Don't Scapegoat Dev?

[bearhunter]

Fascinating quotes there. Just a terrible pity that Dev didn't feel the country was grown up enough to make its own decisions and would always need the avuncular hand of uncle Dev on its shoulder.

[An Fear Dubh]

I know this will move the thread slightly off topic but DeValera and many other 'leaders' often come to the conclusion that generally people can not be trusted to make their own decisions, and must be lead.

Lenin was also very much of this view, and we know most right wing politician are also of this view. The evidence does not support the assumption that people can make good decisions under a democratic choice system, they must be lead to making that choice, or have that choice made from them.

So while later we can historically look on and we can point to the failings of DeValera and his leadership style. We can only wonder what a mess would have been made without his hand on the shoulder. Of course there are many things I would have done different. And the 'cosy' religious catholic ethos that he developed would have had a nightmare under my leadership. But we must also remember the time frame and lifestyle of the era. One of my Grannys was born and reared in inner city Dublin, and Dev was her man. And under Dev she prospered, and so did her family through hard work and extra education. And she attributed a lot of that to Dev not to her own resolve and determination. She believed that he held the door slightly open and when he did she pushed through.

I feel the idea that we make our own democratic decisions is fanciful, and does not reflect reality. We like to fool ourselves that we are in control of our own destiny. But we are more like sheep led along.

[Republic]

Haven't been too impressed with the Hidden History programmes on RTE but at least they are touching on some interesting topics.

Dev was never as bad as people like to make out, the catholic ethos reflected the general wishes of the population at that time.

Thats a good point AFD re: being sheep.

Setanta why the surprise about english democracy? Whatever about previous mistreatment, by Devs era, Ireland was in a very good position within the UK.