Military jets keep streaming over my office. The first time it happened, a little over 20 minutes ago, the entire office sort of froze in place and looked out the windows. It’s ridiculous that anything would happen here today: no one hates the Irish but the British and Ireland is where suspects flee from Britain. So, really, the odds are against anything happening here. And yet, my hands are shaking and my heart rate is higher than it’s been in a long time. The sad thing is no one in the office even knew there was an Irish Air Force. Seriously. When Tax Boy and I talked about it (months ago and only in an academic arena) he seemed to think there might be one, in name at least, with a couple of training jets, but nothing like our Air Force; more like the National Guards he thought. And yet here they are, flying to the rescue over my office. It’s unnerving. I cannot imagine what it’s like for anyone in the RAF or in the IAF, given how much enmity there is between the two countries. The Irish see charity as a sense of duty. Someone needs help, you help them; doesn’t matter who they are. It’s one of the things I like most about Ireland. St. Vincent de Paul Society, Aids, African debt relief, you name it, they’ll help. Maybe it’s because they were unable to help themselves for so long. Curious theory… mostly because the US is very much a ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ kind of a place and now that Ireland has done so, it hasn’t lost that sense of duty yet the US has. It’s interesting, isn’t it? Are we so comfortable with our lives that we cannot muster empathy for others? Or do we choose not to emphasize because it alleviates guilt about our excesses?
I have a friend with whom I argue about this subject matter quite frequently. We never get anywhere on the issue (the debate has been raging for 12 years) because his position is that he’s worked hard for his money, he’s earned his lifestyle honestly, no one gave him a hand out so why should he be concerned with others that refuse to help themselves? And though I cannot fault the argument, I find that terribly cynical and short sighted. The debate usually rises from homeless people, welfare, or socialized medicine. My problem lies with the idea that we can selectively help people. I’ll help you because you deserve it, in my mind; or because I believe in your cause. Or because I cannot fault your cause and I need a tax write-off. But I won’t help you because I don’t believe in you. If someone knocks on your door and asks for help, what happens? You decide you helped someone yesterday, reached your quota so you shut the door? No way. So why is it we have such a hard time with charity? I think it’s because we equate charity with money. And we don’t want to give our hard earned cash away to people we believe to be not worthy. But rather than say that, which would cast an ugly spell upon ourselves, we say things like ‘their government is corrupt and will keep the aid for themselves anyway, so why should I help?’ or ‘he’ll only buy booze with it’. And yet here are the Irish, after an enormous tsunami relief campaign, after Live 8, rushing off to help their nemesis because they need help today. I could be wrong, but I think charity is the strong suit of the Irish.
Ok, I’ll get off my soap box now. I reserve the right to rant again, however. It’s my blog.
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