Let’s be proud like the Americans

FEW would disagree that our national obsession with all things American normally excludes remembrance of its war of independence and its successful armed struggle against the might of the British empire.

Surely we are obsessed with America because we lack what it offers in abundance — a fierce pride in that war and in the patriots who fought for freedom; a joyful celebration of Independence Day on July 4; a strong sense of nationhood and nationalism enobled by racial diversity; a culture of nationhood not afraid to enthuse young people about history, citizenship and respect for the national flag.

America is proud of itself and its origins.

These magnets attract our people precisely because we have lost pride in our own War of Independence and in our patriots. We are embarrassed by the origins of our nationhood and the birth of our democracy.

Our pitiful effort at remembering our first Dáil and our Government’s unwillingness to enjoy a 32-county celebration on the day exhibited the poverty of our sense of nationhood.

I propose a solution to harness the overwhelming Americanisation of our citizens: let us move the celebration of our independence day to July 4; let us turn the GPO entirely into a centre of celebration of our Easter Rising and War of Independence with multimedia exhibitions and regular reenactments of the events.

Let us instil pride in a very small nation’s struggle for freedom and democracy. Let us at last seek to be proud of the origins of our freedom and democracy.

One reason for our failure to endorse trans-European treaties is that we have not yet realised our own sense of nationhood.

Shane O’Doherty

Hollybrook Road

Clontarf

Dublin 3