Not all Irish eye are smiling

On-line Forty-Niner

April 15,1998

With the recent peace agreements in Northern Ireland, one might think that all is well that ends well.

 

However, some of the aspects of the whole situation makes one wonder if the world is still rotating on its proper axis.

 

For one thing, the accord calls for the Northern Ireland Assembly to be balanced between Catholics and Protestants. This is very 16th century.

 

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It seems ironic that Protestants and Catholics can call themselves

"Christians" ...

Allowing religion into secular government is frowned upon by the U.S. Constitution and yet President Clinton takes some credit for this.

 

The next step for Northern Ireland is to learn the concept of separation of church and state.

 

The United States has enjoyed for more than 200 years the benefits of this policy.

 

If there was something for Clinton to bring to the table, this should have definitely been it.

 

It seems ironic that Protestants and Catholics can call themselves "Christians" when they have both ignored one of the basic tenets of their faith - thou shalt not kill.

 

There is another problem with this so-called peace accord.

 

It does not solve the problem of the Irish Republican Army's use of terrorist tactics in hopes of gaining Northern Ireland's independence from Great Britain.

 

Northern Ireland will remain an extended part of the English family.

 

The IRA may not be appeased with this. Keep the metal detectors activated.

 

There have been more than 3,200 deaths due to the troubles in Northern Ireland in the past three decades.

 

And the death of even a single individual is indeed tragic.

 

But compared to other countries who have "problems," the Irish body-count is relatively low.

 

Algeria has had 75,000 deaths in its last six years due to civil war.

 

This is a higher body count than Northern Ireland's in its last 30 years.

 

Are there any Banshee cries or any clever names given such as "Bloody Sunday" to the Algerian victims? Do Americans even know about this?

compared to other countries who have "problems," the Irish

body-count is relatively low.

What about the atrocities in Bosnia or the land mines in Cambodia?

 

Why is the United States not more concerned about these threats than Northern Ireland's problems?

 

In relation to these countries, Northern Ireland's troubles over the past century are not even a blip on the screen.