Cromwell as viewed by Ireland
Oliver Cromwell, like so many figures in Irish history, is very difficult to get an objective opinion on. The man is seen as a devil in human form by many even now, centuries after the events attributed to him took place. It is fair to say that no other English individual has become the poster-boy for Anglo-Irish division and hatred as much as the 17th century Parliamentarian leader.
As inevitable as a new year rolling around is the rash of products, articles, DVDs, “pull out and keep cards”, posters and deals to help us all with one of the most common New Year’s resolutions – losing weight. All media is a-glow with the latest diet, supplement or fitness regime, and with the promise of this is the one that will work.
Anyone who gets to know me figures out pretty quickly one of my main passions (other than the skeptical movement of course) – museums. I love museums, the way they smell, sound, feel, the odd micro climate they often harbour and even the varying forms of museum worker you find lurking within. Some of those workers are like me – the strange morlock people squirreled away in dimly lit back rooms caring for objects that the public rarely see.
As a main stay of skeptical interviews the “What made you become a ‘Skeptic’?” is a very relevant question and never really seems to become boring. As has been discussed by many in the community, skepticism is not a natural state of mind. The way in which our brain works is not always rational and I often find myself having to think myself ‘down’ when my mind jumps to easier but more irrational conclusions – be a bump in the night or serendipity. For me it was a journey in which not only was religion an accepted part of life but so were alternative practises around health and general well being.
Today I commented on “The Sovereign Independent”‘s rant about the Irish Independents’ piece on conspiracy theories. As I was quoted by Ed in the article on behalf of Skeptic Ireland, the Sovereign really let rip and told me I was a New World Order shill. Despite the furious tone of the Sovereign article and ominous threats that I would be “held accountable” for my “inaction”, I wanted to respond to the author Neil and engage in debate. Sadly, the entire comment thread was deleted, so I’m going to post my comments here instead.
Initial Comment
It’s funny how one little quote can inspire such vitriol and anger.
When I was emailed by Ed Power about his impending article for the Irish Independent I immediately thought of one of our skeptics, Jamie. He is much more interested in the “conspiracy theory” end of skepticism and also runs a really interesting group called the Longnow Foundation for Dublin.
So this one little quote, mentioning this website brought down a small (okay, tiny) hail of brimstone down on myself today. I suppose this what happens when you put an email address out there – eventually someone will email you who doesn’t exactly agree with you world view.
Fresh off the plane from Manchester, having spent a hectic fun-filled weekend at the QED Conference, some Irish Skeptics did us proud and overdosed on homeopathic Belladonna in Dublin Airport:
For more info on the 1023 Campaign, visit here.
Homeopathy – There’s Nothing In It
Our next Skeptics in the Pub meeting will be in the Lord Edward on the 11th December at 6pm.
We are going to have a chat about how possible it is to apply skepticism to voting in Ireland. Fool’s errand? We will also have heard all the bad news surrounding the budget – let’s face it, we will need a drink.
Our good friends from Occam’s Barbershop will be there, trying to get you to commit your opinions to some form of recording – or so I am led to believe!
Hope to see you all there.
[podcast]http://skepticireland.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/ep3.mp3[/podcast]We take a look at separation of church and state in this episode. We discuss the origin of Ireland’s blasphemy law, mentions of ‘woo’ in the Irish constitution, and an anti-evolution book backed by Ireland’s science minister. We also take a skeptical look at the month’s news.
