Opinion:Ireland is at a crossroads and in dire need of some inspirational leadership, writes Manchán Morgan
AM I the only one wondering why can't Ireland have a leader like Barack Obama?
One that actually represents the emerging 21st Century reality of our country; that offers hope, and reflects the ambitions and outlook of young people.
Politicians in Ireland don't look like the rest of us any more, or think like us or talk like us - and when I say us, I mean anyone I know under 40. We accept them, and even vote for them, for lack of an alternative. But they are hardly icons of hope or symbols of change.
What would it take for us to have an Obama? Admittedly, it is still unclear exactly what president-elect Obama stands for, but it is precisely this factor that has made him such a potent force and makes now a good time to reflect on the notion of an ideal candidate and an idealised vision for our country.
Would a new political party be a prerequisite? Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael arose from Civil War bitterness and have hardly moved on since. They have no progressive past to hark back to; No Kennedy era. Labour once had a glorious legacy, but it has lost its way, and to many people the Greens are a single-issue party.
Imagine a political figure that galvanised everyone you knew to go canvassing for them, just as so many millions did in the United States this year for Obama. What would it take? Someone with an entirely new vision for the country, who could convince us that our vibrant, verdant, hyper-creative little country could be all that we might wish for.
Someone who could inspire us and make the changes and sacrifices necessary to solve the problems in healthcare, housing, transport, education and the economy; not just by offering mealy-mouthed new initiatives or consultants' reports like the parties do at present, but by implementing radical solutions.
It would require a leader who openly acknowledged the core problems which afflict society - which in turn lead to the more obvious social problems such as youth suicide, urban crime, environmental destruction, binge-drinking, obesity/diabetes, mortgage enslavement, drug addiction, cancer epidemics, our neglect of the elderly, the interminable daily commute, lack of youth resources and the incipient hopelessness of a geriatric ward, to name just a few.
Truly, it would require an extraordinary figure to bring us together to address these problems.
It is a time to at least consider the idea of a fair, inclusive society. All it requires is the willingness to free ourselves from past patterns that no longer serve us and the courage to choose again. This is why our grandparents fought for independence after all, so that we might be free to select our own destiny; that we would no longer be chained to a dysfunctional system.
Am I being overidealistic? Perhaps. Are we so blind to our problems or so bound by them that there is little hope we might ever be stirred to address them?
Perhaps I am naive, but I believe that with the right leader the potential exists for us to develop the first people-focused society. The one thing that the Libertas organisation and their anti-Lisbon campaign showed us is the powerful impact a tiny, well-funded movement can have. Libertas are focused on spreading fear; spreading hope would require a little more resolve, but the Obama campaign has shown what can be achieved through an impassioned, courageous grass-roots movement.
So if you happen to know of an honest, eloquent, intelligent, inspirational individual, now might be the time to encourage them to step forward.
Manchán Magan is freelance travel writer