14
Wednesday, July 13, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Looking
Outward
Dan Glode
Columnist
The Irish are
worried
The whole object of travel
is not to set foot on a foreign
land; it is at last to set foot
on one’s own country as a
foreign land.
— G.K. Chesterton
My wife and I are truly
blessed. Since we retired we
have had an opportunity to
pursue our favorite hobby —
travel. Our last trip, in May
and early June, took us to
Ireland for three weeks. If
you have heard good things
about Ireland double them, it
is fabulous.
We leased a car and drove
extensively throughout the
country. In three weeks
you can cover a lot of ter-
ritory in a country about a
third the size of Oregon and
with a similar population. I
have to say, though, driving
in Ireland is like a chain of
near-death experiences. In a
day or two you get used to
driving on the left side of
the road with the steering
wheel on the right and the
shift on the left. What I never
got used to was the narrow-
ness of the roads. A typical
Sisters driveway is much
wider and does not have
stone walls on either side!
Many of these 10-foot-wide
roads have a speed limit of
100/kph. I think that speed is
aspirational.
We survived it.
While the landscape was
varied and absolutely beauti-
ful, the people were the best
part of the trip. They are
incredibly friendly and help-
ful and wonderfully engag-
ing. They initiate conversa-
tions everywhere — pubs,
restaurants, shopping, hiking
trails and on the street. They
are very inquisitive and open.
We had numerous conversa-
tions everywhere. It seemed,
though, that after they got to
know us they all asked (hesi-
tantly) about our presidential
election and wanted to know
what was going on.
I guess it stands to reason.
As the expression goes, when
the United States sneezes the
world gets a cold. There is a
universal recognition that, at
this point, there is only one
superpower and we affect
lives all over the globe. For
example, when the U.S.
economy slid into recession
in 2008 it hit Ireland very
hard, harder than here. They
are still recovering, more
slowly than we are. They
recognize their relative posi-
tion to us. There is also a
great affinity to our country
as we have 35 million citi-
zens of Irish descent. Almost
all have a relative of some
kind here.
Our election process
frankly really worries them,
particularly this time. The
piece that scared them the
most is, frankly, Donald
Trump. To all we spoke to,
he is considered a loose can-
non at best and a lunatic at
worst. One benefit (or detri-
ment) of being in an English-
speaking country is the fact
that all the conversations
you overhear you under-
stand. The talk about Donald
Trump ranges from deep
concern to incredible worry.
They follow it closely.
Of all the things they are
concerned about — his lack
of qualifications, narcissistic
nature, inexperience in many
areas, failed businesses, etc.
the one thing all seemed to
be concerned about the most
was that his rhetoric and
positions were highly divi-
sive. They see him as play-
ing whites against Mexicans,
Hispanics, women and
Muslims. In their view, he is
being provocative by putting
a wedge between groups and
fomenting anger and mis-
trust. They seemed particu-
larly disturbed by this qual-
ity and it was not clear to me
until later in the trip.
We ended our trip in
Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland is part of
the United Kingdom and
is not part of the Republic
of Ireland. The currency is
the pound and the driving
is still precarious. Northern
Ireland to us was a differ-
ent experience than Ireland.
While Ireland effuses a mel-
low atmosphere, Northern
Ireland seemed to have an
“edge” to it.
What still looms large
in Northern Ireland is what
they call “The Troubles”
or the sectarian violence
which went on from 1968-
1998. Some look at it as
war between Protestants
and Catholics; at its heart
it was a conflict over who
should govern the country.
Those, mostly Protestants,
who wanted to stay in the
U.K. fought those (mostly
Catholics) who wanted to be
part of Ireland. The struggle
was costly: almost 4,000
killed and 20,000 wounded.
The remnants of the war
still remain. For example,
there is still a 40-foot fence
between neighborhoods and
a gate which closes at 4 p.m.
Kids still cannot play with
kids on the other side. The
violence is over, but the leg-
acy lives on and they are try-
ing to move beyond it as fast
as possible. Whereas no one
would have toured Belfast 20
years ago now it is thriving
with many hotels up and run-
ning and many more under
construction. It’s a nice city.
Looking at that fence
I realized why divisive-
ness was the chief concern
they saw in Donald Trump.
For them “The Troubles”
defined a generation, and the
memory is ingrained, par-
ticularly in my generation.
The wounds of that struggle
are hard to heal. They know
what happens when groups
get pitted against each other
so it seems they speak with
some authority when talking
of our presumed Republican
candidate.
Let’s not forget that when
we go to the polls, we elect
not only a president but a
world leader, in some ways a
leader of all nations.
WE’RE NOT JUST TIRES! We do...
Alignments, Brakes, Shocks, Struts, CV Joints,
U Joints, Axle Shafts, Drivelines, & Tire Siping
...not only cars, but trailers, too!
Low-Cost Dog & Cat
Vaccination &
Microchip Clinic
DAVIS TIRE
541-549-1026
Serving Sisters Since 1962
Saturday, July 16
Noon to 3 p.m.
188 W. Sisters Park Dr. In Sisters Industrial Park across from SnoCap Mini Storage
Congratulations,
Jason!
Questions? Call 541-699-9149.
Hosted by Sisters Feed & Supply
and Sunshine Vet Services
102 E. Main Ave. | 541-549-4151
Jason Gulley has
achieved advanced
specialist certifi cations as
an Orthopedic Clinical
Specialist through
the American Board
of Physical Th erapy
Specialties!
Professional
Student
Clinic
Running Errands in Bend?
Treat Yourself…
60-Minute Facials $30
Call or email joy@SageSchoolofMassage.com
to make an appointment.
Massage classes begin September 26th
Esthetics classes begin January 3rd
541-383-2122
SageSchoolofMassage.com
Come taste why
our breakfast &
lunch are the
best in town!
Serving cocktails,
beer & wine
Outdoor patio open!
Open 7 days for
Breakfast & Lunch, 8-3
541.549.2699
403 E. Hood Ave.
Less than 4% of
Physical Th erapists
have this certifi cation.
After injury or surgery,
Jason’s deep knowledge
of cutting-edge research
will get you back to
your everyday activities
more quickly.
541-549-3534
325 N. Locust St., Sisters
www.greenridgept.com
“You’re in the right hands”