A retiring bishop once said: “I should have challenged the prevailing culture” – we still can
I’ve written already this week about what I think would be a great way of approaching your new year 2010 finances. Read the posts here and here, and if you haven’t already come up with your 2010 financial target or objective, have a think and decide on one in the coming days.
There is one other key thought that I have for 2010 – something that if the whole country followed in their daily lives, could help 2010 be significantly better than 2009 and would help the country change for the good permanently in the longer term.
I should have challenged the prevailing culture
That was the stand out statement from the resignation statement from Bishop Jim Moriarty just before Christmas when he resigned after the fallout from the Murphy investigation into the handling by Church and State authorities of allegations and suspicions of child abuse against clerics in the Dublin Archdiocese.
Profound
In one fell swoop a resigning bishop has, in my opinion, pinpointed the primary flaw in the Irish psyche which has led to many, if not all, of our countries woes down the years.
You can look at the many statements of attempted justifications over the years for why things happened the way that they did, but they can all be boiled down to that one damning statement from Bishop Moriarty.
Excuses
- “Everyone else was doing it, so I had to go along with it as well or I’d lose out”.
- “Sure everyone knew that the (insert regulator/authority/enforcer here) wouldn’t do anything about that”.
- “I didn’t work in that particular department so it wasn’t my responsibility”.
- “Things have always been done this way”.
- “I was too junior so no one would listen to me”.
- “I was afraid to speak up because I thought I might lose my job”.
- “I reported it to my manager and presumed s/he would follow up on it”.
- “I knew it was wrong, but I knew there was no point in reporting it”.
- “What’s the point reporting to the (insert regulator/authority/enforcer here), sure aren’t they in on it as well”.
To me, these statements are a sign of individuals across the country abdicating responsibility for anything dodgy that was going on, tacitly maintaining the rotten status quo, and failing to challenge the prevailing culture.
And it’s dropped the country right in it
But look at all those statements again. They’re all “me” and “I” with no care for the general good of the people or the country.
I heard a story from a taxi driver about a planning official in north Dublin in the 1980’s (or at least pre-Euro days) who was infamous for arriving at houses to point out spurious items that supposedly didn’t meet planning guidelines.
The standard way to have these issues resolved was to put a few quid (punt) in an envelope and when he’d come back for his next inspection hand it over with the words “I was talking to (insert architect name here) and he said that I should give you this”, and suddenly the non-conformities were miraculously no longer a problem.
This gentleman could visit the same site two or three times to identify “non-conformities” in a planning area where thousands of houses were build over the years.
Yet not one person, that I know of, called this guy to task or tried to do anything about his actions.
The self-interest of “me” and “I” was more interested in getting a house built rather than the general interest of removing a corrupt official from his position and bringing him to justice.
2010 New Years Resolution
How about, for 2010, we bear in minds the words of Bishop Moriarty in all aspects of our lives? Instead of going along with the rotten status quo that exists in our country, let’s challenge the prevailing culture.
That can take the form of many different actions. I’ve written a few times previously about whistleblowing in Ireland (or the lack thereof).
But there are other ways as well. And we don’t need to make a big show or cause a big deal in doing this. We can just look at the things we’re doing, or being asked or expected to do, and instead of just considering the “me” or “I” implications, think about the bigger picture – the good of others and the good of the country.
We still have the opportunity to affect changes to this country – unlike Bishop Moriarty.
I’m sure the rest of us don’t want to end up twenty years down the road resigned to our own failure to do anything to change things?
