{"id":2031494,"date":"2023-09-14T07:59:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-14T11:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-documentary-about-northern-irelands-troubles-warns-against-political-violence\/"},"modified":"2023-09-14T08:05:17","modified_gmt":"2023-09-14T12:05:17","slug":"new-documentary-about-northern-irelands-troubles-warns-against-political-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-documentary-about-northern-irelands-troubles-warns-against-political-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"New film on Northern Ireland&#8217;s &#8216;Troubles&#8217; cautions against political violence."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnew-documentary-about-northern-irelands-troubles-warns-against-political-violence%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2031494&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Political Polarization: A Cautionary Tale from Northern Ireland<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Given \u200dthe rise in\u200b political polarization in \u2063the United States, some pundits believe that the \u200bnation could be coming\u200b apart \u2062at the\u200d seams. A \u200cnew documentary uses a recent\u200c example from overseas to \u2062demonstrate in vivid detail what that would entail.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce \u2062Upon a Time in Northern Ireland,\u201d a\u200c five-part documentary\u2063 released\u200b by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/programmes\/p0ff7cg0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the\u200b BBC<\/a> this \u2063spring, gives an \u200boral history of what euphemistically became known\u200b as \u201cThe Troubles\u201d in the six counties that comprise Northern Ireland. The series, which is \u2062premiering\u200c in America <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/show\/once-upon-time-northern-ireland\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">on PBS<\/a>, shows \u2062the\u200c deep and lasting scars that the slow-motion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/happy-thanksgiving\/\" title=\"Happy Thanksgiving!!\">civil war<\/a> had on\u2063 generations of Ulster\u2062 residents.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-660759765\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a03101689c3b8c1c0f66bcfe813546e4 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a03101689c3b8c1c0f66bcfe813546e4\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>From Civil Rights to Civil War<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The series\u2019 first episode focuses on the roots \u200cof the conflict, between Protestant loyalists aligned with the British\u2063 government \u200din London and \u2064Catholics seeking \u2062to unite Northern Ireland (still \u2063a part of the United Kingdom) \u2064with the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. What began as a justifiable \u200cdesire for\u200d political equality slowly descended a few steps short of madness.<\/p>\n<p>At the root \u200dof \u201cThe\u2064 Troubles\u201d lay the electoral \u200ddisparity\u200c within Northern Ireland.\u2064 Because the \u2062voting franchise was restricted to landholders,\u2062 and\u200b because a greater percentage of Protestants owned property than Catholics, the Republican faction comprised a permanent political minority. \u2062Looking to the American <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sidney-powell-is-an-american-legal-giant\/\" title=\"Sidney Powell Is an American Legal Giant\">civil rights<\/a> movement, the Catholic community launched \u2064their own civil rights push \u200cin\u200b Ireland, \u2063under \u2064the mantra of \u201cOne man, one vote.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In one sense, American concerns over\u200b \u201crigged\u201d political processes\u200d echo the protests of Catholics in Northern Ireland 50-60 years \u200dago. But physical segregation between Protestant and Catholic communities\u200d \u2014 in many\u2064 cases, neighborhoods\u2063 were and \u2063still are separated by \u2063walls \u2014 led to much deeper divisions than experienced in the \u2062United States today. The fact that\u2062 Catholic females were \u200cliterally\u2063 tarred and feathered for fraternizing with\u2062 British soldiers \u2014 and that the \u2064Catholic community approved of \u2064such treatment \u2014 speaks to the hatred that physical \u2062separation can engender.<\/p>\n<p>Physical divisions played\u2064 a major role in the event viewed as the\u200d start \u200cof \u201cThe Troubles.\u201d In the August 1969 \u201cBattle of\u2064 the \u2062Bogside\u201d in Derry (or, \u200cas Protestants call it, Londonderry), several days of rioting overwhelmed the police. The\u200c Catholic community set up\u200d barriers to keep law\u200b enforcement out of \u201ctheir\u201d neighborhood, \u200dforcing the \u200cgovernment in London to call in the British Army.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-7ddf20749869041119a1da272f3a7481 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-7ddf20749869041119a1da272f3a7481\"><\/div>\n<p>At the \u2063time, both sides thought the army would serve as a buffer to keep the Protestant and Catholic factions from killing \u200ceach \u200bother. Republican \u2062and Loyalist alike welcomed the new troops with\u200c the most British of traditions,\u200b delivering tea \u2063and biscuits to the army soldiers.<\/p>\n<p>But the British Army\u200d became viewed by Catholics as an occupying\u2064 power, \u200csparking a revival of the Provisional \u2063Irish Republican Army (IRA).\u200d Other paramilitaries developed on both the Catholic and Protestant sides of the divide, which fought\u2063 over the three decades of \u201cThe Troubles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, \u200ddivision\u2062 within the United States holds few parallels to \u2063\u201cThe Troubles.\u201d Despite the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/10\/21\/with-drag-shows-and-genderfluid-internships-its-no-wonder-military-recruiting-is-down\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fixation<\/a> of \u200bmilitary leaders \u2064on woke politics, few\u2063 view the average \u200brank-and-file soldier as having an explicit Republican or\u2064 Democratic bias. Likewise, one can scarcely \u200cimagine \u201cRepublican\u201d or \u201cDemocratic\u201d paramilitaries developing. And a good thing too, because the paramilitaries in Northern\u200c Ireland often\u200b operated more like the Mafia in the neighborhoods they controlled \u2014 \u201cdisappearing\u201d people\u2062 who were thought \u2064to have cooperated with the opposing side.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Scars\u200d Only Slightly Diminished with Time<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The\u200d documentary allows viewers \u2063to get some semblance of daily life during a time of immense turmoil \u2062and violence. By relying \u200calmost exclusively on oral history interviews, with only an occasional news clip to provide historical context, \u2064the series vividly \u200bdepicts the thoughts of individuals on both \u2063sides \u200bof the sectarian divide, along with attempts to end the polarization. In some cases, participants display their palpable regret for past\u2064 offenses.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-af6176bfbb7a7cbfb76cec2fd1a614a1 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-af6176bfbb7a7cbfb76cec2fd1a614a1\"><\/div>\n<p>And many\u2063 scenes show those offenses in horrific detail: \u200bCatholics\u2019 belongings strewn\u200c about \u2063following\u200c a British Army \u2062search, and the army issuing statements implying the Catholics destroyed their\u2062 own homes for propaganda purposes; IRA\u2062 leaders committing suicide by hunger strike, starving \u2064themselves to death in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to treat \u200dthem\u2064 as political prisoners, \u2063and leaving behind wives \u2063and families; shooters attacking funerals;\u2063 a cop gunned down leaving the hospital just after visiting his wife and newborn son; and\u2062 the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-documentary-about-northern-irelands-troubles-warns-against-political-violence\/\" title=\"New film on Northern Ireland's 'Troubles' cautions against political violence.\">constant mental \u200btoll posed<\/a> not just by bombings, but by all the security precautions \u2062put in\u200b place to \u200dprevent the bombings.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A Senseless Slaughter<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Through most of the five hours of \u201cOnce Upon a Time in Northern Ireland,\u201d \u200da general feeling \u200dpervades: This \u200bis all so \u200bunnecessary. <\/p>\n<p>The first episode\u200b featured a prescient quote from \u2063John Hume, pleading \u200bfor order as \u200cviolence began \u2062to spiral out of control. Hume \u2014 who ultimately\u2062 shared the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end a conflict that he tried to prevent \u2014 \u2063noted that the Catholic community\u2019s\u2064 demand for \u201cone person, one vote\u201d would prove of little value if citizens had little to vote for. \u200bLikewise, the Loyalist community retaining political control would amount to a \u2064pyrrhic victory if Ulster lay in waste.<\/p>\n<p>It seems obvious that\u2064 the\u2063 problems plaguing Northern Ireland ultimately required a political\u2063 solution. \u2062\u201cThe Troubles\u201d didn\u2019t involve a territorial dispute or the marauding activities of an invading army. When the\u200c \u201cenemy\u201d is one\u2019s neighbor\u2062 across the street, very little apart from a political settlement \u2063will \u2064solve\u200b the underlying causes of conflict. \u2064 <\/p>\n<p>Through much of \u201cOnce \u200cUpon \u200ca Time in\u200c Northern Ireland,\u201d one may wonder at the absence of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mike-kelly-same-people-criticizing-trump-peddled-russia-collusion-hoax\/\" title=\"Mike Kelly: Same People Criticizing Trump Peddled Russia Collusion Hoax\">political leaders<\/a>\u2064 in the story \u2014 the British government in London, the\u2062 Irish government in Dublin, and leaders within Northern Ireland themselves \u2014 and \u2063whether the violence could have abated sooner had\u200c elected officials moved more forcefully \u200bmore quickly. \u2062 <\/p>\n<p>Even now, a quarter-century after the Good Friday\u2062 Agreement, old\u2064 scars\u2062 still run deep. Some still find the \u2063legacy of \u201cThe \u2063Troubles\u201d \u2014 which <a href=\"http:\/\/cain.ulster.ac.uk\/victims\/docs\/group\/htr\/day_of_reflection\/htr_0607c.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">killed<\/a> more than 3,500 and wounded more than 47,000, in\u2062 an area with a \u200bcurrent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/383733\/northern-ireland-population-timeline-uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">population<\/a> of just fewer\u200c than \u20622 million \u2014 too difficult to \u201cforgive and\u200b forget.\u201d\u200d <\/p>\n<p>But an end to \u2062the violence has prevented \u200bfurther \u2063scars, meaning that each successive generation can continue the \u200dprocess of healing. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce Upon a Time in Northern Ireland\u201d will help that process,\u200b providing a cautionary tale for those in Ulster \u2014 and those well beyond \u200dit\u2063 \u2014 warning against the folly of using violence to resolve political disputes.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>explores the potential consequences of political polarization in the United States. By showcasing a recent incident in Northern Ireland, the BBC documentary vividly illustrates the potential fragmentation of a nation. With rising tensions, the film serves as a cautionary tale, urging viewers to reflect on the consequences of extreme political divisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":2031495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2031494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2031494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2031494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2031494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2031495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2031494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2031494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2031494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}