A New Declaration of Dependence

Sidewalks with Tom Deignan

A New Declaration of Dependence

July 3, 2008

Sidewalks by Tom Deignan

LONG-planned efforts to establish an Irish exchange program at St. Bonaventure University in upstate New York are closer to becoming a reality.

New York Senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer have been touting the program as a way to bring cultural exchange between Ireland and the U.S. into the 21st century, as well as honor the memory of FDNY chaplain Mychal Judge, who died on September 11, 2001.

The idea for a Judge Exchange Program at St. Bonaventure, where the revered chaplain was once a student, was announced a few years back and the U.S. Senate has finalized the funding.

As the New York Daily News reported last Friday, the college could receive $300,000 “to support the Father Mychal Judge Exchange Program to provide scholarships and financial aid for exchange students.”

This is all well and good for students from Ireland and the U.S. who will now spend time abroad. But such a program begs a bigger question — what, exactly, should the U.S. and Ireland be exchanging at this point in their long relationship?

Perhaps this comes to mind because, this Friday, the Fourth of July, we Americans will spend another weekend worshipping our founding fathers and gorging on hot dogs, hamburgers, Coca-Cola and Budweiser.

For the record, July 4 is celebrated because it is the day the Declaration of Independence was announced. Well, maybe Ireland and the U.S. need to re-declare their dependence on each other.

Of course, you cannot think of America without the waves and waves of Irish immigrants who came to the U.S. and stayed. But that was then.

What about now, with Ireland thriving and the U.S. economy hurting, with the euro high and the dollar way down low?

Given this state of affairs –- not to mention the horrific war still unfolding in Iraq, and a president the Irish more or less loathe -– you get the sense from some Irish quarters that, well, America is more or less getting what it deserves.

Still, it is inevitable that Ireland -– just as America has -– will suffer bumps and bruises when it comes to immigration and the culture clashes which it brings. Read John Spain’s column this week to see more on how this is unfolding over there.

So, that’s one thing an American exchange student could bring over to Ireland — a sense of what it’s like to grow up in a multi-cultural society.

But, my fellow Americans, let’s not pretend we have nothing to learn from the Irish. We remain intimately linked. You might even say dependent upon each other.

As David McWilliams noted in his recent, fascinating book The Pope’s Children: The Irish Economic Triumph and the Rise of Ireland’s New Elite, American investment in the Irish economy is twice as large as American investment in the much-discussed economies of both China and India. McWilliams goes so far as to call Ireland America’s 51st state, at least when it comes to the economy.

(On the flip side, all you America-bashers in Ireland, the Celtic Tiger’s roar would probably have been feeble indeed without the good old U.S. of A.)

Meanwhile, when it comes to Europe, America needs all the friends it can get.

Did you get a chance to look at the extremely long front cover article in The New York Times this week? It was about the startling drop in European birth rates. There was a grave tone in the article, by Russell Shorto, implying that if the European population falls to a certain point, it will create grave economic and even security risks for the U.S.

What did this 3,000-plus word article have to say about Ireland? Nothing, not a word.

If it had, it would have revealed that the Irish birth rate is right about at the desired “replacement level,” meaning the population rises or remains stable, rather than drops. That is the mark of a healthy nation. The population in Italy may give the U.S. a headache down the road, but not Ireland.

So, as America and Ireland continue to navigate the uncharted waters of the 21st century, they remain –- like it or not -– in the same boat.

Could it be that, in 10 years, the shocking immigrant group to Ireland will not be the Poles or the Nigerians, but the Americans, in search of a stable economy and greater opportunities?

Stay tuned.

(Contact at tomdeignan@verizon.net)

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