Letters to the Editor
maureenodonnell
Published Letters: 492 Editor's Choice: 5
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Compliments to you too, KcM
[Read the article: Geraldine Ferraro still needs to apologize]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]but quite a lot of the posts here are "ad feminam". Have a lovely St. Patrick's Day and remember that the Irish are grateful to the Clintons for bringing some sanity to an age-old quarrel when those on these islands despaired of bringing an end to the ancient grievance. Neither Bill nor Hillary are Irish-American (the cruel put-down is Plastic Paddys) but we owe them more than we ever did the Kennedys. I think Obama should have been attracted to the Baha'i faith if he was religiously-inclined because its Twelve Principles are very appealing to anyone who wants a better world. I'd nearly be tempted to join myself but I'm prepared to let whatever Supreme Beingnwho may be out there judge me on my own merits, whatever they might be.
I understand only too well how religion can be used to foment hatred and Jeremiah Wright and his doppelganger(s) are the bane of peaceful co-ecistence. Although we celebrate Patrick tomorrow, I'm not sure that his Romanising influence was all that beneficial to our pagan society which had the Brehon Laws and allowed a woman who was dissatisfied with her husband to leave him after a year and, when decamping, she was entitled to "take the fruits of her labour" with her. This could be seen as an early form of alimony long before Heather Mills trundled through the British divorce courts with an eye on getting hold of some of Paul McCartney's loot. Sorry and all that, KcM, but I don't fall into a swoon at the Obama opera and we'll have to wait until "the fat lady sings" to know when it's all over. Slainte.
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Delore Flower, I'm not going to come on strong to you because I recognise you as a good person
[Read the article: Geraldine Ferraro still needs to apologize]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]However, Delores, I have to tell you that nobody, absolutely nobody, ever says "Top o' the morning" and I doubt very much that they ever did. Hollywood and American song-writerscreated a stereotype of the Irish with a tiny bit of truth and a whole lot of exaggeration. When I lived in London I used to go into a pub where some English fellas would greet me with "here comes Biddy". They were only dying for an argument and I never failed to oblige but we had fun because we didn't take it too seriously. I didn't really care anyway because I could talk the hind-leg off a donkey and I'd just wear them down. The only woman I ever got into an argument was Eilis from Norhern Ireland. The English girl in our company was mesmerised by the determination of each of us to win the argument but was also very amused. Irish people are well-used to being stereotyped but we can laugh at it. The island I live on is much, much smaller than Texas, we've had our ups-and-downs but we've survived and I, for one, admire the dead generations that gave us so much but I feel that historical grudges are corrosive and life-defeating.
I take your point about American history but I reject the idea of wallowing in misery and anger. It's time to move on. The Brits and the Germans have done it and I think it's all that can be done in the 2lst century. If we disagree, that's fine by me but I've been opinionated from the moment I first learned to talk. "Blessed be the meek for they shall inherit the earth" - I've never believed that.
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KcM. I admire your stamina and I hope they're paying you enough for putting on such a tremendous defence
[Read the article: Geraldine Ferraro still needs to apologize]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Now KcM. I'm relying totally on my memory because I'm far too fey to bother checking your previous posts. I cam to this site in January (you can check that) and I've read a lot since but I'm fairly sure I remember you for two very salient reasons. The first was that you boasted that you were doing a Ph.D. in American history, I think, and the other was that you had once worked for the Clintons. I found your hostility, your overweening animus, strange and wondered what had caused it. Disloyalty is something that perplexes me. Of course, I understand that many people dislike their employers but they get out and leave it at that. I support Hillary because, as a woman but not a feminist in the accepted meaning of the word, I thought she was getting a horribly raw deal from the American mainstream media and really repulsive comments from some of those commenting here, comments that were blatantly directed at her womanhood. There's also the matter of the Clintons benign influence on the politics of Northern Ireland; Obama is unknown in Europe so I wondered what he amounted to and I found that his fame rested on one speech given in October 2002 and another oratorical gem at the Democratic Conference in 2004. That's about it. When I read about Obama's struggle with his racial identity in Hawaii, of all places, I knew something wasn't quite right. We have a friend whose son (Irish) lives in Hawaii and Inasked him about racial tension. He had visited the island to see his son and told me that it is one of the most relaxed places in the world.
Now I've explained where I'm coming from, KcM. why don't you take this opportunity to explain why you hate the Clintons so much and why you're so dedicated to damage limitation for Obama and his sounding-board, Preacher Jeremiah Wright. I've put my cards on the table and I challenge you to do the same. Maybe that's something you don't learn at Harvard.