They all (including Christ) had to engage with the power elite i.e. body politic, judiciary etc – see photos of an uncomfortable MLK with President Kennedy in White House. Gandhi sat down with the British. They brought political/social/economic pressure to bear on the system and changed the direction of history. There speeches were more than lofty rhetoric, they were grounded in real political action, which contrary to a lot of action, actually produced ground breaking results.

Agree with you on judiciary as my grandfather (who had personal experience) once said: ‘you don’t get justice in court, you get the law’ and as we know the law is oft times ambiguous, lawyers earn their crust by twisting (interpreting) it, just like the word leverage = debt, flexible workforce = limited workers rights, rationalisaton = unemployment etc Orwell has more than covered double speak.

I feel we are coming at the same point from two different angles.

I used the aforementioned individuals (Gandhi etc) as examples of people who refused to accept that status quo. While they were important in their own right I think it is worth reminding that these people could have achieved nothing without the support in some cases of millions of people. I think there is a tendency to look for some leader who will emerge from the ether and show the way – I don’t think it happens like that, my reading of history would indicate that the issues arises, the people converge and oft times more than one person emerges to inspire.

I believe we all possess the capacity to inspire, it is a question of choices and courage. The cult of the leader is not something I go in for, collective focused action is far more powerful, just look at the protests in Dublin – no single individual stood out, it was people.

I don’t think the people I mentioned were saying ‘you too can be like me’, far from it, to my mind they were trying to liberate and empower people to be themselves, to gain freedom for people so they could express themselves the way they wanted and not be clones of Gandhi, Gandhi was Gandhi.

Martin Luther King Jr was a talented orator but if you read anything about his life you will discover that he was both a reluctant leader and someone who grew and developed his talents over time, he wasn’t the complete article from the get go, it was a series of circumstances and timing that resulted in him emerging as a leader, but it was the body of people that achieved the goals.

The same is true of Gandhi, in fact Gandhi in the beginning was something completely different in his early days, a English trained lawyer whose career seemed destined for the circles of Indian elite who openly collaborated with the British. Thankfully something in him and many others responded to the brutality of the system and they decided enough was enough. In that memorable line in Attenborough’s film Ben Kingsley who played Gandhi said ’100,000 English men can’t rule 300 million Indians if they don’t want to be ruled’.

It was a combination of circumstances which brought these men to the fore. It is only with hindsight that we look back at these figures as mountains of men when in fact they had the same struggles as all of us, but had the courage to persevere and take it to the next level. They were also not alone, Christ had his 12 disciples, Gandhi a mass movement of millions and a core of similar minded individuals who supported, discussed and encouraged. Yes they were men of talent, but this emerged over decades. Gandhi for instance in the beginning was notorious for being a shy and awkward public speaker but through perseverance emerged stronger.

But we need not look to those who are regarded as global figures. Our own history is littered with examples of men and women who emerged, Gearoid Og in the 17th century who ended up in the Tower of London for his troubles, Michael Davitt, Parnell, Daniel O’Connell and many more, but these people could not have done anything on their own, they had hundreds of thousands of people supporting and backing them, these people are the unsung and unknown, but far more important than any individual leader.

The leaders exist in our society, the passion for justice and truth resides in many people, they just need a means of channelling that energy. Such energy and spirit is attacked on a daily basis by advertising, TV, movies and many other insidious devices that sap people’s belief in themselves, a system that tries to create an atomised society of docile consumers, leading detached lives. But knowing human nature as I do, such systems and attempts to make people numb pale in comparison to the strength of the human spirit, which, when tested, is truly indomitable.

Are there leaders among the youth of today, undoubtedly, circumstances will determine to what extent. It is an interesting time.

David, I forgot to say, this was a great article. One of your more entertaining and insightful. I think you nailed the plight of BRM perfectly.

I’m surprised you feel sorry for him. He doesn’t deserve it. He had no sympathy for you when you were being berated by the mainstream media 3-4 years ago for your views. I know several BRM’s and each one of them thought you were just that “west brit negative b____x” (exact description I believe) on Newstalk back then. I was on the M50 in a jeep with one of them listening to one of your shows one morning in May/June 2004 and listened to the guy (BRM) telling me how you were just p____d off because ordinary joe soaps like him were making more money than you. (At the time I was involved in the infrastructure industry in Ireland and dealing with many BRM’s on a daily basis.)

Anyway, excellent work. Excellent article.

Ger

What islamic nations are you talking about? Iran? Turkey? Morocco? Pakistan? Bangladesh?

You are most certainly wrong in your assumption.

When islam was empire building all those years ago, it was the christians in those places who created their wealth for them. eventually the christians got fed up paying higher taxes and so became muslims, thus starting the decline of islamic empires since muslims like the easy life with no christians left to do the work.

I

There’s a saying……Pride always comes before a fall. BRM is falling and I personally hope he lands with an enormous thud.

Isn’t pride also one of the seven deadly sins? And BRM is a big sinner!

I reckon BRM has broken most of the 10 commandments also.

Eternal Damnation or Sackcloth and Ashes.

We are not here to pay for his greed.