Ideas matter. The formulation of ideas, the discourse of ideas, the sharing of ideas, and making these ideas a reality matters. Ideas matter precisely because it is in these ideas that we see the course of human history charted for good or ill.
When President John F Kennedy told the American people in 1962, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard…” and in so doing, grasped their imagination, aspiration and daring for the future.
Ideas matter. The debate of ideas matters more. Through our debate we can expand upon an idea, develop it, and through measured and considered dialogue reach a place in which an entire nation can have agency over an idea and share in its benefits. Through such public discourse we actively participate in the effort of bettering our society.
Our earlier understanding of such a process is found in ancient Athens, in which the sharing and debating of ideas was a part of everyday life. This was not idle conversation, or even polite conversation, but was an attempt to examine concepts such as beauty, justice, truth, and even love. Debates would rage for days, even weeks, on end.
Why? In one sense it could be argued that to engage in a debate and discuss such concepts made for good sport, however, for the ancient Greeks it came down to something more profound and equally simple: Humanity. If we are to understand ourselves humans who are rational, then we cannot allow our capacity for reason to lay idle and unexercised. It is as essential to our lives as breathing, or our hearts capacity to pump blood.
Through public discourse we are given the opportunity to test our argument, to deeply hear the views of another and in the ensuing battle of wills, perhaps there would be a glimmer of Truth. In sharing and more importantly, shaping ideas, we deepen our humanity, learn to understand each other a bit better, and find a place of mutual respect.
In essence, through our disagreement and diversity we may just find a place of common ground.
Here in Northern Ireland we have been stripped of public discourse. While this is not relegated solely to Northern Ireland, for those of us who call this place home it is a lived experience at present. Never before have people been so polarised as we are today. We have strong views, strong opinions, and strong ideas. Therefore, the need has never been greater than to have a space in which such ideas can be discussed, debated, and explored in depth. There has never been a greater need for government than there is today.
However, we continue to exist without a government. In the last six months there has been a growing antipathy towards our political institutions. There has been a growing despondency within the public arena that the Northern Ireland Assembly serves no purpose; that those elected are only in it for themselves, and who really cares anyway? Our politics has been relegated to the realms of “stunts” and “gestures”. We are on very dangerous ground.
In effect, Northern Ireland has lost its compass. We are motionless and do not have a sense of direction or purpose. If I could be so bold, I would compare our present situation to soldiers in the trenches of World War One. We are eyeing each other up across No Man’s Land. We dare not raise our head about the trench for fear of what will come back at us. Therefore, it is much safer to simply keep our heads down and wait it out.
As one soldier said of No Man’s Land: “They’re somewhere out there. They’ve got machine guns, and you can see those masses of unbroken barbed wire. It’s useless to go on. The best you can do is to bring your men in and hold the line with us.”
Certainly, we may have moments of truce such as that which was experienced on Christmas Day in 1914, but we return eventually to our polarised trenches and the status quo.
The current entrenchment is creating a No Man’s Land of Northern Ireland. We have a society that is literally stacked with minefield issues. Who is brave enough to step out and discuss gender identity? A woman’s right to choose? Our place in Europe? How people can be lifted out of poverty? Meeting our climate obligations? The constitutional position of Northern Ireland?
Every one of these mines could blow up in our faces if we get too close, or we could get tangled in the myriad of wires, and so we simply keep our heads down and say nothing. Yet, all across the face of Northern Ireland these conversations are taking place. They are being held at dinner tables; pubs; schools and workplaces. Ideas are being shared on a daily basis and people need a public space where they can be explored.
This was something we certainly have the opportunity to avail of through the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building Fellowship programme. We had the space and freedom to disagree and disagree well. I recall a fantastic debate with two DUP councillors on the nature of patriotism and nationalism. An exceptional debate that I would gladly return to today. I have to say that in that sharing of ideas and debate it stirs something in one’s soul that is difficult to put into words. It creates an energy that compels me forward, with a desire to find out where the discourse is going and what gems of Truth we will unearth along the way. Civil debate is addictive.
However, we do not have this opportunity through our politics at present. We have been reduced to easy answers. If we reduce ourselves to the lowest common denominator, if we reduce our argument against something to personalised ‘whataboutery’, if we close ourselves to the sharing and shaping of ideas then the message we send to the public will be that if you disagree with what somebody is saying you can simply turn it on them personally. If you are not sure of your argument then you can just make something up. If you have nothing else to say then just repeat your previous argument. But, whatever else you may do, you must win the argument, because it’s the winning that matters.
We have lost that most basic social quality of civility. Anyone who watched the scenes unfold at Stormont yesterday will have witnessed that firsthand. However, it is precisely through civility that we can disagree with each other and still live alongside each other without resorting to brute force. Don’t be confused though, civility can still be heated and can be passionate. For in such passion we find the life blood of society. Being passionate about an ideal shows that we care about it and will defend it. What a beautiful thing that is.
Yet we have no means to discuss, disagree and diverge on opinions with civility. We remain stuck in the mud of No Man’s Land, with one side looking across the bows at the other, waiting for someone else to break. Every so often we will see one side try to bait the other and then quieten down. All the while, the vacuum left by the absence of our politics leaves people feeling disaffected, disengaged, and disenfranchised.
As for me, I dream of great debates. I dream of a great debate on the future of Ireland as a singular nation and what that will look like. I dream of a great debate on how we deal with the legacy of our past and find a space for truth. I dream of a debate around how huge private companies could be taxed fairly. I dream of a debate on fair wages and working conditions. I dream.
Yet the longer the legacy of No Man’s Land is allowed to continue, the longer we simply keep our heads down and say nothing, the more we shall be reduced to the lowest common denominator, and willing to take the easy path of least resistance. In doing so, we fail every single citizen of this place that wishes to participate in public discourse.
We need to find our compass. Our true north. Set a course for that and we will find our purpose once more. It won’t be easy. We will disagree with each other; but we will do so with civility. And in so doing we will be better, more at peace with ourselves and each other, and we will deepen our shared humanity.
Ideas matter.
Dominic O’Reilly
