their
make up must realize that neither Ian or Martin
have a Christian bone in their body and in both
their faces can be seen the unacceptable face
of Christianity.
On
following the articles in The Blanket,
the theme recurs that the Irish problem can be
resolved in socialism. It would be interesting
to know the origins of this notion. It could be
that this notion originates in Long Kesh with
Republican prisoners being brainwashed and indoctrinated
into the dogma that revolutionary socialism is
the cure-all. This has been put to the test in
the 6 counties and has been shown to be flawed,
faulty and defective. Socialism has also been
put to the electoral test by that foot soldier
of socialism, Eamon McCann, and by the Worker's
Party. The electoral results speak for themselves.
Socialism collapsed in Europe with the Berlin
Wall but there are those who still cling to the
forlorn hope that if only the Shankill and the
Falls would unite as working class people in socialism,
unity would follow and all would be well. This
hope was put to the test by the old Northern Ireland
Labour Party but without electoral success. The
difficulty with the Labour Party lay in the reality
that to split the party from head to toe on sectarian
lines, all that was needed was a motion proposing
that the Party recognise the border. So in the
old Labour Party the unity of socialism was skin-deep
and superficial. What touched the quick and divided
the party was the border; i.e. the constitution.
So Federal Unionism reiterates again that to unite
Catholic Protestant and Dissenter requires a new
reformed U.K.constitution in Ireland, i.e. The
National Government of Ireland Act and that Ireland
can be united in no other way.
On
following the themes in The Blanket, there
is the assertion that in Ireland disunity is due
to the naughty British who back unionists and
if only the British would stop doing that and
went away Protestant loyalist Ireland would convert
en masse to Republicanism and a united Ireland
would follow. This foolish assertion fails to
understand loyalist Ireland. The central plank
of that community's culture is loyalty to the
Crown. It has to be accepted as reasonable that
loyalty is a praiseworthy human attribute; be
it loyalty to friend, family, organization, country
or Crown. In a liberal democracy that allows freedom
of expression, loyalty should be freely expressed,
not repressed, as loyalty to the Crown would be
in a Republic. The case in point is the Protestant
loyalist community in the 26 county statelet.
There the central plank of the community's culture
was taken away and the Protestant community, ill
at ease in an imposed alien culture, voted against
the statelet with their feet by walking out, so
it is true to say that Protestants are as scarce
on the banks of the Shannon, nowadays, as Sioux
Indians are on the banks of the Mississippi. The
fate of Catholics in the 6 counties is in marked
contrast. Since 1921 the Catholic community in
the 6 counties has increased, multiplied and flourished
even though they have felt badly done by Right
Wing Union Jack Unionism, so Catholics in the
6 counties don't seem to have any objection in
principle to being within the U.K. provided they
get a fair crack of the whip. By the same token,
the Catholics of Kerry could equally increase
multiply and flourish if they were to be within
a reformed United Kingdom.
Some
time ago I saw Catriona Ruane of Late Sinn Fein
mention a New Ireland to a DUP.man on TV. It was
a mystery to myself, the DUP, man and also to
the viewers what Catriona was talking about. Everyone
would want to know what Catriona's new Ireland
would be like, where it would come from, how it
would be constitutioned, and what we all would
be letting ourselves in for in this new Ireland
but Catriona never mentioned any of that. Federal
Unionism-Early Sinn Fein is willing to come to
the lady's assistance and offer the lady, free
of charge, a brand new Ireland which, unlike the
muddy waters of Late Sinn Fein's Eire Nua, is
clearly thought out, clearly presented, and clearly
constituted and with no hidden agenda so that
the lady can study the National Government of
Ireland Act and see how she would like to live
in a united Ireland as an Irish Christian Liberal
Democracy within the United Kingdom. I hope Catriona
reads The Blanket.
When
first writing to The Blanket I described
myself as a teacher and a writer. If the readership
doesn't like teachers and writers especially teachers
I can describe myself in the way Shaw described
himself to the Fabian Society:
"I
am not a teacher. I am a fellow traveller who
is pointing the way."
