The world today is such a complicated place don't you think? Nothing is simple anymore, not even simple things like telephones and Televisions. There was a time when if ye wanted to see somethin on the telly ye just turned it on and flicked the switch and there ye have it. Telephones were even easier. You wanted to call someone and ye just did. Now what with all the services and options and those accursed 'press 1 now', 'press 2 now', it's enough to drive a man away from the drink.
One of today's complications is that concerning 'race and religion'.
This fine country of which I am now a citizen, (and have been for a good while) has had it's ups and downs on the issue of race but I can't help thinking that just when we finally came to be seeing the light at the other end of the 'race' tunnel so to speak, when we could start to believe that everyone would all one day be gettin on together like they was really one nation under God, some bright sparks decided to invent a whole pile of horseshite laws and regulations to protect the sensitivities of those easily offended ethnic minorities (and ain't I one of them to be sure), and all it has done is cause more bloody divisions.
Maybe ye have no idea what this crazy Irishman is goin on about, so let me make it plain. Years ago, when I was living in Australia and the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland were at their height of hateful violence, to be Irish was not a popular thing to be.
The moment the Aussies heard an Irish accent, the first thing they did was ask 'Where in Ireland are you from?'. Today, such a question would be politically incorrect. Did the Aussies hate the Irish? Of Course not! But they were certainly on their guard against those Irish sinners dressed in saints clothing who wanted to stir up trouble amongst the Irish in Australia.
And then too we had a terrible problem with the Croats and the Serbs who, for a short time, took to violence against one another.
The Aussies lord love 'em, had (and I hope still do have) the attitude that if ye wanted to live in OZ, ye left ye old country behind. If ye fitted in with the rest of that genetically modified population, then ye were welcome.
Unfortunately today, political correctness has given every man and his dog a 'legal' reason to be upset, offended, and enriching the pockets of lawyers.
Our society and culture has morphed us into a bunch of hybrids; part cry baby whimpering for mother's titties, and part vicious wolf stalking it's prey'. We say we are 'offended' by every little thing we hear, and yet find no offense at all in hunting down our enemies, prosecuting them, robbing them of their jobs, and defaming their character in the community. And we do so while calling ourselves 'humanitarians' yet.
As one who has lived under the accusation (if not the actual suspicion) of being some terrorist from Northern Ireland, I know what it feels like to have your character and motives questioned, and so it is that I find that my heart is tender toward all those Muslims in our society who must bear the brunt of all the angst that rightly ought to be directed toward Islamic terrorists.
But having said that, I also hold to the notion that ye don't leave the 'old country' to make the 'new country' just like the old. Only morons look for clean sheets to shite on.
Freedom of religion is a right, but I don't agree when that freedom becomes a right to remove everyone else's freedom of religious expression and the like. We have no right to be offended with Islamic Religious expression, and those Muslims who get 'offended' with what they see of us here, should go home. They are welcome to join us, not welcome to demand that we change for them.
Let us all be looking to Saint Ambrose for a little moral guidance on the matter, for he gave up his wealth to serve the Blessed Saviour, and lived his life without guile, nastiness or violence. If we believe in a God, then we ought to be doing the same.
We need to be 'Wise as serpents and gentle as doves' as they say, which I guess is why the Irish are not known to be that bright because that bloody St. Patrick chased all the snakes off the Aisle leaving not a one from which to learn to be wise.
May the Good Lord watch over ye all and grant you peace. May he grant you the eyesight to recognize budding disharmony and the wisdom to realise that most of the time it is caused by your own attitudes.
John J. Walsh
John J. Walsh, a Catholic, is originally from Ireland; went to high school and university in Australia, and later moved to the U.S.A. He lives in the Midwest and is married to an American. He now has a lot of time on his hands and is taking the opportunity to see some of his musings in print. Fearing the hot blooded protestants and not wanting to reach heaven or hell faster than is God's plan, his personal email address and other particulars are not available for publication. You may however Email him at: johnjwalsh_magic @live.com
