Sad Things: Good Lessons

Apologies for not many recent updates. We have a few days without company, so I'll make an effort to post more in the next few days.

The Irish news media has been consumed by reports about the murder of an 11-year-old boy, Robert Holohan. Today, they revealed that he died of asphyxiation, and that there was no evidence of sexual assault. The Gardai have rounded up several suspects and have begun questioning.

Well? you might think-- that's all really sad and horrible, but stuff like that happens all the time in America and doesn't get half as much news coverage. True enough. One of the most important differences to note about Ireland and America is that this is only the fourth child murder here in over 40 YEARS. Imagine that: only three other cases of similar violence in FOUR DECADES. Why is that?

My theory, in part, is that American culture, while wonderfully rich and textured and abundant, is rife with violence. A large part of American identity seems to stem from the notion that we--The SuperPower-- could kick anyone's ass at any time; and, in my opinion, that's nothing to be proud of. Rather, it's something to be afraid of.

When a kid is murdered in America, we hear a little about it on the news, think briefly about the child or family involved, and go on about the day. In Ireland, people went to mass to pray for Robert Holohan and his family. The Gardai sent officers to guard the site where Robert's body was found: firstly to make sure the premises weren't disturbed, and secondly to accept the floral tributes that arrived there throughout the evening and into today.

Another thing to help Americans understand the deep level of Irish compassion: in the tsunami disaster, it's estimated that the Republic donated something like 8 million Euro. This country has a population of 3.5 million-- this figure could mean that every single person who lives here donated something. I did, twice: once at church, and once down at Matt Weldon, the pub up the street from where I live.

Q: How can you tell a SuperPower isn't so Super?
A: When the list of "Top Ten Worst Things to Happen in Ireland During 2004" includes the visit
of SuperPower Leader among them.