Honesty and leadership - Protests will be exercises in delusion
His hometown supporters were in a mood to celebrate his great, history-making achievement.
There was an almost irrational air of optimism in Grant Park — and in many places around the world too — which was only surpassed in the days surrounding his January inauguration in Washington. The celebrations assumed the status of some sort of rebirth; they looked forward to a time when America might again be universally admired and respected.
George Bush was gone and America’s new first family were attractive and articulate, emphasising even more deeply the break with the Republican presidency.
Expectations had gone well beyond what was realistic and that pressure intensified last month when President Obama was awarded the Nobel peace prize.
Yet, for all that, even for all the über-slick marketing posing as political rejuvenation, Obama’s “Yes, we can” replaced post-9/11 paranoia with a sense of challenge and green-shoot optimism.
A year later a more realistic perspective has taken hold. Obama’s supporters have to square their almost impossible hopes with reality. But he did something great though intangible. He was proactive in his optimism and proved, as that fine slogan borrowed by Munster rugby assures us: To those with faith and belief nothing is impossible.
That is one of the reasons America’s economy grew 3.5% between July and September, its first expansion in more than a year. Ours continues to implode.
Speaking on a more intimate stage yesterday — at the annual conference organised by Céifin, the Clare-based centre which encourages debate on social change issues — Fr Harry Bohan said leadership is one of the most critical issues facing society today. He suggested we move to a more participative model, underpinned by honesty and integrity.
As we look at what our country is becoming — and might yet become — it is impossible to disagree.
For generations we put our faith in the same institutions that formed our parents’ beliefs, embracing the implausible and the tribal. Today we have plenty of time to regret those endorsements — of religious, economic and political entities — that existed to serve society but, in recent years at least, put themselves before everyone else. This week we will see another act of questionable leadership.
This Friday we will see the start of a union campaign to persuade the Government there is a “fairer and better alternative” to its plan for restoring sustainability to public finances. There may be strikes aimed at bringing the public sector to a halt later this month.
On Monday ICTU published a 10-point plan that did nothing to suggest ICTU has grasped the urgency required right now or magnitude of the difficulties facing us all. These protests have more to do with the credibility of union leaders than they have with any realistic prospect of deferring the inevitable. We’re broke and that has consequences for us all.
A year ago Grant Park was animated by joy and optimism, sentiments that have done much to begin the restoration of America’s fortunes. This week’s protests will be animated by delusion and denial, sentiments that will just make a bad situation worse.
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