The sun was settin' the rocks on fire
The fields blisterin' with the heat
When the militia came marchin' through our town
Knockin' sparks off the little streets
The priest watched them from his front door
The sweat sparklin' on his skin
When they burned his little chapel down
He grabbed his missal and his gun
I must go down to Wexford town
Where the lightnin cracks the air
And the people sing of freedom
They've banished all despair
The coward dies a million times
The freeman dies just once
So here's to you revolution
May your flame keep burnin' 'til
We meet our Armageddon
Up high on Vinegar Hill
Most people think of the "Irish troubles" as a Catholic / Protestant dustup, and that's understandable. But the truth, as truth tends to be, is more complicated. Like everything, really, it was - and is - and economic thing (Marx got that part right, definitely). Back in the 18th century, Irish nationalists of both denominations fought together, and one of the most famous was a Protestant history of Wolfe Tone .
One of the more famed battles was (again, like so many events in Irish history) a glorious defeat but foreshadowed later victories. In Wexford, the citizens rose up to fight the British, led by the local priest (who had previously been pretty docile, on orders of the Bishop). After watching his church get torched, the guy decided it was better to die on your feet than live on your knees, and, as the song ("Vinegar Hill", by Black 47, of course) tells us, persuaded even some hardened anti-church types to unite against a common oppressor.
The priest's name was Citizen Murphy
I didn't like him much
He didn't believe in the rights of man
Just the power of the Catholic Church
But I never saw a man as brave
I'd follow him to hell
Or to death in Enniscorthy
On that godforsaken hill
Fr. Murphy:
"I get down on my knees everyday
And I pray to my God
But his face he has turned away
From his people
I have racked my brains for a compromise
But to what end?
Only one question remains
Why have you deserted me, Oh Christ?
The Bishop advises that all arms must be surrendered
Leaving ourselves defenseless
Against His Majesty and His royal plunderers
But if the Bishop be a pawn
I must ask myself whether it is better
To die like a dog in a ditch
Or rise up with my people - the poor against the rich?
I return to my prayers
And reflect upon Your tortured lips
But not a word do I hear
Just a veil of silence around the crucifix
And I remember the Bishop's words
"When faith is gone, all hope is lost"
Well, so be it,
I will rise up with my people
And to hell with the eternal cost!"
If the bishop be a pawn....it's difficult when people we look to for leadership don't lead the way we hope they will. Rudderless, it seems easy to give up. But - when there are alternatives, let's take them. Fight for those who can't fight for themselves, fight for future generations, fight for our own dignity and right to self-determination. There is also something freeing, isn't there, in realizing that saviors don't usually work out as we hope - that the real salvation comes only from uniting with others in a common cause.
Eugene Debs warned against being persuaded by an individual's force of personality, saying that
I would not lead you into the promised land if I could, because if I could lead you in, somebody else would lead you out.
. Whether it's a Roosevelt, a Kennedy, Dean, Kucinich, Obama, or whomever else we look to in political leadership, we have to reckon with history and see that ultimately, victory comes through unity.
The sun beat down on the fields of corn
The sweat was in our eyes
When we heard the militia approachin'
With their trumpets and their fifes
The priest rode by on his silver horse
The fire had cleansed his soul
He said "let's strike a blow for freedom, boys,"
Then we blew that scum right off the road
I must go down to Wexford town
Where the lightnin' cracks the air
And the people sing of freedom
They've banished all despair
The coward dies a million times
The freeman dies just once
So here's to you revolution
May your flame keep burnin' 'til
We meet our Armageddon
Up high - on Vinegar Hill
It's been done in other places and other times. The US has a spectacular history of courageous leaders - political, social, labor. But we don't need to look to a leader to move forward on the cause of social and economic justice. We're all that we need, if we can unite around the most basic of common causes - the right to earn, live and learn in peace and freedom, a New New Deal. Join us.