old, best as i can figure my ancestors came to america from many places in europe, interestingly, none from ireland that i am aware of...would not go back if i could...however, french nova scotia, aka upper arcadia, in july and august has always had an appeal to me...if one studies the history of british tyranny in ireland, it is anything but shallow...it is a story of long term, brutal, oppression and injustice...
with regard to korea, i have my view of the recent history of that country, vis a vis japanese and chinese invasions and colonizations...my fear is that once the invaders leave, koreans will settle old scores via civil war, instigated by the more agresive koreans of japanese ancestry...what is your view?
My view is the North while ethnically similar to the South is so radically different in modern culture the cost of any merger catastrophically difficult. The economic cost far outweigh any short term benefit. It is not anything close to West and East Germany.
The best we can hope for in Korea is to hold off things enough so we can avoid a costly shooting conflict. We would win but the price is not worth it to the American taxpayer or the families like mine who would lose significant casualties in the conflict. Unless forced by the North we should avoid it, yet we have to be willing if all else fails, or there is no real deterrence.
I have spent time in Germany and Korea and understand what these places are like and the cost of conflicts if forced to that level.
Back to Ireland, and I am half Irish with both two of my grandparents right off the boat. I grew up in house with accents and all the history, music, etc. My grandfather from Kerry liked the brits as the Brits he dealt with treated him fairly, my grandmother on the other hand hated them with a passion. My mother’s first reaction to my being engaged to my wife of 32 years was “Cromwell was a Presbyterian”. All that emotion is history. She learned to like my wife and they became thick as thieves.
I had the pleasure of working with Republic of Ireland officers in both Bosnia and Kosovo and they have a much more realistic view of doing things smart and would be appalled by your wild statements. I have also worked with Anglo-Irish Brit officers who see things smartly from having dealt with things on the streets.
One has to realistically look at the current situation in Northern Ireland and go forward intelligently and no throw around the trail of woes. The majority vote in the North will not merge with the Republic in the South and what is best is to work for Justice today for all citizens there. I believe that the government in London is a positive influence for justice today, whatever their past acts were.
