Anniversary a time to reflect, to be brave and complete the job started

LAST week we reflected on the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

There can be no doubt that the Good Friday Agreement was a seminal moment in the history of this island.

It effectively drew a line on the violence of the past and said that the future would be determined by wholly democratic and peaceful means.

It wasn’t without its problems and flaws and the violence didn’t end the second participants signed on the dotted line or the public both sides of the border voted overwhelmingly for the Agreement.

The sporadic violence that followed over the years cost lives. People died and people were injured. That shouldn’t be lessened, forgotten or brushed aside. The grief and pain isn’t any less for coming after the Good Friday Agreement.

But far less deaths and injuries have occurred in the last twenty years that might have otherwise resulted without.

Any process or agreement which results in less death, less injury and less devastation is worthwhile and successful.

We all know that the Agreement is not perfect. Society is not perfect. Life is not perfect.

But again any process that brings about less death and less injury is a process worth doing.

As the violence has subsided, the politics has stuttered along with numerous breakdowns in the devolved government, additional agreements to patch over the differences and we have now been without a power sharing administration in Stormont for over a year.

It can be mind-numbingly depressing to see and hear the merry-go-round of the blame game and finger pointing between the DUP and Sinn Fein.

If we think politics in the South is difficult and the interminable bickering across the floor of the Dáil or on radio talk-shows is fruitless and pointless, it is nothing compared to what goes on between the parties in the North.

Yet however bitter, sectarian and intractable politics remains in that particular sphere, it is infinitely preferable to the murder and violence of the previous decades.

Young people voting in any ballot today or tomorrow have lived their entire childhood, from birth to adulthood, without the shadow of violence hanging over their community.

That is something we should all be eternally grateful for, particularly here in Dundalk and North Louth which was so blighted by the years of violence.

All parties must move beyond the bickering and standoffs to a better and productive future, but that can only come about by being brave and leading your community and by taking risks that may result in short term loss of support but will benefit all in the longer run.

During events last week to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement a number of events were held which reunited former leaders, Bertie Ahern, Tony Blair and Bill Clinton.

The former US President took a very active interest in the peace process, over and above what would have been expected of him and he has remained a steadfast supporter of the process and those engaged in the outcome.

Delivering a keynote address marking the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement at the UCD O’Brien Centre for Science at UCD in Dublin the former US President addressed the issue and how he sees the future playing out.

‘ There is a limit to the elasticity of inertia, of paralysis. So my position on this is pretty certain, I basically believe that you should celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, not for what happened but for what can happen’.

It is so easy to underestimate the fragility of the situation you have come to take for granted’

He added the key to moving forward is compromise. “You have to be willing to give. Compromise has to become a good thing, not a dirty word.

‘And voters have to stop punishing people who makes those compromises. And start rewarding them.’

The speech made very interesting reading and if truly reflected upon by all would allow space for some movement from entrenched positions. Regrettably some don’t want to move and are deaf to any pleas to do so.

At the moment, it seems most leaders are more comfortable solidly aligned with their base than reaching out across the spectrum.

To move forward and build upon the legacy of the Good Friday Agreement leaders need to reach out and take some risks.

This generation and the next deserve a chance to move forward and complete the work started 20 years ago.