Reality bites

COMMENT

THE gap that exists between news and people’s experiences of the event being described in bulletins and articles is an interesting one.

For over a week now, I have watched, listened to and read accounts of people’s travel difficulties in both Britain and Ireland. I have been sympathetic of course tutting lightly to myself as I sit in a heated flat sipping a cup of coffee but had not really grasped what they were actually going through – until today.
The closure last week of Edinburgh airport had been worrying for my friends and I, as we were due to fly to Bristol on Friday last to attend a music festival for the weekend. In the end, our flight did manage to depart with fairly minimal delay and we reached the South West coast of England to what felt like mild weather compared to what we had been enduring in Scotland. There was no snow on the ground and although it was cold, a jacket proved sufficient for a fine weekend of watching excellent bands play in comfortable surroundings. This lead to a type of amnesia with regard to weather conditions anywhere else in the world.
Our peace was shattered as we prepared to depart on Monday morning however, with the news that the gelid conditions in Scotland had continued a pace and the airport we were due to be flying to that afternoon was in fact closed. Intent on positive thinking, we went to the airport to see what fate lay in store. When we arrived we, along with the hundreds of other passengers, were greeted with arrivals and departures boards glowing red with “cancelled” notices.
In the end we managed, through destination changes, midair diversions and long waits at snowbound train stations, in reaching the ice-bound city of Edinburgh. Throughout the journey, I was struck by the vast difference that existed between my feelings on the issue of weather-induced travel chaos and my feelings when I was a victim of it. The anxiety, powerlessness and uncertainty of being the one in limbo are extremely affecting, especially compared with the calm acceptance of the fact that others are experiencing it when listening to a news bulletin. 
This is a simplistic concept of course but I can’t shake the feeling that it is applicable in another sense. Just as even the most empathetic listener cannot grasp the full scale of the ordeal being endured by a stranded traveller, so an Irish politician cannot begin to understand the horror facing families all over the country at the moment. Neither can a banker, developer or any other specimen involved in the bankrupting of the country.
The gulf between their existence and that of most ordinary people in the nation is staggering. It is reminiscent of Charles Haughey telling the Irish nation that they had to tighten their belts economically in the 1980s. In hindsight, it is difficult to believe the man was even aware that a tightening device existed with regard to belts, economic or otherwise.
This complete dislocation on the part of politicians from the reality of what they are imposing on those for whom they legislate is an untenable situation. At the time of writing, I do not have the full details of the budget being announced but from what has been dripping out over the past few days, it is clear that it is the poorest and most vulnerable who will suffer most.
The cut in TDs and ministerial wages will be welcomed but it will not have a major impact on the lives of the politicians. They are financially sound to the extent that a pay cut will only have a minor effect on their ability to spend on luxuries. The cuts they are imposing will mean people will struggle to feed themselves, heat their homes or make anything approaching a decent life for themselves. Perhaps over luxurious Christmas dinners, Ireland’s politicians will laud themselves for taking pay cuts like the rest of the people but they will have no concept of what Christmas will be like for those living in poverty or struggling desperately to keep their family’s futures from drowning in a sea of debt.
Another notable aspect of the severe weather conditions that have enveloped Britain and Ireland recently has been the emergence of people’s innate decency towards each other. RTÉ and the BBC have carried plenty of stories regarding the helping hand of friendship being extended by strangers to those affected by the snow and ice. People are caring for their elderly neighbours, clearing roads and feeding the stranded. During our own travel ordeal, something emerged in the large group which a travel companion referred to very aptly as “the blitz spirit”. Total strangers offered help, information and food to each other. It was a positive aspect of a negative situation.
I can’t help thinking that when the weather ceases its attack, a similar spirit will emerge in Ireland in response to the economic hurricane settling over the country.   
While people are not in a position to support each other economically to any great degree, they will, I believe, support each other in every other way possible. The voluntary sector will, to whatever extent they can, step up to the plate and do what they can to ease the suffering in people’s lives.
The British Conservative Party has responded to the economic crisis in Britain by making something along the lines of what is described above national policy in the guise of “The Big Society”.  In reality, this is a waste of time as it is not something that can be enforced, it simply arises as a result of people’s humanity. Politicians in Ireland have launched their savage budget at the behest of their masters in the IMF.
The Irish people know that they can no longer rely on them for support or help. They can however rely on each other. It is cold comfort but some comfort all the same.