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A moment on England, Ireland, the USA and West Wing.
I'm pausing with the usual high-jinks and rock and roll frolicking to post about something:
A quote from West Wing season three that leads me to believe that at least a few Americans have a concept of what Ireland is:
Lord John Marbury, Britain's ambassador says in 'Dead Irish Writers' when talking to Toby Ziegler about a Sinn Feiner/terrorist man coming to the White House:
"The shadow on our souls... the biblical sins of the fathers. Slavery is your [America's] original sin. That and your unfortunate history with your aborigines."
"Native Americans," Toby cuts in.
"For the English it's Ireland," finishes Marbury.
The writers have, in my opinion, got it spot on. I don't always agree with things said in the West Wing, although I usually do and love the show. But this... it's still echoing in my head because... it's exactly what it is. It's the tugging in my brain, the ripping in my heart every time I think about this whole godawful mess that was once called 'The Irish Question'. It has affected England and Ireland in both obvious and subtle ways.
The problems few of us understand anymore have been passed down to us from our mothers and fathers, our grandmothers and grandfathers and made worse by every generation, including the one above us and given the chance, our own. For England and Ireland, there seems to be no way to fix what's been broken for centuries.
And I swear to God, that breaks my heart.
A quote from West Wing season three that leads me to believe that at least a few Americans have a concept of what Ireland is:
Lord John Marbury, Britain's ambassador says in 'Dead Irish Writers' when talking to Toby Ziegler about a Sinn Feiner/terrorist man coming to the White House:
"The shadow on our souls... the biblical sins of the fathers. Slavery is your [America's] original sin. That and your unfortunate history with your aborigines."
"Native Americans," Toby cuts in.
"For the English it's Ireland," finishes Marbury.
The writers have, in my opinion, got it spot on. I don't always agree with things said in the West Wing, although I usually do and love the show. But this... it's still echoing in my head because... it's exactly what it is. It's the tugging in my brain, the ripping in my heart every time I think about this whole godawful mess that was once called 'The Irish Question'. It has affected England and Ireland in both obvious and subtle ways.
The problems few of us understand anymore have been passed down to us from our mothers and fathers, our grandmothers and grandfathers and made worse by every generation, including the one above us and given the chance, our own. For England and Ireland, there seems to be no way to fix what's been broken for centuries.
And I swear to God, that breaks my heart.
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Statements like that continue to fascinate me. Over 40 million Americans claim some Irish ancestry; many of us were raised on stories of when our great-grand whatever or great-great something left during the potato famine, or to avoid starvation/persecution/imprisonment/or just some hope of a better go of things during other times.
I know with a president like our present one; the intelligence of the American public should be called into question on a regular basis. But honestly, are we really perceived as being that ignorant of history? Is it because American pop culture is so prevalent that assumptions on American beliefs on world events are being culled from them? Because often if similar assumptions or questions were uttered by an American about nearly any other country on the globe; all holy hell would break loose and they would be tarred and feathered in effigy.
Or am I too brain dead from cross-coding equipment at work?
Additional note - I love that episode. I fangirl Toby and Leo on a regular basis. :D
*huggles*
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