We need to believe in power of honesty

Any Irish person who once believed unquestioningly in the pillar institutions of this society is entitled to feel disappointed, if not betrayed.

One by one, the great bulwarks of our country, the great organisations that we were taught to trust, the organisations that existed to organise, to protect, to educate, to administer justice, to celebrate religious beliefs, or even look after our pensions all fell disastrously short of the standards that define an honest, functioning society.

The litany of woe is so very familiar, almost tedious, that it hardly bears repeating, especially on a weekend morning as spring tries to see off winter’s rearguard. But the scale of the collapse is so great that unless it had happened, it would hardly be comprehensible.

The Catholic Church, the wretched banks, our financial regulators, our political system, elements of our health services, and now our justice system and the gardaí — all the institutions we afforded privilege and deference — have not so much been shown to be men of straw but rather battalions of straw men unworthy of the trust placed in them.

The extent of the collapse, the exposure of dishonesty and dysfunction at the centre of our society is so great that it has left yawning gaps in our belief system and in the structure of our society. Despite the disappointment, and the shadow that it must cast over imminent centenary celebrations, how will these events change our society and most importantly society’s cohesion and unity of purpose?

How can we, after the exposure of routine dishonesty, corruption, and evil all around us, tell children, as they grow towards the adults who will run this country, that it is important to be honest, respectful, and fair to those we share the world with? How can we teach our children that a person’s word must mean something, that institutional integrity is not a marketing swizz with extra soap tokens but something everyone in society needs to be able to believe in? How can we insist on that old-fashioned but very powerful idea — behaving decently — when all around there are examples of those who have behaved appallingly going unpunished and in many cases benefiting extravagantly from their behaviour?

It may be foolish to pretend that we could ever build a society or a culture that does not have to tolerate some dishonesty — even if some countries have gone a log way towards that — but our fall from grace has been so great that it is necessary to reset the compass, to reassert the principles that underpin a society worthy of the name.

In the coming weeks, tens of thousands of schoolchildren will go through a rite of passage as their schools lead them trough their religious formation. The events will occasion great fuss and celebrations but the focus will be on a religious process, if that is what it is, and the mystery behind all religious belief. Maybe we should place at least equal emphasis on ethical formation. Because if we don’t, it is likely that the spiral of scandal and shocking disclosure will continue until we are well past caring. It is, of course, easy to scoff at a back-to-basics suggestion, but if you consider how all of the collapse, all of the breaches of faith of recent years might play out, then it is an easier argument to win.

The greatest challenge about a process like this is that we must all participate, because we can’t really blame institutions for every failing in the society.