Now I’m fully aware that I tend to go on about this being one community, not two. I also have a tendency to witter on about the importance of replacing the politics of tribe/swamp/religion/nationalism yada, yada with the politics of mainstream UK right/left politics.
But then I hear David Forde of the Alliance Party rambling, incessantly, about a Shared Future and realise why I’m a Conservative, first and foremost.
What is it about certain of the do-gooder class of politician that insist on using meaningless Assembly-jargon instead of everyday language?
Moreover why does Forde presume that a) anybody knows what this “shared future” concept is and b) that Sinn Fein and the DUP have any interest in delivering this shared future concept when they seem never to refer to it?
At the level of language, annoyance and do-goodery I simply detest this phrase – it reeks of trendy social-working and mincery. I admit that it is important that we work as one community, defocus on the institutional sectarianism we’re all forced into etc. But this phrase is obfuscatory and refuses to call a spade an ugly shovel.
It also highlights the patent pointlessness of the Alliance Party. This lot reflects back the sectarianism of our politics by continually dancing to the sad old tune of the organ-grinder.
The Alliance Party accepts as a fait accompli the inherent sectarianism of our politics by seeking to grasp at ineffectual social instruments – like programmes for a “shared future” that are simply trivial and meaningless. To expect the DUP and Sinn Fein to commit to some shared future initiative is like depending on Jeremy Clarkson to popularise the merits of speed cameras or sleeping policemen.
The Alliance Party could do something useful, of course. It could announce that it is merging with the Liberal Democrats in GB. But that would run counter to the constitutional limbo that it assumes is required to define its niceness and do-goodery. It could welcome the moves by the Conservative Party to allow the people of Northern Ireland to play a part in their national government or opposition. But it doesn’t – preferring instead to play in the sand-pit of circular, pointless ambitions and bland civil service inspired mumbo jumbo.
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