Blood is thicker
The army is in my blood. That is, the British Army is in my
blood. So says an elderly and very distant relation (with
the same birth surname) who is into the genealogy and tends
to phone with long genealogical tales just when I have started
cooking the dinner; he is a former British army officer himself.
My father’s siblings fought in the British forces in
the Second World War. Most of the previous generation fought
in the First World War, in fact a great uncle was killed in
Mesopotamia (a k a Iraq, plus ça change and all that).
Previous generations fought for the British in the Crimean
War, the Peninsular War and possibly even further back. Of
course if you were a younger son of the Protestant bourgeoisie
in those days, your career options were quite limited and
the army provided one career path.
I rejected the path of militarism early on in
my life, for both political and religious reasons. If I was
faced with a ‘1939’ situation, waking up as an
adult in that year, and knowing what I know about Hitler,
Nazism and ‘final solutions’ (for gays, gypsies
and disabled as well as Jews) what would I have done? I don’t
know. Perhaps I would, with considerable reservations, have
also joined the British forces to fight Hitler. Perhaps I
would have still remained a pacifist. What I do know is that
the Second World War was a direct result of the First World
war, and the First World War was a direct result of imperial
rivalries, so for me the most important question is one of
where, and how, we ‘break into history’ to end
cycles of violence. In recent years, Bush and Blair have merely
perpetuated those cycles in a new and dangerous way –
not only concerning Iraq, possibly Iran, but also concerning
nuclear weapons.
How do I regard those who support the military?
Usually more sadness than anger, I think. Many of my school
mates from Norn Iron joined the British Army, something I
felt sad about but could not affect. I think I understand
something of why. Within some circles in Northern Ireland,
mainly Protestant, the British military is considered primarily
a ‘good thing’, a good career option for a shorter
or longer term, and ‘sexy’ in the power that is
seen to grow from the barrel of a gun. But the power that
grows from the barrel of a gun is a very peculiar kind of
power; it can kill, it can maim, it can force, but it is not
very good at winning hearts and minds or transforming situations.
I categorically rejected that kind of power and have sought
to explore the power of nonviolence which I see as different,
more inclusive and participative, and does not leave the wounds,
physical or emotional, that violence does. I try not to pretend,
however, that I have all the answers.
While I do seek to persuade people that nonviolence
is a better bet than violence and the military, I also don’t
want to be fixated with the military; being opposed to the
military is part of my identity as a believer in nonviolence
but on a practical and daily basis there are more important
things to be doing most of the time – such as trying
to support those who are struggling nonviolently for social
and political progress. That said, British army recruiting
in Northern Ireland has been getting more blatant with normalisation
after the Troubles so I would like to keep asking questions
in this area and positing alternatives.
The British military can be seen in very different
ways. No greater difference is there than that between the
‘News Letter’, Norn Iron’s Protestant/Unionist
morning paper (which has become more staunchly and vehemently
unionist over the last number of years) and the ‘Andersonstown
News’, a West Belfast paper taking a broadly republican
and nationalist viewpoint. The ‘News Letter’ of
6th October 2006 issued a souvenir supplement on the UDR (Ulster
Defence Regiment, 1970-1991) and Royal Irish Regiment (RIR)
as the RIR’s three ‘home service’ battalions
were wound down; “A tribute to heroes” the front
page proclaimed, with a picture of a soldier saluting a memorial
of members who “gave their lives in the service of their
country”. The supplement included a roll of all those
“Killed by Terrorist Action”, and an article on
“Continuing this proud tradition into tomorrow”
as the general service regiment of the RIR continues, and
along with the Royal Irish Rangers, and the part-time Territorial
Army in Northern Ireland, still remain as ‘Irish’
parts of the ‘British’ Army. Produced in association
with the UDR Benevolent Fund, the supplement had not a word
of criticism.
The “Andersonstown News”, of 6th
January 2007 featured the RIR on its cover: “Royal Irish
RUNAWAYS”, it proclaimed with the information that “One
fifth go AWOL” [Absent WithOut Leave – Ed] “during
Iraq/Afghan campaign”, and “Desertion figures
come just months after medal for bravery” (referring
to a medal, the Conspicuous Gallantry Award, given to them
in October 2006 for 36 years service by the UDR and RIR).
One in eight soldiers of the RIR has been AWOL since the start
of the “so-called ‘War on Terror’”
the article regaled. What it did not detail was why soldiers
had been AWOL; were they ‘deserting’ because they
didn’t fancy going back, or got absolutely drunk and
didn’t make it where they should have, or conscientiously
objecting to some aspect of army life and work? We don’t
know. The ‘Andersonstown News’ might have been
better lauding the perspicacity of the soldiers involved,
and hoping that some were actually objecting to serving in
Britain’s immoral war in Iraq or realising that they
could do something more useful with their lives.
As of last year, British soldiers objecting
to serving in a particular country (e.g. Iraq) are liable
to a maximum penalty of life imprisonment! So much for freedom
of conscience; when you sign up to the army, you can throw
most of your conscience out the window. So partial ‘conscientious
objection’ is impossible (it is still possible to claim
to be a conscientious objector to war per se but if you don’t
do it in the right way, and cease obeying orders before you
have got your claim in, then you’re for it). Fascinating
as the Andytown News’ alternative picture of the RIR
is, it is a mirror image of the News Letter’s uncritical
coverage.
For the likes of the ‘News Letter’,
as for most Northern Protestants, the British military is
not just ‘our army’ but also the bulwark that
is seen to have protected the Protestant community from attacks
by the IRA and other republican militarists during the Troubles.
There is thus a really close identification with the military,
not just as something ‘out there’ but as something
‘in here’, as part of the community, as part of
people’s identity. It is thus no surprise that attacks
in the Troubles on local members of the UDR/RIR, seen by republicans
as ‘Crown forces’ along with the police and thus
legitimate targets, were seen by Protestants as attacks on
the Protestant community per se. The republican failure to
perceive this at the time was a major cause of division between
the communities in the North and represented a major ‘intelligence’
failure by the Provos and other military republicans.
What do I admire about the military? Not their
machismo, their misogyny (of which I have directly heard sufficient
examples to specify this), not their unquestioning obedience,
not their violence. Where there is self discipline, yes, I
could possibly admire that. Courage? Do I recognise military
courage? Well, yes. But the quote “Greater love has
no man than that he lays down his life for his friends”
(from the Christian gospel of John, 15.13), while arguably
true, doesn’t say “Greater love has no man than
that he tries to kill as many enemies as he can so that his
friends, and himself, are not endangered” – which
is usually the hidden sub-text when this is quoted, and a
very definite misreading or misunderstanding of these words.
Military ‘courage’ may be courage
or foolhardiness, or blind loyalty. Take Prince Harry, third
in line to the English throne and a ‘hotspur’
to go with his army regiment to Iraq; loyalty to his mates,
yes, but not an ounce of political sense in his body. Britain’s
war in Iraq has been a disaster and his wanting to go with
his mates is also political naivety, an unquestioning relationship
to decision making and politics – despite his exalted
position in his country - which places his head firmly in
the desert sand. Courage of any kind should be subservient
to political and moral issues, and a modicum of common sense
(please note that I am only say some common sense because
what is commonly regarded as ‘common sense’ is
often not sensible).
And, when it comes to courage, I would put the
quiet, determined and often dogged courage of the oppressed
or the freedom worker, the human rights activist, the peace
worker, the political activist fighting for an ideal, way
ahead of the kind of courage which is shown in military courage
in the face of enemy fire. But, how could I also not admire
an uncle of mine who, as a merchant seaman in the Second World
War, moved an unexploded bomb and threw it overboard from
his ship? Or another uncle who commanded a small craft returning
from the British/Allied evacuation of Dunkirk with the craft
literally falling apart? That is courage in risking one’s
own life with high stakes rather than courage in trying to
kill others.
I suppose in looking at how I personally relate
to the British military I also have to consider my wider political
views. Is some of it because I do not relate to things British
simply because they are British, i.e. that is not my own personal
identity? However, while I do not identify with things British
or indeed US American per se, nor usually with the doings
of the respective states, I do get lots of ideas and also
entertainment from both those directions, and ‘some
of my best friends are…..’. So I would certainly
not feel ‘anti-British’ or ‘anti-American’
(US variety) but feel able to pick and choose what I identify
with and what I don’t. This is not that different to
how I relate to groups, parties and policies on the island
of Ireland where I do identify as ‘Irish’. So
I do not feel that how I relate to the British army is simply
a result of having a viewpoint that might be considered broadly,
though atypically, nationalist. By nationalist I mean identifying
with the whole island of Ireland; and I also have a broader
identification as an Earthling.
How, then, do I see the Irish army? Its purpose
within the Republic has been threefold; 1) Ceremonial or a
perceived part of what being a state is about, 2) Counter-paramilitary,
internal security duties, largely a by product of the conflict
in the North, and 3) Service with the United Nations. The
danger is that a fourth role is being added – “Service
with the EU” which may be benign in its initial stages
but may grow to become simply part of an EU army with all
the dangers that entails (particularly in the context of possible
resource wars later in the 21st century). This last role is
the greatest danger. And No. 1 is because people have not
yet had the imagination of perceiving the possibility of a
state without an army. Service with the United Nations has
largely been an honourable one within the context of non-belligerent
military intervention in situations of conflict and contrasts
with the useless wars the British have fought (in Falklands/Mavinas,
Iraq to name but two) over the last few decades.
Because it is patently not an external aggressive
force, unlike the British armed forces and its nuclear-toting
missiles, the Irish Army has been relatively harmless; I may
not want to be involved in supporting it but I might not go
too far out of my way to oppose it. It has been a totally
different creature to the British Army in that the latter
is an arm of British post-imperial policies (in the case of
Tony Blair, being second fiddle to the USA’s tragic
global role and global misunderstanding). Undoubtedly some
of the same machismo pervades the Irish Army as the British
so in form it is just another army, but within the military
frame of mind it has often been progressive in how it has
seen its role internationally. That said, the role of the
Irish government in relation to the war in Iraq has been both
cowardly and catastrophic – the use of Shannon airport,
the only facility in Ireland the USA wanted, assisting the
tearing apart of that country which had already suffered so
much under Saddam Hussein. And the Irish army is being sucked
increasingly into an EU and NATO (e.g. ‘Partnership
for Peace’) straitjacket which may augur ill for the
future.
The militarist mindset is one which sees realities
in certain ways, ways that can be coerced and moulded by force.
A nonviolent mindset comes at things from a different direction,
looking to liberate people through nonviolent struggle. Militarism
and nonviolence both have had their victories and defeats
in the 20th century. Unfortunately the 21st century started
off badly with the war in Iraq. But in an increasingly interdependent
world, and one which will have to cooperate to overcome the
perils of global warming and resource shortages (particularly
water) in the years to come, I firmly believe that nonviolence
is the way forward. Hopefully its time is coming. George Bush
and Tony Blair may still be stuck in a time warp but military
and paramilitary violence is becoming more and more discredited.
And, I believe, alternatives are slowly becoming more visible.
Consumer affairs corner
I know, I know, what is this Colm coming to? But you see,
I go fearlessly to explore corners of reality that you would
never dare to [correction, ‘bother to’ –
Ed]. In this case, potting compost, toilet paper, and pressure
cookers, separately I mean.
Let’s start with the potting compost.
Being a keen gardener (‘keen’ from the Irish ‘caoineadh’,
to mourn when things don’t grow, I jest) I try to use
good quality potting compost. Potting compost made from peat,
or ‘turf mould’ to give its name that I grew up
with, cannot receive the EU’s ECO label and the peat
industry, for fuel and horticulture, is the main threat to
Irish bogs. But trying a peat free compost there a couple
of years ago it was rubbish – seeds germinated and then
just sat there, and growth was very poor. Presumably there
were two problems; the peat-free compost was milled quite
coarsely, and what plant food was added was either poorly
done or not taken up by the seedlings. However last year I
noticed (and I was using Westland Peat Free Compost) that
while it still remained relatively coarse, growth for seedling
was as good as for peat potting compost, and, in the case
of one ‘Busy Lizzie’ type plant, even better.
And there shouldn’t be a problem as a number of European
countries rely on non-peat sources for potting compost with
no problems. So, while some of it may still be somewhat coarse
for sowing seeds it is certainly perfect for pricking out
seedlings or taking cuttings. And for outdoor use there is
absolutely no need to use peat based potting compost at all,
or excuse to do so, in this part of the world. Hallelujah.
Toilet paper, despite the ads, is not a topic
that everyone is always keen to discuss but I had noticed
that Inversoft, which I believe had been the only Irish maker
of recycled toilet paper, ceased putting ‘recycled’
on its labelling some time ago. A phone call revealed that
they now use a couple of percent of non-recycled material
for reasons of texture – I’m surprised they don’t
say “Made from at least 97% recycled paper” because
I was nearly going to look for another source of recycled
toilet paper. 97% isn’t as good as 100% but it sounds
good to me. Lidl does a very cheap recycled toilet paper,
and there are probably others available here originating from
the mainland of Europe, but the ‘toilet paper miles’
involved in getting it here means that Inversoft may be a
greener option. Inversoft is a trade name of a US owned company
operating in Ireland.
Pressure cookers, no pressure we thought when
we tried to look for one, well, a stainless steel one, recently
(we avoid aluminium because of the risk of Alzheimer’s
or other effects from the possibility of ingesting aluminium).
We discovered they are currently out of fashion and the selection
was poor. I found that really amazing. Here we are at a juncture
when energy saving is not just an option but a necessity –
and there is no greater energy saver in the kitchen than a
pressure cooker, apart from an insulated ‘straw box’
or its modern equivalent (to keep things cooking slowly when
brought to boiling without any additional energy input).
Pressure cookers may also better preserve food
qualities, including vitamins, and are also timesavers to
a great degree; cooking chick peas, for example, can take
hours in an ordinary pot, but with soaked beans like this
I give them 17 minutes at pressure and allow them to come
down to room pressure by themselves (smaller soaked beans
like aduki may take a few minutes less). Even when you add
the time to take to get to pressure we are talking less than
25 minutes to be cooked, and most vegetables take in the range
5 – 8 minutes at pressure. Bring back the pressure cooker!
My prediction for the next ten years is that they will be
de rigeur. You do of course need to be careful particularly
with some pulses such as dried peas – soaked split peas
only take five minutes to cook at pressure but I find that
nothing absorbs heat as much as peas so the heat needs to
be carefully controlled (not too high) when at pressure so
the weight does not lift off and spread a high speed jet of
steam in the air – you could get a nasty burn. For safety’s
sake then I usually put the pressure cooker on the back ring
of the cooker, more out of harm’s way. Come to think
of it, not only are pressure cookers out of fashion but the
metaphor of a school or educational institution which pushes
students hard being a ‘pressure cooker’ is also
out of fashion. It’ll be interesting to see whether
that figure of speech returns with pressure cooker use. Anyway,
that’s your prophecy for this month.
Furniture removal
Ha ha, fooled ya, this isn’t about furniture removal
at all but Van the Man. Ireland’s grandest exponent
of Rhubarb & Blues. I saw him at the Odyssey in Belfast
there recently, a third of a century since I last saw him
live, at the Olympia in Dublin – I remember it as 1973
but maybe it was 1974 because he had a new album out in ’74
(remarkably, he has averaged an album a year since those early
days). I was certainly rather nonplussed with his 1970s performance,
he was at his curmudgeonly best and played a short set and
no encore. This time the foyer had signs indicating the hour
and a half he’d be on stage, and he was, exactly to
the minute, including a kind of an encore. As usual the hat
was glued to his head, except for a slight lifting when he
mopped his brow, but with overhead lighting it meant that
actually seeing his face was very difficult, he was almost
always in shadow – you could see his band’s faces
perfectly, but him, no. So I felt ‘hat’ was a
bit of a disappointment, if you go to see a performer you
like to see their face, even if it was a good performance;
just a bit of low level lighting on his performance space
would have done the trick but maybe that’s the way he
likes it, aha.
It’s amazing the difference one letter
can make, in this case an ‘i’. If this man from
East Belfast was still known as Ivan Morrison what would his
image be? Not ‘Van the Man’ anyway, nor indeed
Ivan the Terrible. Not renowned for socially and politically
conscious statements he has nevertheless put together some
remarkable tunes and lyrics over the years. ‘Gloria’
featured in both concerts, a third of a century apart, but,
despite the above comment he has been an acute and astute
observer of humanity at times, dating back to his breakthrough
‘Astral weeks’ album including what I consider
a remarkable paean to adolescent identity, ‘Madam George’.
That’s yer lot for now, see ye in
a month, Billy [No encore then, Billy, did they not applaud
enough? – Ed]
Who
is Billy King? A long, long time ago, in a more
innocent age (just talking about myself you understand),
there were magazines called 'Dawn' and 'Dawn Train'
and I had a back page column in these. Now the Headitor
has asked me to come out from under the carpet to write
a Cyberspace Column 'something people won't be able
to put down' (I hope you're not carrying your monitor
around with you).
Watch this. Cast a cold eye on life, on death, horseman
pass by (because there'll almost certainly be very little
about horses even if someone with a similar name is
found astride them on gable ends around certain parts
of Norn Iron).
